Settling in...

I am not a fan of the first week of school.  It always comes too fast, like a slap in the face! Gone are the nights with no specific bedtime and the mornings of walking up at our own leisure.  Suddenly, my alarm is set to go off at 5:20am Monday-Friday and I don't even get the reward of seeing a proper sunrise!  Don't misunderstand, I can always go back to bed.  It is the kids that I feel bad for!  Especially Aba, leaving at 6am.  One morning, he didn't have a minute to spare, let alone eat.  While he was getting ready, I was making him a nice warm egg & cheese sandwich.  He thought he would be leaving hungry and the look of gratitude on his face was priceless!

It's hard to believe that Aba has only been here for 5 full days.  It seems like he has been here for weeks! He has been going full steam ahead since his arrival and handling all these new changes so well.  He has easily slid right into the hearts of our family, we didn't have to make room for him, the room simply multiplied.  

He joined the football team and has made new friends easily.  Friday night was the teams first scrimmage game, away from home.  I picked him up from school  at 2pm and was waiting for him for a few minutes.  He apologized for being late, he just had to find out a girl's name! haha We had planned to go the sporting goods store to buy him some cleats and ran into twin bothers who play football with him.  They were already inviting him to go skiing this winter and stay at their weekend home.  I dropped him off back off at 4pm to take the team bus to the game and could see the boys greeting him like he had always been a team member.  He even found a ride home after the game...score one for me!

paparazzi photo from the car :)

So many teenagers are quiet in the car. Not Aba. He likes to chat and tell about his day.  I love to hear his stories and see him smiling and happy.  His only problems are deciding what winter sport he is going to participate in.  Does he go for Wrestling or join the Ski Team with his new friends or play Hockey with the boy down the street...decisions, decisions.

Saturday, he finally got to sleep in and we spent the afternoon at Scott's brother's house for an end of the summer pool party.  We were just there on Thursday night as well.  It was a beautiful day with lots of fun, sun, food and swimming.  Aba got to meet my niece Jill who is the same age along with Ryan who is also in the family, along with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins etc etc

Clockwise, Uncle Glenn, Scott, Mark, Brian & John.  Missing: Dave

kid shot

So, our dog Scout hasn't had a good week.  He turns 14 yrs old on September 3rd. He has an acute case of vestibular disease. Symptoms include head tilting, loss of coordination, circling and stumbling, staggering, falling and rolling, as well as involuntary, rhythmic, jerking eye movements from side to side or up and down.

To make a long story even longer...we had been taking turns sleeping on the floor with Scout in the family room.  I got up one night and slipped on a pillow.  I landed pretty hard on the arm chair.  At the pool party, I was in more and more pain.  I went to the Urgent Care and I have a cracked rib!  All the boys get to take care of me today!  ugghhh...who thinks I have time for this? haha

~Linda

1st Day of School!

The alarm went off early this morning! 5:30am!  I drove Aba the half mile out of our neighborhood to the bus stop.  I feel bad his bus is so early at 6:15am when class starts at 7:20am.  Hopefully, he will make some friends with cars and manage to get a ride to school at a more reasonable hour.  Since the weather is so nice, I am not committing to driving any kids to school anytime soon!  

No traffic on the busy road at this hour!  He has his guitar and will be taking lessons every day!  And here comes that classic, American school bus!  

Next one off is Jack at 6:45am and then Tyler at 7:45am.  Three boys, three schools, 3 schedules....

"Aba, what was the worst part of your day?"  he said "The early bus."

"And the best part of your day?" he replies..."oh, many things...."

Making new friends, playing American Football...it's all good!

Once we get into the monotony of our routine, I'm sure I will not be blogging as much.  That being said, I do think it will be fun to remember these first days and the excitement & feelings of a new school in a new country when Aba's journey is over next June.

~Linda

The Eagle has landed!

August 25, 2014

We Headed into Boston a little bit earlier so we could do some good deeds in the city.  While we were traveling last year, the kids were exposed to some homeless people.  In particular, Tyler was so affected by the sight of a homeless Veteran in Las Vegas, he saved much of his pizza dinner and delivered it to him. After the moment sunk in, he was in tears in the back seat of the car and it made me get bit choked up....you can read about it here.

Since all of our Exchange students love going into Boston, Tyler thought it would be nice to be better prepared when we see a homeless person.  I had read about "blessing bags" online and we decided to make our own.  In each bag we put in toothbrush & toothpaste, new socks, comb, gum, granola bars, water, sanitizing wipes and a personal note.  

