Ayusa In The News

LEWISTON — It's easy to call them siblings, even though this was the first time most of them had met face to face.
 
They sure acted like siblings: Silvia Rezzonico, 25, of Milan, Italy; Estefany Saldivar Garcia, 22, of Monterey, Mexico; Anne Borra, 18, of Utrecht, Netherlands; and Uyen Ha, 20, of Vietnam hugged, joked and teased like they'd grown up together.

"We share something equal," said Tom Hage, 35, of Amsterdam, the eldest of the five. "We share the Reeds and the experience. It's funny."
 
Scott and Judy Reed and their daughter, Leslie, are family to these exchange students who spent their senior years as Lewiston High School Blue Devils.
 
They share a family, a Lewiston home and year of life at Lewiston High — even though it was a different year for each.
 
Call them serial siblings, separated by time and distance, but with some important things in common.
 
"I know that any time I want, I can come here," Rezzonico said. "And I will always have a second family here. I tell Judy stuff that my Mom doesn't even know about."
 
Five of the Reeds' seven exchange students — representing 18 years of their life together — came back to Lewiston on Saturday to help the couple celebrate their silver anniversary.
 
"I didn't need to be convinced," Rezzonico said."Judy just told me about it."
 
The couple recommitted to their marriage vows in a Saturday night ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn. Judy said she'd planned one part of the ceremony with the kids in mind, and it involved many varieties and colors of sand.
 
She and Scott would start, pouring their sand in a jar. Next, Leslie would pour her vial of sand on top. Then each exchange student would be introduced, say a few words and pour sand in the jar.
 
"By the time it gets done, it will represent our 25 years together," Judy said.
 
The couple married on March 26, 1988, at the Bates College Chapel. Leslie was born in 1994, and the family decided to investigate hosting an exchange student.
 
"I called to ask what was involved, and they said we could do the home inspection and have one come stay with us in a few days," Judy said. "We just wanted to know about the program and a week later, Tom was here."
 
That was in 1995, when Hage was scheduled to come to the U.S. His host family in Pennsylvania had backed out three days before the trip. That would have left him effectively homeless.
 
"They ran out on me, and decided not to have an exchange student," Hage said. "I don't know why. So I had to wait for another family, and I ended up going to Maine."
 
It was a good experience, he said.
 
"I mean, you spend 10 months in a house with people, and it's an important 10 months," Hage said. "The people you stay with matter. So for me, it was a decisive year."
 
It showed Scott and Judy that they didn't have enough room in their Pearl Street house to host an exchange student. When they moved to a larger house on Webster Street six years later, she knew it was time to start again.
 
"As soon as we found it, it was like, 'Good; we're going to have a spare room'," Judy said. "We knew we could have another student."
 
Steffi came from Germany in 2001. She was followed by Rezzonico in 2003, Jiyeon Jeon from South Korea in 2005, Saldivar Garcia in 2007 and Borra in 2008. Ha was the most recent of the group, coming in 2010.
 
Only the German girl, who died after she had returned home, and South Korea's Jeon didn't make the trip.
 
But they've all come back to visit for summer trips since their initial stay, some even bringing their families to meet their American mom and dad. And Scott and Judy have traveled overseas, staying with their exchange kids time and again.
 
"All of the decisions I've made afterwards have been influenced by the fact that I was here." Rezzonico said. "I really think the experience is not just the one year that you spend, but it continues and you keep it for the rest of your life."
 
Leslie, a first-year student at the University of Southern Maine, said it's given her an amazing perspective — and a whole slew of siblings.
 
"It's like I've had a different childhood than everybody else," Leslie said.
 
Judy said she decided last year it was time to get the whole group together, and she and Scott's 25th anniversary seemed the perfect time.
 
Saldivar Garcia joked that she just came for the food — she didn't even know there was anything special going on. She was just hungry.
 
She also joked that she was the favorite — until a year later when Borra showed up. This weekend, the two have argued — good naturedly, of course — about who can claim the bed in their former room.
 
"We get along," Borra said. "We just fight, but that's the fun part of it. We've only known each other for two days."
 
"And it has been the best two days of my life," Saldivar Garcia dead-panned.
 
Judy said the bed would soon be claimed by another. They're planning to host an exchange student, from Norway this time, in the fall.
 
