Being an exchange student takes a lot of courage and independence due to being so far from home. One of Rocky’s newest exchange students, Daniel Ladero, is from Madrid,Spain.

Ladero will be attending  Rocky until May 29th. He is a 17-year-old, but is enrolled as a sophomore. His favorite classes right now are forensic science, calculus, and computer science.  

Ladero is staying with a host family in Fort Collins, and he loves how much space and freedom he is getting here. He finds it a comfortable change from home, as he has the freedom to stay out as late as he wants and to hangout with whoever he wants.

“The environment is different, the culture and everything changed from my home.” Some of the most noticeable changes for Ladero would be how early he has to get up for school; in Spain school starts at 9:00. Another change is the weather; it is not nearly as dry in Spain and it is more difficult for him to breath in Colorado than in Madrid. In addition, there is a language barrier. Ladero said,  “…I still have to try and get another language.”

This is Ladero’s first time being a part of the exchange program. He was randomly placed in Fort Collins, Colorado, which was a relief for him because he had visited Fort Collins two years ago.

If he could bring anything back to Madrid, he would bring the driving age back because in Madrid people have to be 18 in order to legally drive.

Ladero has a younger brother who is 13 and still in Spain. He does not get to visit his family until May, so instead they Skype with his entire family once every two weeks.

Ladero loves Fort Collins and is looking forward to living here for the rest of the year, meeting cool people, and trying new experiences.