Gael Fernandez

Jack Schroeder, Staff Reporter

Gael Fernandez is a foreign exchange student here at Blackfoot High School. He comes from Spain and is a junior. The way his first name is spelled might confuse you as you’re trying to pronounce it. While it may look like it is pronounced “Gail”, it actually sounds like “Guy-el”.  Gael explained to me that certain letters are pronounced differently over here than in Spain. When asked how he ended up in Blackfoot, Gael explained that it was really by random chance. He had to sign some papers and they just sent him to a host. His trip to Blackfoot went like this: A plane from Spain to Munich, Germany, another plane to Denver, Colorado, then one more flight to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where his host family picked him up from the airport.

His favorite American food so far is breakfast foods like eggs, bacon and pancakes. When asked if he went to the fair, Gael said he did and that he had fun. Gael went to the hypnotist event and unfortunately wasn’t able to be hypnotized, but others were. When I asked if they had similar events back in Spain, he said they do have small fairs once a year for a week. Transportation for Gael in Spain mainly consists of subways, trains, and buses that can take you basically anywhere.

What Gael currently misses most about Spain are his friends and family. Gael said he has been here since around August 24th. In Gael’s free time over here in America, he likes to hang out with the new friends he has made. Gael added that he has made many friends over here. He said the biggest culture shock for him was all of the religious stuff. Gael also said that people here are generally more open than those in Spain, and that just approaching any random person is easier here than there. He further explained that people in Spain are individualistic whereas Idahoans seem to operate as more of a community.