Danial Power
Flathead High School
My high school participates in the Partners of the Americas exchange program every year. This
program brings high school age students up from a South America to visit a sister location in North
America. My home state of Montana is lucky enough to be partnered up with the nation of Argentina.
My freshman year I was asked by my teachers to take in one of these foreign exchange students for two
weeks. After a long discussion with my parents we decided to take the opportunity that we had been
given. Being an only child, I definitely had my reservations about another child living in our home and
relying on my parents as much as I did normally.
The day came for Juan Pablo to fly into our tiny small-town airport, and I wound up meeting my
foreign brother for the first time sporting a black eye. Now, obviously this was slightly terrifying to him
as he was going to have to spend the next two weeks with my family, but we quickly dispelled any
worries he may have had, explaining that I received it due to a baseball accident that happened
previously that day. Juan’s first night in Montana only got better from there as we found out that his
airline had accidentally misplaced his luggage and he was without any change of clothes or basic
necessities that he may need. Thus I found myself playing the role of a brother rather quickly as I
allowed him to borrow some of my clothes. Luckily, his bag was found and returned to him two days
later.
Thus began one of the most eye-opening two weeks of my life. As Juan Pablo shadowed me
around school from day to day, I got to know more and more about his culture. He had my family
experience a mate drinking session in which a small cup filled with an herbal drink is passed around a
circle of people as they converse as a symbol of unity and friendship, and he also shared with us his love
for cooking and music. One night he and my father had a pizza cook-off competition, and after spending
hours in the store trying to translate the ingredients that he would need for his confection, we got to
experience the way that Argentineans make pizza. And on one of his last nights in the States we got him
a spot on stage at a local open mic night in our town so he could try performing in front of people,
something he had always been too scared to do back home.
This experience really showed me how alike we all are, my biggest fear going into this adventure
was that there would be an insurmountable language barrier or that we would have nothing in common
because of our different cultures. This was quickly dispelled as Juan Pablo and I spent hours sitting in my
family’s hot tub talking about life and girls and music with hardly any communication restraint or pause
in the flow of conversation. Although I have now lost contact with my hermano we still keep tabs on
each other on Facebook. Through this I know that he has continued on with his love for music and
regularly plays gigs in his new college town. Juan Pablo taught me to not be scared of people who aren’t
like me and may have had a different cultural background because they usually have something
wonderful to teach us, and I know if I ever wind up down Argentina way, I have a brother I can meet up
with.