As the final bell rings for the last time, most students look ahead to summer and freedom. But for exchange students, the end of the school year is something deeper. It’s a quiet goodbye we built from scratch in a place that once felt foreign and now feels like home. The unfamiliar became familiar, strangers became friends and a host family became your second family for life. 

Now, as the last few months go on, a sense of melancholy flows through our body.

“I’m feeling mixed emotions about going home,” Mia Subke (11) said. “I’m sad my experience is going to be over soon. But that also gives me more motivation to live the last two months to the fullest. And make as many experiences as I can. I’m looking forward to Prom, Graduation and the last camping trip with my host family this Easter. I would say I’m more excited. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen my family and friends. Being parted from them has really shown me how important they are to me. And how much they love me too. So I can’t wait to tell them all about my year. And see my sister again.“ 

While others are counting down the days to summer, we’re counting the moments left with the people who made this year unforgettable.

“I’m feeling really happy because I’m proud about having had the opportunity of experiencing this year, that now it’s already becoming a big important chapter in my life,” Ainara Sansaloni (11) said. “At the same time, I’m sad because I don’t want all of it to be a memory. All the amazing people I met, the culture I got to know, the places I visited, the moments I’ve experienced… It’s hard to leave the country after this, but half of my heart it’s also waiting for me in Spain. I’m feeling weird emotions because I want to stay but at the same time I miss my country, family and friends. I wanna have a lot of fun these last two months and do all the things that I still wanna do before leaving. I also want to spend time with all my friends and host family because I don’t know when I’m gonna see them again, even though I know I will come again to visit them.“

 Every “last” hits a little harder: the last school dance, the last inside joke, the last late-night drive. The last moments before leaving your second life behind, and going back to your normal life.