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
PS...If you would like to stay updated, sign up for emails so you can get the latest posts in the top right corner.
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"!
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
PS...If you would like to stay updated, sign up for emails so you can get the latest posts in the top right corner.
So happy for all of you. What a great experience awaits you all over the next 10 months. It's been 25yrs, crazy! Can you even imagine what life will be like 25yrs from now? Today you can track his flight, email, text pictures, etc..and we had airmail envelopes, stamps and the telefonica!
ReplyDeleteI think I'm glad I grew up before FB and social media! Great for his family to be able to see him and live vicariously thru his experiences. Our stories will be a version of He said, She said!
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