"They become yours," Judy said. "You are responsible for them while they are here and they are going through some changes, so they confide in you. It's an important time, and they are all very special — very different but very special. And I love each one like my own."

Read the original article in the Sun Journal here.

Not just one or two, but five foreign exchange students representing four different countries are enrolled at Homer High School this year. Their visits to Homer represent the efforts of three different exchange programs.
 

Front from left: Tiffany Khosasih of Indonesia and Chiara Scoppetta of italy; back from left: Alehandro Carrillo-Cano of Mexico, Manual "Manu" Spigno of Italy and Clementine Devos of France.

With thousands of miles separating them from home and family, these five students are busy taking advantage of opportunities they've been offered, learning from what they're experiencing and settling in with their host families.
 
Get them all in one room and the closeness among this international group is clear. One starts a sentence that another finishes. One voices an opinion and is immediately greeted by high-fives from the others. Ask them how they're feeling with the holidays approaching when they're so far from home the light-hearted talk comes to a sudden stop.

Then Alehandro Carrillo-Cano, 16, from Mexico, who is here through AYUSA (A Year in the USA) exchange program, says, "I'll tell you what we are."
 
"Food-sick," all five laughingly shout, referring to missing the foods of their homelands. Immediately the room is once again filled with chatter as they list what they miss seeing at the dinner table.
 
"I want some real Chinese food," said Tiffany Khosasih, with an emphasis on "real." Asked for specifics, the 16-year-old Indonesian who is here through Rotary's exchange program, said, "Fried rice and everything being spicy."
 
Chiara Scoppetta, 16, of Italy and here through the AFS (American Field Service) exchange program, said she misses her mother and grandmother's lasagna and gnocchi. Clementine Devos, 18, also with AFS, of France misses breads and cheeses. Alehandro misses "typical Mexican food. Not Taco Bell. Not fast food." He follows that with a detailed, mouth-watering description of mole with rice and pork served in a red sauce. Spaghetti with clams, a dish his mother makes on Sunday, topped the list of foods missed by Manual "Manu" Spigno, 17, of Italy, who is here through AFS.

"But I also like what Mom cooks," Manu said, referring to his host mom, Cindy Koplin.
 
Staying with Alex and Cindy Koplin, Manu's reference to Koplin as "mom" reflects the closeness that develops between exchange students and their host families.
 
"It kills my heart that she calls me "Dad" and Naomi "Mom," said Charlie Walsworth. He and his wife, Naomi, are host parents for Chiara. "It's very endearing."

Aside from missing "real" food from Italy, Mexico, China and France, the students are finding plenty they like here. Manu's new favorite foods include ribs, steak and fish. All five agree they have fallen in love with the area's natural beauty: orange sunsets, a full silvery moon on a wintry night, the mountains and beaches, "and a sky that actually is blue," said Tiffany, who lives in a city with a population of 12 million.
 
Chiara comes from an Italian village only a couple of hundred miles from Rome, but with a population of only 300 people.
 
"For me, Homer is big," said Chiara, the one in the group who wanted to come to Alaska because of the landscapes. "If it was cold, I didn't care."
 
Activities the students have become involved in are as varied as their backgrounds. Chiara played volleyball and is eager to be involved in cross-country skiing. Tiffany sings with the school choir and tried basketball, but a past knee injury made her decide managing rather than playing was the best way for her to be involved in the sport. Alehandro plays soccer, swims, plays hockey and is determined to learn to ski. Manu swims, dives, plays hockey and was involved in soccer.

Although Clementine, whose host family is Lyn Maslow and Dave Lewis, described herself as "too lazy, so I just hang out all the time," Maslow disagreed.
 
"She practices with the DDF (Drama, Debate and Forensics) team and is getting more confident in her English," said Maslow. "She's very literary and likes acting and making videos. Athletics aren't her thing. She's way more artistic, creative."
 
This isn't the only place in Alaska, or even the United States, these five students will be seeing. Chiara and Clementine traveled with the Walsworths to Fairbanks for the Thanksgiving holiday and saw Mt. McKinley. Manu traveled with the Koplins to Sitka and saw whales.
 
"That was paradise for me," he said.
 
