Carmen Patiño, left, enjoys soccer, cooking, painting and photography. Maya Oberndoerfer, right, meanwhile, likes best to spend her time with friends and family when she is home in Germany. Staff photo by Fiona Green

In early September, Maya Oberndoerfer journeyed from her hometown of Würzburg, Germany, to catch a plane in Frankfurt. Nine hours later, she had arrived in Chicago.

Around the same time, Carmen Patiño traveled from Villena, a city located in the Alicante province of Spain, to Madrid. There, she boarded an eight-hour flight to Chicago.

The girls’ paths first crossed at O’Hare Airport, where they were able to meet in person after days of online messaging about their upcoming journey to Wells as foreign exchange students.

After their brief first meeting, the girls boarded separate flights, both of which landed in Minneapolis on Sept. 8.

By the time the girls had arrived at John and Cindy Herman’s home in Wells, Maya had undergone 14 cumulative hours of travel, while Carmen’s journey had lasted for 26 hours straight.

Perhaps that is why Carmen says the very first thing she and Maya did after their arrival was, “Sleep!”

Maya and Carmen spent the next few days getting to know the community which will be their home for nine months.

“I love this town,” Carmen declares. “I prefer a town before a city – it’s easier to make friends.” 

“People here, when you meet someone, they are more friendly and open,” Maya agrees.

Maya and Carmen do observe some differences between Wells and their hometowns. For example, Carmen explains Spain’s mountains are nothing like the Midwest’s flat farmland. Maya, meanwhile, notes that Würzburg is a much larger city than Wells.

The girls spent their first few days in Wells swimming in the Hermans’ pool, shopping in both Wells and Mankato and exploring Half Moon Park.

Carmen, who has a passion for sports, is also hoping to attend a football game during her time in America.

Meanwhile, both girls were excited to ride an American school bus for the first time.

They were able to cross that activity off of their bucket lists after starting classes at United South Central (USC) High School.

Maya, who is 16 years old, is a junior at USC this year, while 15-year-old Carmen is a sophomore.

Both girls say that USC’s daily schedule is a little different than the schedule they follow at their schools in Spain and Germany.

Carmen explains, “We don’t have lunch (hour) in my school,” adding, “we stay in the same room with the same people.” 

Carmen switches between more classrooms at USC than she does at her school in Spain, but Maya is actually attending fewer classes now than she would in Germany.  

While American high schoolers tend to follow the same daily schedule, German students follow a different schedule each day of the week, which allows them to take a larger variety of courses.

Maya also notes that the path German students follow to graduation differs from that which American students take.

“In Germany, after fourth grade, we go to secondary school,” Maya says.

German students then attend secondary school from fifth to 10th grade, at which point they have several options open to them. They can attend a vocational school or technical college, or continue their education through Gymnasium, an academic secondary school.

“I graduated this year in Germany,” Maya says. When she returns, she hopes to pursue a career in finance; possibly starting at a bank and working her way up to a higher-level position in the future.

Carmen says that schooling in Spain also follows a different path than American schooling.

Spanish children complete their first stage of schooling at age 11, and then attend secondary school from age 12 to age 15.

After they graduate, “We can do different things,” Carmen says. She lists an apprenticeship or university as available options.

Carmen is interested in pursuing a career in marketing or administration following her time in Wells.

“My mom works in international marketing,” Carmen explains. She also hopes to continue her travels around the world.

Apart from her mother, Carmen counts her father and 10-year-old brother among her family members.

Maya, meanwhile, has an older half sister on her mother’s side and a younger brother on her father’s side.

The girls do not take the long months they are spending away from their family lightly.

“It was a hard decision,” Carmen admits. “It’s difficult to go away and not know anyone.” 

She adds, “It’s good to have Maya.” 

Apart from time away from family, becoming a foreign exchange student involves lots of hard work and preparation.

“It takes (time) to live abroad,” Maya explains. “You have to get to know the culture, learn English.” 

“I decided two years ago,” Carmen adds. “You need better grades to come here.” 

Despite years of studying, Maya was worried for a time that she might not be able to come to America at all.

“I thought I couldn’t come, because of inflation,” she explains.

Cindy, their host mother, adds, “There were 16 (students) trying to get placed, and eight did not get placed.” 

The Hermans themselves discovered they would be hosting Maya and Carmen within the span of a few short weeks.

The development came about when the Hermans briefly hosted a college student from Latvia, who they had met while he was selling textbooks door-to-door as a part of his international travel program.

Later, the student asked the Hermans if they would be interested in hosting foreign exchange students over the upcoming school year.

“We were approved in a week, and they came the next week,” Cindy recalls, adding that Maya and Carmen are the ninth and 10th foreign exchange students she and her husband have hosted over the years.

“Our exchange students outnumber our children,” she says, laughing.

Cindy and John still keep in touch with each of the students they have hosted.

“We have been very blessed,” she says. “We have not had a bad experience with any of our foreign exchange students.” 

She adds, “I hope they go home with a positive experience.”

The girls seem off to a good start.

“She’s a lovely person,” Carmen says, of Cindy.