Unit 5: ECR

Exchanging Expectations

1 On Tuesday, Hannah sat at a cafeteria table with Chloe and Kristen. As they ate, the girls looked out the tall glass windows at the high school students walking across the grassy field beside their school. One, a pretty, dark-haired girl, smiled and waved at Hannah.

2 “Is that Rosa, your exchange student from Spain? She’s so nice. And stylish. Did you see her scarf?” Chloe exclaimed.

3 “You’re so lucky!” Kristen chimed in. “I wish my family was hosting a student. Is having Rosa around just like having an older sister?”

4 “Yeah!” Hannah said. “I mean…we haven’t done much together yet. But I’m sure we will!”

5 In truth, Hannah did not feel certain that she would be spending time with Rosa. The girl from Spain was nice, but she was also busy. Hannah wondered how Rosa could already have so many friends in America when she had been here only a week.

6 Hannah had been excited when her parents mentioned the idea of hosting an exchange student. Each year, families in Middleton welcomed two or three students from other countries. The program director was always looking for homes where the students could live while attending an American high school. Hannah’s house had enough room for an extra person, and since Hannah was an only child, her parents thought she might enjoy the company.

7 Hannah had liked the idea of having an older girl around. Plus, as Hannah’s dad pointed out, Rosa could help Hannah with her Spanish. After Rosa came, Hannah anticipated they would talk for hours as Rosa would tell her all about life in Spain. Perhaps Rosa would even teach her to cook some Spanish food.

8 In reality, Hannah had spent very little time with Rosa. Rosa spoke excellent English, and at the dinner table, she had talked mostly to Hannah’s mom and dad. On Rosa’s second evening in America, Hannah had knocked on her bedroom door, hoping Rosa would help her study for a Spanish test. Rosa had Hannah’s list of vocabulary words in her hand when her cell phone rang. She spoke into her phone in rapid-fire Spanish, then turned to Hannah with an apologetic look. “It’s Antonio, the other exchange student from Spain. He wants me to go eat with him. Can I help you later?”

9 Hannah pasted a bright smile on her face. “Sure! Tomorrow night, though, want to do some cooking together? One time, I went to a Spanish restaurant, and we had these amazing tapas. My favorite thing was the tortilla Española made of eggs and potatoes. Do you know how to make that?”

10 Rosa laughed and shook her head. “No, I’m a terrible cook! At home, my friends and I eat out all the time. We love fast food. Hey, gotta go, Antonio will be here soon.” Grabbing her jacket, she swept out of the room.

11 Since then, the girls had barely seen each other. Hannah resigned herself to living with a stranger for the next few months.

12 A few nights later, Hannah was walking past Rosa’s bedroom when she heard a sigh. She hesitated, then tapped on the door. Hearing “Entre,” she went in and saw Rosa sitting on the bed, looking glum.

13 “Are you okay?” Hannah asked.

14 Rosa tried to smile, but she knew her expression looked forced. “Sí—just missing my family.”

15 “I’m sorry,” Hannah said. Impulsively, she said, “Show me a photo.”

16 Rosa grabbed her phone and quickly scrolled through her photos. “OK, here’s my mom, dad, and brothers.”

17 “You look like your mom,” Hannah observed. “Do you have a photo of your house in Spain?”

18 Rosa smiled. “No. We live in an apartment, right in the middle of the city—that is one of the things I miss. The fields around your town are pretty, but in Madrid, I can just walk out my door and into a market or street fair or festival.”

19 “What else do you miss?” Hannah asked.

20 Rosa furrowed her brow, surprised by a sudden realization. “It’s strange. I just said there was a lot going on, but in some ways, Spain feels more relaxed than America. People, even strangers, are happy to talk to you. Adults go home in the middle of the afternoon for a siesta. They don’t really use this time to nap; instead, they have a nice lunch with family. Then, we don’t have dinner ’til 10 p.m.”

21 The girls then talked and shared photos for almost two hours. When Hannah stood up to leave, she thought Rosa looked much happier.

22 “Hey, wait,” Rosa said to Hannah. “Even though I don’t know how to make tapas, it might be fun to try. Tomorrow night?”

23 “¡Suena bien!” Hannah replied.

Read the selection "Exchanging Expectations." Based on the information in the selection, write a response to the following:

Explain how Hannah forms a friendship with Rosa.

Write a well-organized informational essay that uses specific evidence from the selection to support your answer.

Remember to — *clearly state your claim *organize your writing *develop your ideas in detail *use evidence from both selections in your response *use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar

Manage your time carefully so that you can — *review the selections *plan your response *write your response *revise and edit your response

Write your response in the box provided.