Ema from Serbia, the last of my exchange students, arrived at the Jackson aiport Friday night at almost the stroke of midnight. Donna Williams, the Regional Director of AYUSA here in Mississippi, picked her up at the airport and they spent the night in Jackson to get some much needed sleep. Ema finally met her host family Gina and Rickey Baker Saturday afternoon. Grayce and Jake, Gina and Rickey’s daughter and son, fell in love with Ema’s sweet personality immediately. They made the mad dash to Tupelo for all the important things that Ema would need for her stay here in the USA for the academic school year.
So another adventure begins for a student from halfway round the world and a host family as the two learn about each other personally and about the customs of both countrys and how the two can mesh and learn to co-exist. This is diplomacy at its best.
Our student Anna has just fit into our family like she has always been here. She is bubbly and happy and full of questions and will answer anything that we ask. She misses her parents and talks to her mom frequently on the internet. She told me her Mom tried to bribe her with a new puppy if she would not come to America. Her Mom and Dad miss her a lot but they have to place their trust in us to provide their child with a good, safe, loving home. Marina, Anna's mother, saw the pictures of Anna's bedroom that I decorated just for her on my facebook page. She was surprised that we would go to such trouble as to make a special room for her daughter. It eased her mind about her daughter's decision to come.
I have nightly conversations with Amjaad’s Mom, Wijdan in Bethlehem. She told me that it was very difficult for her because Amjaad is her youngest child. But seeing the photos that I have put up on my page for her to see has made her feel much better. Amjaad is very happy being the big sister to 3 little boys. And she is very happy to be on the basketball team at school. I don’t know anything about basketball except the goal of game is to put that ball in the basket. And it seems Amjaad has that talent.
Wijdan said that all of the women told her that life was dangerous here but she felt that God would provide the perfect home and loving family for her child and that she would be safe. I believe that also. Donna and I prayed about finding the perfect placement for Amjaad and we found it with Gina and Michael. Wijdan says that seeing Amjaad’s happy face with her beloved American family has given her assurance that her daughter is going to be well taken care of.
As Host Parents we have to cope with the adjustments to new foods, new schools, new customs, a different language and all new people. We have to be on the look out for signs of homesickness and culture shock. While on the other side of the world, parents and other family members are dealing with the worries of all the things that they hear about that are bad about America. They worry that their sons and daughters will be made fun of or bullied. They worry that they might not be living in a safe environment. They worry that they won’t have enough to eat. They worry that if their child is ill that there will be no one to comfort them and take them to the doctor.
As a parent, I understand and feel their fears. These people have placed their trust and faith in my lap that I will keep a watch over their precious daughters. As one of the mom’s told me, She has given me her heart to love and care for. I will do for their children what I hope would be done for mine if either of my daughters’ were exchange students in their care.
So I will take many photos and post them on my computer for their moms to see and write about their lives as their year of living in an southern American home progresses. Each student will have a different yet similar experience and I will watch it through 7 pairs of eyes and record it every step of the way with my camera.
