Jun. 25—In 1992, Ana Romero came to Pennsylvania from Spain as a foreign exchange student, where she was hosted by Debbie Roland.

The two “grew very close” according to Roland, and now consider themselves to be family. After nearly 32 years of friendship, Roland is now hosting Romero’s daughter, Ane Murillo, at her current home in Aiken.

Roland, a local Realtor, said that there have been multiple back-and-forth visits across countries since she and Romero first met — Roland’s oldest daughter, Alexa Forsman, went to Spain when she was 17 to be hosted by Romero; Roland and Alexa even attended Romero’s wedding in 1999.

When Roland’s daughter visited Spain, Ane Murillo was only 2. Murillo said that she has “really good memories” from that visit based on stories her family has told her. She also said that Forsman gifted her a teddy bear when she arrived.

“I have it still in my bedroom,” she said.

Now that Murillo is 17, Roland said that it’s her turn to take part in the tradition. So far, her trip to the states has been a success: “Very cool,” Murillo said recently.

Roland talked about the uniqueness of these multi-generational visits, noting her experience seeing the “unimaginable beauty” of the Spanish coast, as well as the value of seeing the United States “through the eyes of someone from another country.”

She also said she’s enjoyed getting to know Murillo.

“It’s like having another daughter here with me,” she said.

Murillo’s Aiken trip has included visits to the Radioactive Pinball Arcade, Eudora Farms and, soon, a GreenJackets baseball game.

“One thing I really like around here, is [that] the people are welcoming,” Murillo said.

To give her the full Aiken Experience, Roland said she is also taking Murillo to ride horses. In fact, The 17-year-old said that one major difference between Aiken and her hometown of Zumaia, Spain, is the emphasis on horses.

“Every place you go has something related around horses,” she said.

In late June, Murillo will travel to the western United States to stay with Roland’s youngest daughter, Abbie Engle, where she’ll visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona and celebrate Independence Day in San Diego.

“I want to travel and see different places,” Murillo said.

Roland said she encourages others to host exchange students because, for her, it gave her a second family.

“You can’t imagine how much this changes the whole trajectory of your life,” she said. “It’s just incredible. I got [a] family that I never thought I’d have 32 years later.”