Germany will meet Bruce USA in a couple of weeks!

“With an open heart and an out-stretched hand
I have met the foreigner in his own land.
And she is now my friend and he is now my brother,
and together we will build a world in which we love each other.”

The preceding quote is from a poem written by a CBYX Alumna. CBYX is the acromyn for Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange. The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange was initiated in 1983 by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the first German immigration to North America. The exchange program is all about the importance of common values, mutual acceptance and lasting personal relationships to young Americans and Germans.
Since 1983, almost 15,000 German high school students have come to experience the American way of life. By extension, these numbers multiply into 15,000 hosting families. This year, a wonderful girl from German is coming to live with Jeff and Jessica Adams and their 3 boys and attend high school at Bruce. I was so excited when Jessica told me her family would love to share their home with Julia and to become a part of the growing group of Host Family’s in Calhoun County.
As with my other ‘kids’ that I have placed, Julia and I have been communicating via Facebook. The Host Moms and I are in daily contact with each other and all of the kids. I get questions about what clothes to bring and what is the weather like and which banks will work with an overseas bank, what is school like, etc.
In a recent exchange with Julia I asked her what motivated her to come to the USA to study for a year and what expectations she might have. This is her response:
“I wanted to be an exchange student because I wanted to find out if all the things you hear in Germany about the USA are right or not. I don't want to build on the things other people say about. I want to find it out by myself.
I want to live exactly like my host family and getting familiar with all the American customs they have and being a part of that family and treated as their own children. I want to try out everything I have the possibility to. I don't know which things those are but I wanted to come there to find that out.
I think the language will be a thing which will be a very strange thing at the beginning. But also all the habits we don't have in Germany. The completely different school system in the US.
I hope I can reach all those aims and won't disappoint my family!!”

Just think about the culture shock. Julia is going to go through as she discovers all the differences between our country and hers. She comes from the Bavarian region with centuries old castles and the best chocolate in the world! Things like street-signs and everything she takes for granted will suddenly just upside down. In the end her horizons will be broadened and she will feel like she has discovered a new world!
Some interesting facts about Germany are that there are no speed limits on the highways. In Germany, many people (83 million) live in a small space about the size of Montana. And the food! I love German food. You have not lived until you have eaten real German potato salad and real sauerkraut!
The Adams family is getting ready to forge a relationship with a girl and her country. In later years they may find themselves visiting her in her hometown. Both the Host Family and the student are going to be changed by this experience. Welcome to America and to Mississippi Julia. We drive slower and speak slower and we are looking forward to learning about your culture and your life and sharing ours with you!
Check out www.AYUSA.org and look at all the students that want to come to study in the US. Sign up on line or call me. I’ll be glad to help you become a Host Family!