From the Mediterranean to the Prairie Roth’s host an exchange student from Spain

After 20 hours spent flying and in airports, Blanca Aceves Fontan touched down in Rapid City, SD on August 10th for what would be the beginning of a lifetime opportunity.  Blanca was met by Brent and Carrie Roth of Bison, along with their daughters, Madison, Marranda, Marleigh and Ava.
    Blanca is part of an exchange program with Forte International.  Her profile was one of several that were presented to the American Lutheran Church Youth Group this past winter by Forte representative and local teacher, Heidi Kopren.  Marleigh Hulm, was immediately drawn to Blanca’s story and came back home that evening to ask her parents about considering hosting the young lady for the upcoming school year. At first, her mother Carrie Roth, was apprehensive. She thought out loud, “We are too busy, and probably too boring. I don’t know that we’d have enough to offer a student from overseas”. Marleigh reminded the family about the good experience that Chiara Becker from Germany recently had when she was hosted by the Albert & Bridget Keller family.  Carrie read Blanca’s profile and thought that she did seem to be a perfect fit for the family.  There would be a bedroom available with the two older girls both being gone to college.  If there were a year to do it, this would be the year. She talked to her husband and said a little prayer about it before going to bed.  She says, “I woke up the next morning with what I knew was the right answer.”  Brent was supportive of the decision. Laughingly he said, “I guess what’s one more teenaged girl in the house?!”  
    A flurry of required paperwork was filled out and a home study was completed shortly thereafter.  Roth’s were then put in touch with Blanca and her family.  The two families hit it off immediately and were surprised by the similarities they shared half a world apart.  Blanca has two older sisters, who happened to be very close to Marleigh’s older sisters’ ages.  They were attending college pursuing the same degrees that each of Marleigh’s sisters were.  
    The location where each family lives, couldn’t be more different, however.  Blanca’s hometown of Madrid, Spain has a population of nearly 7 million people.  The states of North and South Dakota combined have a fraction of that.  Blanca was immediately taken by the expansive countryside. Her first thoughts were “This is so different…..so, so different. Everything here is so big. The country is big, the cars are big, the houses are big, and the refrigerators…. are big!” She thinks the people here are so open, friendly and active.
    Back in Madrid, her home is 3 stories tall and adjoins other similar dwellings that share a courtyard. Blanca’s mother is a psychologist and her father is a banker.  They have one family car and public transportation by bus or rail is a daily necessity.
    Seeing things through Blanca’s eyes has been a neat experience for the Roth’s as well.  They find it very interesting to hear her thoughts on new foods and new experiences.  They introduced her to some things that encompass life in this area right away.  In the first week, they attended two rodeos, a dance, and the Medora Musical production. They also rode horse, branded a few calves and doctored a bull, rode 4-wheeler, shot prairie dogs, and went tubing and boating at the lake.  Blanca enjoyed afternoons of swimming in the pool and relaxing in the hot tub with Marleigh and some friends that she would soon be attending school with.  She tried corn on the cob and Rocky Mountain oysters for the first time and really enjoys Coca-Cola.  Feeding Roth’s bucket calf is one of her favorite activities. She has already checked seeing Mount Rushmore and “real cowboys”, off the top of her list. Not necessarily fitting the image she had in mind, she was surprised that cowboys drive pickups and talk on cell phones like everyone else.
    Blanca is a talented Flamenco dancer and would love to showcase her love for dancing to other students.  “Hopefully, during this school year, we can help her put a little show together”, says Carrie Roth.  Until then, she’s excited to be a part of the Bison Cardinal Volleyball and Cheerleading teams. She is becoming more familiar with the school routine here and wants to polish her English skills even more before the school year’s end.  Blanca’s English is quite good, as she has been studying the language since Kindergarten. However, Carrie Roth states “It’s proper English, so it’s much easier for her to understand and much more considerate if a person speaks more clearly and avoids slang words as much as possible.”  
    The Roth’s can’t imagine the courage it takes to send your daughter overseas to perfect strangers.  Also, the incredible strength it takes for a young girl to leave her family for nearly a year.  However, Blanca said that being involved in the exchange program is very popular in Madrid.  She estimates as many as a third of the students study abroad for a year.  She has a friend that is currently with a host family in Colorado Springs, CO and two friends that were located in Eureka, SD last year. Blanca’s two older sisters and her mother were also exchange students.  One sister was located in Utah, the other in Wisconsin, and her mother in Virginia Beach.  Blanca’s mother encouraged each of her children to participate in the program as it brought her some of the best experiences and memories of her life.  Blanca says that the busy schedule of school and sports helps keep her from being homesick and she’s very much looking forward to Homecoming and Prom.
    The Roth family has a vacation scheduled to Arizona over Christmas break.  Blanca will have the opportunity to see the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam while enjoying the scenery and climate from another part of the U. S.  The sunshine will probably be a welcome break from the SD winter, as the average year around temperature in her hometown is over 70 degrees.  Winter temps dip to 45 degrees, so she has never seen an accumulation of snow or experienced subzero cold.  She was shocked when shown pictures of the October blizzard a few years ago.  
    Blanca is looking forward to getting to know people in the school and the community better.  She is a bright, beautiful, and sociable young girl.  If you see her around town, be sure to say hello and give her a warm welcome!