April 2015
Experiencing a different culture and language in Puerto Rico had a really big impact on me. I had such a positive experience that I wanted to share it with other, but upon returning to school very few people asked me about my homestay and even if they did, it was hard to explain. But I was truly able to share my experience by having Laura (my host family’s daughter) come and stay with me as an exchange student in April. Commonwealth School does not have an Interim session like Kinkaid, so Laura came to Houston during Holy Week plus a few more days on the back end. She was not able to stay quite as long as I stayed with her family but then again, there is not as much to do and see in Houston as in Puerto Rico. Some might argue that there is no culture in Texas, but there is definitely a spirit of Texas and we did our best to share it with her. After a week of classes at Kinkaid (she loved the art classes, teachers and students and was amazed by the school’s facilities) we headed to Austin on Good Friday. The Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes were blanketing the roadsides and we told her about Texas First Lady-- Lady Bird Johnson’s beautification of Texas roadways projects and her Wildflower Center. Once in Austin, we ate lunch at the flagship Wholefoods store and took pictures at the graffiti wall explaining to Laura Austin’s motto “Keep Austin Weird.” Then, we took a segway tour of downtown, the capitol grounds and also saw a little of the campus. The next day we went to the Texas History Museum where we saw a 4D special effects film about the history of Texas and took the full UT campus tour, including the LBJ Library and museum. We ate our favorite barbecue, Ironworks, and I think our Austin adventure gave Laura a sense of the Texas spirit which is about grit and hard work and never giving up. We returned to Houston for Easter Sunday and the Easter bunny hid eggs in the garden and delivered Easter baskets filled with goodies. Laura is the youngest in her family (I am the oldest in mine), so I think a visit from the Easter Bunny (for my little brother and sister’s benefit) was new to her, but she loved it. Laura’s visit culminated with Kinkaid Culture Fest whose theme this year was “Island Nations.” She brought a big flag from Puerto Rico and a recipe for “Coco Besitos” or Coconut Kisses which we made for the Spanish Club’s booth featuring Puerto Rico! Laura put together a playlist with Puerto Rican music and we made a slide show with photos from my Interim stay on the island. So, it all came full circle and though I was sad to say goodbye to Laura the next day, I did feel that the circle was complete! And of course we will stay in touch and I feel sure, one day, I will “sea” Laura and Puerto Rico again!
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