Levittown Exchange Student And Dad Share Experience Decades Apart

LEVITTOWN, NY — A Spanish father and his son share a unique bond as both participated in an exchange program in Levittown — 31 years apart. After hearing about his father's memorable high school experience, Pablo Magdalena Fernandez knew he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Fernandez came to the United States at the beginning of the 2019-20 school year through a foreign exchange program to study for a year.

His father, Oscar Magdalena, participated in the program as a senior. He, too, attended Division Avenue High School and made lifelong friends. Magdalena said the American family he stayed with, the friends he made and the teachers and coaches he connected with made the experience a memorable one. He shared his positive experience with his son, calling it the "best year" of his life.

One person in particular stood out above the rest, he said.

"The most amazing and delighting experience was without a doubt meeting my brother Danny Lang," Magdalena said. "We met the first day of school, gym class, and ever since, we became best friends and have been together for the past 31 years. We are twin souls. He is my brother, the best friend anybody could dream of."

Magdalena's son will get to experience that lifelong bond, too. Fernandez is living with Lang, who is married to Levittown board trustee Christina Lang, who was able to make the opportunity possible for Fernandez.

Fernandez said living with the Langs "feels like home."

"He has such a wonderful wife and family," Magdalena said. "We really consider them our American Family, as well as they do with us."

Fernandez has enjoyed his junior year in America, taking cooking, chemistry, math, U.S. history, Spanish and weight training. He's made new friends and joined the school's tennis and soccer teams, just like his father did.

In December, Magdalena visited his son in Levittown for the holidays, along with Fernandez's mother, Gemma, and sister, Sandra. The family even got to visit Fernandez's cooking class to teach students how to make a Spanish omelet.

Fernandez encouraged anyone thinking about participating in a foreign exchange program not to be afraid.

"I would say do it because it's different," he said. "We don’t have proms in Spain, and we don’t have school sports."

His 14-year-old sister also plans to attend Division Avenue as a junior, keeping the family tradition alive for a couple more years.