As the school year comes to a close and students begin to say their goodbyes, it’s the perfect time to look back on the moments that made this school year unforgettable. Community Manager Becky from Utah shares a special memory from her Mid-Stay Orientation, where host families and exchange students came together over good food, laughter, and shared stories, reminding everyone of the joy and warmth that comes from welcoming someone new into your home and heart!
On January 26th, it was just another cold Sunday afternoon for many families across the United States. However, inside a warm, white brick home in Highland, Utah, 18 families hosting 21 different foreign exchange students gathered for a feast with a spread more impressive than Thanksgiving dinner. The people huddled together laughing and chatting were not long-time friends or extended family members.
In fact, most of them had only met five months prior at a Welcome Orientation at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. The occasion that brought those in attendance together was a Mid-Stay Orientation International Potluck. Every person in the room was united by their decision to love and accept an international teen into their home. By doing so, we not only expanded the family within the walls of our homes, we found a common family connection among each other.
As individuals entered the home, they were greeted with enthusiasm and hugs. Since August, we’ve enjoyed many outings and activities together. Host parents have cooperated with one another to help with carpooling students, hosting game nights, and even taking one another’s foreign exchange students over the weekend. They’ve become interested and invested in each other’s lives. The students were thrilled to reconnect with one another. Once students entered, everyone signed an attendance sheet and completed a short survey.
We started our gathering by having each student introduce themselves and describe the dish they prepared for us from their home country. Louis from France prepared quiche, Carlos and Fernando from Spain Spanish omelettes, Peter from Italy farfalle pasta with tuna and marinara and both Anais and Romane different versions of gratin dauphinois. Jana from Germany created handmade noodles from scratch to serve with cheese called “Kaesespaetzle”. Ugne made delicious little tinginys or “lazy cakes” from Lithuania, Valentine from Belgium Biscoff tiramisu and Eva from France crepes. Mila brought a traditional dish from Croatia similar to German pancakes, Katsuya sushi balls with fresh tuna wrapped in rice and nori, Merojidin the national traditional dish of Tajikistan, Namik Bosnian stuffed peppers and Natalie from Italy the most scrumptious bruschetta.
Nuria made our taste buds dazzle with chicken biryani infused with Kenyan spices. Poom from Thailand brought spicy Thai cuisine, Anais French Tartiflette, Vitor Pan de Queso from Brazil, Victor from France grilled Croque Monsieur and Pablo engaged his entire host family in helping him create Spanish croquettes from scratch.
The food was truly a tantalizing treat, but the best part was watching each foreign exchange student introduce themselves and watching their host parents’ eyes gleam with pride as they watched their own international teen. I instantly recognized the look in their eyes. I’m hosting Louis from France and Fernando from Spain, and I love being their American mom so much. One school year isn’t long enough to be their American mom.
Afterwards, the parents stayed upstairs and mingled while the foreign exchange students played the “What If” game. Students drew names from random and anonymous problems their host parents wanted help solving. While students read the problems aloud, we discussed the issues and shared helpful and meaningful solutions. We also wrote silly responses to provide comic relief. For example, one question drawn asked, “What should I do if my foreign exchange student is spending more and more time on their phone in their room?” A random solution was drawn that read, “You should get up and start dancing like Meroj from Tajikistan!”
Several students found the conversation very interesting to understand some of the concerns and challenges that host parents have. They went away with some thought-provoking questions and solutions provided by their peers. A good time was had by all. Later that night, I went home and read the surveys. One of the questions on the survey was, “What is something you need from your International Coordinator?” It was heartwarming to see that most every student wrote, “More time together.” Our experience this year truly exemplifies that it’s not the “where” you journey as much as “who” you take the journey with.
Would you also like to work with students from across the world? Join the Aspect team as an International Coordinator! We are always looking for great candidates in many communities, large and small, across the U.S. For more information about the International Coordinator position and how to apply check out our website!
