From Tapas To Tayto

Isaac & friends…

or his latest report from deep inside Greystones’ teenage wildlife, our TY student reporter-about-town Isaac Carcone takes a look at Greystones’ annual Spanish student invasion…

A new school year always has a lot in store. Who is friends with who, who has the best classes, the best teachers, and what trips are we going to go on that we will hopeful remember forever?

There is, however, one thing that always stays the same but yet is always a different experience. Exchange students.

You don’t know how they got to your school and you don’t know where they are staying. but they’re here. and this year, I decided to see what their perspective on Ireland might be. So I went and grabbed a few Spanish exchange students and asked them about what they think of Ireland as their year here comes to an end.

When asked about their favourite thing about Ireland, funnily enough a lot of them said the sun. They all think Ireland’s greenery is amazing and they say when it’s sunny, it can be beautiful – but only when it is actually sunny.

Lough Tay. Pic: Rafal Rozalsk

They also said that they loved the Irish people. And when it comes to our lush countryside, a lot of them said they would love to bring a great big chunk of Wicklow wild from Ireland to Spain.

One of the few things that they all could agree on was the difference between people. Surprisingly us Irish are apparently much more laidback and chill compared to the Spanish.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of them said that the one thing they would change about Ireland is the rain.

They all said that they love going to the beach and despite the amazing Spanish cuisine they are used to, they all love that traditional Irish dish, the spice bag.

Well, it’s traditional if you’re Irish and a teenager.

Now my final and arguably most important question for them was: How do you think you have changed since coming over to Ireland?

Most of them said they have become more independent due to the fact that they have come here by themselves. Some of them even said that they find making friends easier now because they were able to do so while speaking a foreign language.

Overall, exchanges are brilliant for people. For both sides. People get to travel to a new country and learn a new language while gaining all these experiences. On the other side, you have people who make new friends and get introduced to ideas and ways of everyday living they may not have otherwise ever experienced or considered.

It’s a perfect win-win situation then. And one that happens to be a lot of fun for both sides too…