KTKA

"Lugar para...? Muy bien."

Victor Relloso is from Spain and is teaching Spanish at Marysville High School.

After teaching in France and Ireland, Marysville, Kansas wasn't exactly his dream location.

"Yeah my first choice was California, looking for good weather," Relloso said.

The only thing he knew about Kansas was it's in the middle of the states and...

"The little girl, tornado."

Yes, the Wizard of Oz.

But so far he is enjoying his first ever visit to the U.S.

And the students seem engaged.

"I'm having a lot of fun," student Dani Iles said. "I'm learning a lot and where he's always speaking in Spanish, it's easy to pick up on stuff."

While the Spanish speaking helps the students...

"Muy bien...lugar para ir de vacaciones."

...it makes adjusting for Victor a little tough.

"Estoy en Marysville...entienden? If you had a tough time getting that, now you can begin to understand what he's going through with English."

"I was a little discouraged because of my English," he said. "Sometimes I'm a little lost in conversations."

But he says that is getting better.

And the principal feels lucky to have him.

"In smaller communities like ours, it's becoming more and more important for us to work with international teachers," Marysville principal Jack Waugh said.

Waugh interviewed and hired Victor over the phone.

And though Kansas might not have been Victor's first choice, he says he is grateful for the opportunity.

"Living in a small community, small town is different experience for me. But I'm very happy because it's different," Relloso said.

Victor was recruited through the Kansas Department of Education. Through that, teachers are being placed in more rural areas.

Topeka is the only district in our area actively recruiting internationally. Topeka 501 has 28 international teachers. They are from the Philippines, Kenya and India.