Foreign exchange students bleeding blue

It’s hard to move across the country, let alone across nations, but that’s exactly what two courageous exchange students did this year. Bruno Feijoo Vazquez and Liv-Lara (Liv) Wellershoff are both juniors attending Columbia Falls High School.

Vazquez is from the coastal town of A Coruña, Spain, about a six-hour car trip from Madrid.

Wellershoff  is from Zehlendorf, a small borough in Berlin, Germany. 

English, as one might imagine, is not their first language. Wellershoff  speaks German, and Vazquez speaks Spanish. However, both of their secondary schools teach English, they said.

Still, there was a learning curve.

“A hard part for me coming here was that the teachers in my school focus so much on grammar; there’s very little time for actual one-on-one conversation. When I moved here, I had a very hard time with the social aspect of the English language for the first two months or so,” Vazquez said. 

Every so often they’ll have a hard time understanding their friends’ jokes.

 “I’ll get it, but it’ll take me an extra bit and by then the conversation has moved on!” Wellershoff  said.

Both Vazquez and Wellershoff play tennis, along with most of their American friends. Vazquez also plays soccer. 

Everyone in Spain plays “fútbol,” he said. “It’s really the only sport people play.”

Vazquez’s Columbia Falls family consists of his two “sisters” Eleanor (also a junior) and Phebe, Rollwage who also attends Columbia Falls High School. 

“I call my exchange parent ‘Mom,’” Bruno said. “She’s been so nice to me, and helped me out along this entire process. I really get along with the family.”’ 

Wellershoff is currently living with the Moultrays; Jessica Moultray is a teacher at Columbia Falls. Wellershoff  has one older brother, Dirk Kirsten. He went to Australia his junior year of high school and loved it, which inspired her to come to the U.S.

Wellershoff loves Turkish food, something she can’t find access to in the States. 

“My favorite food is Döner, which is similar to a gyro,” she said. 

Vazquez and Wellershoff said food in the U.S. is much more processed than in their native countries. 

“In Spain, the food ingredients are so quality, everything is made by hand. If you go to a restaurant, everything is handmade, guaranteed,” Vazquez said. 

While they are both enjoying high school here, Vazquez did have one suggestion. 

“The teachers here aren’t bad, sometimes I just feel like some are doing the bare minimum. In Spain, when you miss school, or your grades tank, teachers notice. They come up and talk to you, to try to figure out the best approach forward. Here in the U.S., you’re sort of left alone to figure out your own problems. When I was sick and missed four days of school, almost none of my teachers approached me to see if I needed any help catching back up. The only teacher who helped me was Mr. (Josiah) Osborne, my history teacher,” he said.  

Still, there are plenty of things they like about the high school.

 “Here we have free breakfast and lunch. The meals are great for everyone, and it assists the underprivileged,” Wellershoff said. 

“Wildcat pride is everywhere in Columbia Falls, it’s something my school in Spain doesn’t have,” Bruno said.   

In Spain, Vazquez studies  three to four hours, everyday. Vazquez said that if he returns to Spain senior year, he would have to study really hard. He does love the United States university system.

“If I stayed in the U.S. senior year, I could earn scholarships to go to a college here. In Spain, they don’t do scholarships: you either attend public university for free, or you pay to go to a private one,” he said.

Vazquez loves math. His older brother is studying mechanical engineering in the Netherlands, he said. He wants to go into a field involving numbers. 

“I’m thinking of becoming an accountant. However, I would eventually consider becoming an entrepreneur. Maybe I’ll even bring ‘Laurie’s Deli’ to Spain!” he said.

Wellershoff doesn’t know whether she wants to attend University in Germany or the States. 

“It really depends which one has my degree and feels best fit,” she said. 

She is thinking of starting off on either the business or marketing pathway. However, she likes the idea of becoming a judge. She respects both the practical and moral aspects of law. 

The biggest difference between the States and their home countries is access to places. 

It’s easier to get around in Europe, for the most part. But they did love having a ski hill close by.

 They went to Big Mountain “too many times to count” last winter. 

In Germany, Wellershoff and her parents would have to drive six to seven hours to go skiing in neighboring Austria, so it was a big plus to move here and have access to skiing 15 minutes away. 

Their perspectives on Ukraine were also similar.

 Both countries stand by the embattled nation.

 “Germany’s standings with Russia aren’t great,” Wellershoff said. “We were experiencing conflicts a while back regarding underwater pipelines running from Russia to Germany.” 

The Nord Stream pipelines supply natural gas to and from said countries.

 Russia shut down Nord Stream I on Sept. 1, 2022 due to “maintenance issues,” just months after Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Germany has continued to provide Ukraine with large amounts of military aid. Spain has also provided significant aid. 

“The only noticeable difference (to the citizens) in Spain is the extreme inflation on all wheat products,” Vazquez said.

Columbia Falls students and staff agree it’s been great having them in the high school. They have touched the community, bled blue, and are most certainly “Ctown Wildcats.”