Prom week has been an experience like no other for Maddi Landa Cubeiro.
A foreign exchange student from northern Spain, Landa Cubeiro’s whirlwind experience at Chanute High School is on track to culminate with tonight’s prom, followed by graduation next month.
Nominated for prom queen, Landa Cubeiro will share the royalty spotlight with date Dagen Dean, a star athlete.
“We don’t have anything like prom in Spain. Just getting ready for it has been really cool,” Landa Cubeiro told The Tribune, noting that she and Dean are just friends. “It’s something I’m going to tell people about when I return to Spain.”
Landa Cubeiro recently selected her prom dress after much deliberation.
“I’m really indecisive and tried on almost every dress in the store,” she said. “I picked out a royal blue (sequin) dress and we just had it altered, so that was a little stressful.”
Landa Cubeiro is excited for the big night, and was surprised to learn about her nomination.
“I was like ‘Oh my gosh, why me?’” she said. “One of my best friends is a candidate, too, so I think it’s fun that we’re going to do it together.”
Landa Cubeiro plans to experience the moment to the fullest.
“I’ll be happy for whoever gets it,” she said.
After arriving in the United States in August, Landa Cubeiro’s foremost concern was whether she would fit in at CHS.
“I was kind of worried about making friends and how that would be. But it was really easy — I just got along with everybody,” she said. “Just seeing how close I am now with some of the people here has been cool.”
Many of her peers were unaware that natives of Spain can have a lighter skin tone.
“They didn’t know people in Spain were white and were shocked to find out I was from Spain and that I was white,” she said.
She also informed her new friends that Spain does not celebrate the same holidays as the US.
“In November, they wanted to know what Thanksgiving was like in Spain,” she said.
Landa Cubeiro told the Washburns, her host family, about holiday traditions she grew up with.
“I was telling their kids that we have to leave a shoe under the tree, because that’s what we do for Christmas in Spain,” she said.
On the flip-side, Landa Cubeiro was able to partake in American traditions for the first time, including carving her first pumpkin.
She dearly misses the food in her home country, and has attempted to create a few of those dishes, including a Spanish Frittata. She said that Ramen noodles and pizza have been staples here.
Her knowledge of American music was extensive before she arrived, except for one genre.
“Country music is not a thing in Spain. I like it now and even sing some of the songs when they’re on. But when we’re in the car, I’m also like ‘Can we just change it to something else?’” she said.
She made that clear during the 925-mile drive to Panama City, Florida, for spring break, telling her host-parent Jennifer Washburn that she was not down with listening to country music for 15 hours.
“I was like I can do it for a few hours, but then we’re going to have to change it to something else,” she said.
Landa Cubeiro considers the trip a highlight, traversing many different states on the drive.
“I was counting all the states we went through, and can now say I’ve been there,” she said.
As far as her coursework, Landa Cubeiro said that sports marketing and journalism have been two of her favorite classes, and marketing instructor Dani Cummings has been instrumental in her successful transition to CHS.
“I really like all of my teachers, but feel like English has been the hardest class for me,” she said, although she speaks the language very well. “It’s a lot of writing and reading, and we’ve been reading old books, like old English. English is definitely not my natural language, but I’m more fluent in it now.”
Strides made in the class have been a crowning achievement of her time here.
“I’ve written (numerous) papers and have a really good grade in that class, so I’m proud of that,” she said. “At the beginning of the school year, it was much more challenging.”
High school students in Spain typically remain in one room for core courses, with teachers coming to them.
“I like the feeling of getting to know more people, and not being in the same place all the time,” she said. “The main difference is the school spirit. It’s not the same in Spain. It was cool during football season to see how everybody went to the games here.”
Landa Cubeiro was a member of the Blue Comet volleyball team, and is a team manager in softball. With soccer as the top draw in Spain, Landa Cubeiro was not too familiar with softball.
“I wish I knew how to play softball,” she said with a chuckle. “But just being around my friends during the games has been so fun.”
Landa Cubeiro has also made a splash in Dustin Fox’s journalism class, earning a regional title for feature writing, while putting forth state-qualifying entries in multiple categories.
“The regional title would be impressive for a person that has lived in this country for their whole life,” Fox said. “For her to write with the quality she writes with is pretty impressive.”
Fox said that Landa Cubeiro’s work ethic has been phenomenal, and that she has been an awesome student and great kid.
“It’s been fun to see her confidence grow as she has had more success in our journalism program,” he said. “Another thing that I have been impressed with is her willingness to share story ideas. She’s always looking for new ideas and has that journalist mindset.”
Her first day at CHS was a memorable one, as administrators sent her home due to a minor dress code infraction – too much of her stomach was exposed.
“That was also different from Spain. Nobody told me anything about something like that being inappropriate,” she said.
Landa Cubeiro parlayed the experience and one of a fellow classmate into an article published in the student newspaper The Comet, titled “Code of Shame.” The article details a confrontational approach by CHS administrators as they seek to uphold the policy.
Washburn, also the CHS registrar, said that it felt embarrassing for such an incident to serve as Landa Cubeiro’s greeting to CHS.
“Her stomach was just barely showing. It was fine,” she said.
For the article, Landa Cubeiro interviewed CHS Principal Zack Murry.
“It was interesting to see the reasons for the (policy),” she said. “The dress code issue is not a problem in general back home in Spain.”
Landa Cubeiro is set to depart for Spain in late May, as she needs to meet a deadline for testing similar to the ACT. She plans to pursue a business or marketing degree.
Prior to arriving in America she did not know what to expect.
“I thought it might be weird being in a house with people you’ve never met before, but it was just really natural,” she said. “I’m excited to see my family again, but sad that I’m leaving.”
Washburn is unsure if she will ever host another foreign exchange student, because Landa Cubeiro has set the bar so high.
“She has just fit in so perfectly,” Washburn said, noting that her 9-year-old son has developed a fondness for Landa Cubeiro. “He didn’t really get the concept of her just coming over and leaving, so he thinks that we rented her out. So he told her that it’s fine if you leave, my dad will just rent you back.”
Washburn added that her 11-year-old daughter has already shed tears over Landa Cubeiro’s looming departure. That feeling is mutual.
“I didn’t really think about how close I was going to get to people I would meet here,” she said.
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