The prompt for Linda G Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday (#SoCS) is ‘Trip’. Use it any way you’d like. Part one.

We had a Spanish exchange student staying with us last year from the end of August until mid-December. It was a wonderful experience for our family, especially Little Miss Ten. She and Alicia got on so well together.

Lucy struggled to settle back into school after lockdown and suffered from low confidence and a little bit of anxiety.

This was the reason why we decided to accept an exchange student. Not so that they’d be firm friends, but to have another young person in the house, getting up for school each morning, coming home full of tales—some of woe, some of wow—and then sitting down to do homework.

Lucy’s three siblings are independent young adults who live about three hours away, so she’s a lot like an only child. Don’t feel sorry for her—it has its perks!

Our plan went much better than we expected. From the first day, Alicia and Lucy connected. Her English was excellent too. And she could do a great Cork accent. “Me nerves George…me nerves.”

As the days went on, Lucy became more like her old self. Funny, talkative and confident. Alicia was kind to Lucy and spent a lot of quality time with her. They had lots of chats and Alicia listened to all Lucy’s little concerns. She advised her, she told her about her own struggles of being a 14-year-old teenager. She talked about her dreams and ambitions. Thank goodness Alicia has realistic goals and appealing dreams.

Last week in school, Lucy had to draw a picture of a person who inspires her. I was so happy that she drew Alicia.

Alicia was very honest. She said it as it was! This turned out to be a good thing because we all knew where we stood with each other. We had one or two very minor issues, but once we mastered the task of keeping the lines of communication running smoothly, everyone was happy.

She was tidy, reliable, trustworthy and she ate everything she was given. A lot of it! We joked a lot about how much food a small person could eat.

‘Where do you put it?’ Stephano would ask. ‘How do you stay thin?’

‘Genetics Stephan.’

She had a good answer for everything.

It was great that she ate well because I must admit, the food was the one thing I worried about. Teens can be fussy eaters at the best of times, and in a foreign country, it could be a problem.

We cried when Alicia was leaving. We missed her so much. Her smiles, her upbeat attitude and her chats. But that was not the last we heard from her. She calls Lucy a lot, we chat on WhatsApp.

And the best thing of all—we’re taking a trip to Santander where Alicia is from. We will stay for four nights and visit Alicia and her family while we’re there. We’re all very excited.

Alicia gave me permission to use her image on my blog.

Alicia told us some very important news a couple of days ago. About a special trip her dad is taking. You can read all about that HERE in part two of #SoCS