As part of the Global Friendships program, 10 students from the city of Barcelona and island of Mallorca, both of Spain, get a chance to experience the Mohawk Valley while staying with host families.
They will participate in group trips all over the region, while studying the language with their families in Ilion, Herkimer, Mohawk, Gloversville, and Utica, according to Barbara Guiffre, program coordinator.  
Having only been in the U.S. for two days, these students, ages 15 to 18, seemed to possess a pretty decent grasp on things.
At a welcoming meal on Monday at That’s Amore’ Pizza and Pasta in the village of Herkimer two young men from Barcelona gave their views on the people and their new surroundings.
Both Eduardo Soler, 16, and Marc Garrido, 18, agreed on one thing; everything is big.
“The cars, houses, supermarkets they’re all big,” said Soler. “We went to the mall the other day; I’ve never seen such a huge place.”
Another observation they apparently gathered in 48 hours is a total lack of walking in this country.
“Americans always take the car,” said Garrido, who is in the village of Herkimer. “But everything is so far, it’s hard not to.”
Already, the two are planning to return to America after their initial stay, “I like it a lot,” said Garrido.
Only having until July 26 isn’t hampering what the travelers’ plan to accomplish before returning.
Some of the local attractions scheduled for the group include: The Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown; the state capital region, and Saratoga Springs.
Garrido said his goal is to reach New York City at some point.
But, the main reason for the journey is to learn to speak English, according to Soler. “It’s not so much the grammatical (written), but rather the spoken launguage...In Spain you have to speak English to communicate with the British and such.”
A responsibility of the host families is to assist with the education.
“We practice and teach a lot of the vocabulary words,” said host mother Rosemary Spetka. “Try to explain by writing it down and helping to tell how it’s pronounced.”
Having a daughter Stephanie Spetka, 17, taking Spanish at New Hartford High School also eases the process, and yet she even admitted having trouble.
“I can’t keep up. They speak too fast, so I have to ask them what they’re saying in English,” said Stephanie. “I understand bits and pieces.”
Luckily, most of the students are sufficiently fluent in the basics of English.
Guiffre explained the program is a safe way for the youths to come over and experience the culture and learn a lot.
The benefits of the program go far beyond just the furthering of language through exposure. They even appear to be providing perks for the hosts.
Since the program isn’t a true exchange, where American students go to Spain, Stephanie is taking the matter into her own hands.
Summing it up she said it is mostly about “making friends,” slyly adding, “and getting a place to stay when I go over there.”