We drove around Boston and passed out a couple of them.  I share this story simply to inspire others to do the same.  I did not take photos of any of the people we gave them to and respected their privacy.

So....on to the airport!

Boston Logan was a zoo! The parking lots were full.  Scott ending up parked at the curb for over 3 hours. Surprisingly, security was pretty lax and he was not hustled out by the police.  Normally, customs takes about an hour to get thru.  Aba arrived around 7pm and we were inside at 7:30 waiting.  We had our welcome balloons and sign.  Is that him? Is that him? At least 7 flights had come in all about the same time and the passengers were pouring out of customs.  Everyone, except Aba!  

We waited and waited....the kids were getting antsy.  I finally got word from Aba around 9pm or so that he was detained in a small room with about 20 others.  The kids went to hang out in the car, I was waiting in an almost empty airport and was wondering if we would be spending the night!

I have no idea why he was detained, but, by 10:30pm they let him leave.  The officer actually pushed him out the door without his luggage!  It was the most unusual pick up so far.  We went around the corner and someone brought his luggage around and he was finally "free to go".   And here he is no worse for the wear!

After missing his connection in London, being delayed and detained for almost 24 hours he did not complain at all.  He was warm, friendly, outgoing and we liked him instantly!  I think he is a perfect fit with our family and I'm sure he will have a terrific year! 

Tuesday, August 26th

Late to bed, early to rise!  We had a 9am appointment to set up his class schedule and tour the High School.  Besides the recommended classes like American Literature, US History & Algebra, he will also be taking guitar, money management, drama and Phys Ed.  Aba is so enthusiastic, ambitious and motivated and wants to try everything.  His English is good and we are able to easily understand each other.  Having had no experience with the High School, I was really impressed with everyone we have met so far.  They will all do whatever is necessary to make him feel welcomed and succeed.  

This afternoon was still busy, ice cream stop, checking out Tyler's new classroom, heading to our local library, a visit from Linda (the local exchange student coordinator) dinner then a presentation at the school about the sports program and a quick burger for dinner at the Country Club.  He is one tired kid tonight!

First day of school tomorrow and football practice after school! I'm not sure when he will get a break, but so far he's doing great!

~Linda

Szívesen lát, Aba

Monday morning...

Let me reminisce a moment here...exactly 1 week from today is my 25th Anniversary of when I boarded a plane bound for Madrid for my one year Foreign Exchange program.  I was 20 yrs old and in my 3rd year of college. I remember being so excited to travel, discover new places and meet new people.  This is also an anniversary for my Dad who retired on this very day.  After he and my mom raised 5 kids, they found themselves unemployed and empty nesters all in one day!  It's funny, I don't remember any lengthy, weepy goodbyes.  They probably dropped me at the front of the small airport in Rochester, NY and said don't forget to write!  

Today, our family will welcome Aba, from Budapest, Hungary, to our family.  Most of you already know we have hosted European kids for 3-5 weeks during the past 4 summers.  This time, we are hosting for the entire school year!  I must admit, we are all a bit nervous.  Will we like him? Will he like us? Ten months!  There is no going back, we have committed, and so has he.  Like all relationships, I am sure that there will be ups and downs that we will work through.  He will be a Junior at the local High School, he will likely participate in their sport's program, meet lots of kids and form relationships and make memories to last a lifetime like I did.  

A lot has changed since I was an exchange student.  I had no idea where I would be living or with whom.  The Director lined us all up outside of the school and just passed out addresses written on paper.  He did his best to match us up with someone who wanted girls or whatever criteria he had.  We were given an address and pointed in the general direction of my Senorita's apartment.  Michelle and I walked there, with our luggage, laughing and talking the whole way.  We climbed the stairs and timidly knocked on her door.  I couldn't understand a word she said.  She showed us our tiny room, always had a nice meal for us and basically we were on our own to get to school and explore! 

I have had an ongoing conversation with Aba online since July and even more so with his Mom.  After our lengthy application process, background checks, photos of our home, details of our day to day living, being friends on Facebook, our life is an open book.  Photos of our family vacations, our interactions with our other exchange students, videos, our daily lives, it all tells our family story.  I'm sure they have plugged our address into Google Earth to see exactly where we live, Aba has been able to check out his new school via their website. Armed with all this information, I think we have a good understanding of each other and there will be no surprises.  From one mother to another, I hope she trusts me to make her son feel like a welcomed member of our family, safe and, hopefully, happy here.  

