When it comes to France, most may think of French fries and the Eiffel tower, senior Joana Ospina will always remember it as her other home. Ospina traveled to Montauaban, France with the help of the Rotary Club last year for eleven months. Having been a local in Aspen, Ospina found it difficult to get used to the city.

“It was a bit weird at first and was definitely hard to get adjusted to, I felt a lot more comfortable than I should have. Since Aspen is so small, we don’t have much danger but it changes when you are in the city and I wasn’t used to that,” Ospina said.

However, traveling to France does mean to eat exotic foods some would never dare to touch.

“I got to try a lot of new, interesting different types of food like frog legs and snails,” she said smiling.

Ospina had three different host families. She said she had a tough time getting used to her second host family because she and her host mom did not get along well and the living arrangement seemed uncomfortable. She suggests to other students who want to participate in a rotary exchange that everyday may not be good, but there’s something good in everyday, and to take risks and don’t hold back. Everything switched around with her third host family though.

“My last host family was the best they were like my real family, I miss them so much!” Ospina said.

While abroad, Ospina traveled to six different countries. She got to visit Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, and Italy. She said it was absolutely incredible. She had never seen so many different cultures in one year. Ospina also felt as if she stood out and was occasionally asked some absurd questions because of this.

“I was the only exchange student at my school, everyone knew me as the American girl. People would always come to me asking questions about famous artists and athletes,” Ospina said.

“The American girl” takes pride in having friends all over world. Not only the friends she made in France but also the other students who participated in the Rotary exchange who were from Taiwan, Mexico, Austria, Canada, Korea, Australia, Brazil and so many other countries.

Ospina wishes she could rewind and do it all again. She will truly remember this experience forever. Ospina summed it all up, “Completely thrilling.”