Playing competitive soccer has kept Alehandro traveling between Homer and Anchorage and he is planning a trip to New York. Tiffany has seen much of Southcentral Alaska and may have an opportunity to visit Barrow in the spring. Chiara is going to Arizona for Christmas. Manu is going to Hawaii for spring break. Clementine is going to San Francisco.

Being a host family means "every day is different," said Charlie Walsworth. "(Chiara) is a such a nice young lady. My only objection: She studies too hard."
 
This is the first time the Koplins have been a host family.

"We just wanted that enrichment in our family," said Cindy Koplin. "(Manu) is great. We're loving having him."

Nancy Deaver is Alehandro's host mom. She also is the community coordinator for the AYUSA.

"Some things we grew up with, like Halloween, are normal for us, but completely new to him," she said. "And there are (language) things when he looks at me and goes, 'What's that?' but his English is probably better than some of ours."
 
Including Clementine, Maslow and Lewis have been a host family four times.
 
"We felt it was nice to have some cultural diversity in our home," said Lynn Maslow. Of Clementine, she added, "She's doing great. It's so much fun to talk to her. She's filled with deep ideas. I hope people enjoy her."

For Steve and Angie Shank, becoming host parents was an idea presented to them by their son, John, who is currently a Rotary exchange student in Istanbul.

"I knew I'd miss him terribly and I was concerned about that, so he suggested it would be good for us to take in someone," said Angie Shank. "It has absolutely worked out perfectly. Tiffany is wonderful. She's a delight to have around. ... I would highly encourage anyone not to hesitate to take in a kid. They want to hear what our country is like and what an awesome opportunity for us to show them."

To read the original article by McKibben Jackinsky in HomerNews.com, click here.

LEAD HILL, Ar  -  A small school in north Arkansas is going international, the Lead Hill School District has welcomed several foreign exchange students this year. The district, which only has 360 students total, has students from over eight countries who are here to learn a little English and a lot about the Ozarks.

"My first thought was I would help try to find host families, I never thought of actually being one, in fact I had thousands of reasons why not to do it, says Lead Hill teacher Dianna Halbmaier.

Halbmaier quickly realized wishing doesn't make it so. "I got told no a lot but for every no I just went out and contacted two more people," says Halbmaier.

But Halbmaier persisted. "I really just went out into the town and to the people that I know, my neighbors and my friends and I just told them that this was an excellent opportunity because there are hundreds of students out there that want to be a foreign exchange student and they get denied because there's not enough host families and once you get denied you don't really get an opportunity," says Halbmaier.

So she decided to host an exchange student. "Our student is Emil Ipsen, and he's from Denmark, and he's 16, and he's a junior, and he's fantastic," says Halbmaier.

"I wanted to experience a new culture and learn English," says Ipsen.

When Emil started his junior year he quickly learned he wasn't alone. "Brazilian, Germany, Spain, France, China, and Thailand," says Ipsen.

"I heard that there were exchange students but not so many so I was surprised," says German exchange student Thanh Truc Tran.

"I am from Hamburg," adds fellow German exchange student Lukas Frey.

Frey is one of Emil's new classmates. "This village has about 300 people, we have about a million, so that was the first let's say shock, but it's good, everyone knows everyone; very friendly," says Frey.

"We are giving them the real true perspective of what America is like and what Americans are like and what they say the most is that they are surprised at how friendly the Americans are because they've heard so many negative things about America," says Halbmaier.

They're teaching the American students some new things too. "It's actually pretty cool because you get to meet  a lot of new people and new things about other places," says Lead Hill sophomore Matthew Cain.

A warm welcome to a new home, even if it's only temporary. "Everybody is sad to think about these kids having to leave because they've become such a big part of our community and our school and they've been so accepted," says Halbmaier.

Some of the students are also enjoying playing high school sports here in America, they have several of the students playing on the basketball and soccer teams there.

Dianna Halbmaier is a teacher there, there are two more faculty members and two school board members there who are hosting exchange students also.

The students hail from Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, China, and Thaliand.

Read the original article at KY3 News here.

MI News 26 Reporter Paula Jasper and Photojournalist Hannah Crouch talk with a community representative of Aysua about the process of becoming a host family and some basic facts on the foreign exchange program.To see the video, click here.