I used to think that the kids were so brave to get on a plane and take a leap of faith in coming here.  But, they are just excited like I was to know a new, foreign country. They want to live the "American Dream".  The truly brave ones are the parents that let their children go!  I can only imagine the teary goodbye they had this morning.  I'm not that brave...my kids are staying home until college!

Early this morning I got word that Aba missed his connection from London to Boston.  I can envision the frantic phone calls and quick rescheduling of flights. I even know at this moment he is 1 hour and 19 minutes into his new flight on a British Airways plane named "Speedbird"!

This is probably just the start of many hurdles he will have to face while he is here. We will pick him up this evening and I will take a cell phone pic the moment he walks thru those doors so she knows he arrived safely!  His family is in for a long night! I think my parents waited a good 3 weeks for confirmation of my arrival via snail mail!

I look forward to documenting his stay with us and sharing it with friends and family near and far.  Next June, we will most likely be the ones in tears saying goodbye at the airport.

~Linda

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Au Revoir!

We said goodbye to G on August 9th after 5 weeks with us. 

We spent his last day in Boston walking around the city with my sister and nieces and had a nice lunch in the North End.

Next week we say "Szia!"  

Stay tuned...this Exchange Mom has more to tell...

~Linda

G's packing it up!

Friday, August 8

Well, G's visit is coming to the end on Saturday.  Today, we decided to get up for one last sunrise in Rye, NH.

It was low tide so we walked over the slippery seaweed to get closer to the water.  In the tide pools, G found a couple of crabs.

This afternoon we decided to go for a hike at Pawtuckaway State Park.   There was a beach there, but the screaming kids made us run the other way! G said maybe it was the first time the kids ever went swimming!

We had a nice walk thru the woods and upon our return home, we had a visit with our local Greenheart coordinator, Linda.  She wanted to say goodbye to G and wish him well.  Scott made a nice roasted chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, fresh cucumbers from the garden and just picked non-GMO corn...funny, G never ate corn on the actual cob before!  

His laundry is done, he's all packed, and ready to go home and see his family while enjoying the next two weeks in the Alps with them.

Tomorrow we will spend the day in Boston with some special guests before dropping G at the airport to begin his journey home.

~Linda

Monkey Trunks

Tuesday, August 5

Heading to Old Orchard Beach today for some more adventure.

I forget how far up Old Orchard Beach is...75 miles.  There is an Amtrak train that comes up here that I do want to try someday!

Jack and G wanted to go to Monkey Trunks today. We just did it as a family on Father's Day, so I sat out and observed with Tyler.  

To familiarize this place for you, it has 48 challenges that include swinging beams, tightropes, rolling logs, hanging tires, cargo nets and more!  There are 2 ziplines up to 700 feet long, a 35-foot high giant swing off the second level of the course and a rock climbing wall!  Before they started the course they had to learn how to use their state-of-the-art Smart Belay System.

Here is the video made by G. 2min13s

We stopped at Jimmy The Greek's for a quick lunch and made the ride home.

~Linda

Interviews in Newburyport, MA

Monday, August 4

After breakfast, we set out to downtown Newburyport.  G had seen some videos on YouTube about talking to random people and he wanted to give it a shot.  He did get some video footage talking to people.  I have to give him a lot of credit, it was a pretty brave thing to do!  I think he was well received too!  Click on the video below to watch...

After he finished up, we went out to Plum Island again.  

We were hoping that the Taco Truck was open but, sadly, it was not.  I guess we might have better luck on Taco Tuesday! The boys had fun doing their usual skim boarding and body surfing.  Although it was a lovely, blue sky day, I didn't take many photos.  I just liked having my feet in the sand relaxing and watching them in the waves.  Here is a quick 6 seconds of G.

We stopped for a couple slices of pizza, hit the grocery store for Scott and that was that!  It's so nice I can be out all day and not worry about what is for dinner.  Scott does all the cooking.  Lucky me!

There was a nice moody sky on the ride home with what looked like a storm brewing...time will tell.

~Linda

This and that...

July 30 thru August 3

We've had some pretty low key days this week...I think all the running around is catching up with me! 

G joined Scott, and his brothers Brian and Dave for a round of golf at the Atkinson Resort & Country Club.  Here is G's video, click on the link.  golfing at the club

Another day we spent the afternoon at Brian and Ann's pool....Sixtos Lagoon.

After a quick trip to the mall on Saturday, the guys went to our friend Jenney's lakefront home for a party while I went to photograph a 50th Wedding Anniversary party.  

On Sunday, the kids were very creative and worked on a new video...reverse video.

All refreshed and ready to begin G's last week here!


~Linda