T
he summer between my freshman and sophomore
years, my family housed our first exchange student.
At the time, Caro, a bubbly soccer player with an
infectious smile, was a junior in high school from Bully, a
small French city. She came to Midland, Mich., where my
family lives, through the Rotary Club Exchange, which
provides high school students with the opportunity to spend
a year abroad with three or four different host families to
better understand local culture.
As British expats in the United States, my family provides
a unique perspective for exchange students. The students
come to the United States to learn the American way of life,
but staying with a British family changes the experience. As
Caro’s last family in her rotation, she was well accustomed
to the American way of life by the time she moved in. Her
English was basically fluent and she had a good group of
friends at school. I was moving home from my first year in
college, happy that I’d be coming home to something — or
more like someone — new and exciting. The idea of having
a new person living in our house was cool. I looked forward
to the opportunity to interact with Caro and share with her
my life experiences and opinions. Caro was someone
else to hang out with, talk to and practice French with.
I was excited to have the entire summer to get to know
her.
As the months went by, Caro and I got close, and the
experience became so much more. It slowly became
more normal to see her hanging out at my house, and
she became another person to hang out with when
things at the house were slow. She told me about her life,
I told her about mine and we got to know the nuances
of each other’s cultures, backgrounds and families. I
learned about the French school system, and how when
Caro went back to France, she would have to take the
bac, a standardized French exam that determines what
you can study at college. I told her about college at the
University of Michigan, where we can — and often do
— change our majors and programs in a matter of days.
We taught each other swear words in our respective
languages and laughed about it like children for hours.
We even planned times to visit each other in the future, or
meet wherever in the world we may end up.
With all good things, Caro’s stay came to an end and
it came the time to say goodbye. Even after a few short
months, we had bonded and created a deep friendship. It
made me sad to say goodbye to her, as I felt like she was
becoming a part of our family. Though she was two years
younger than me, she felt like a sister and someone I would
see every morning, pouring cereal into her bowl or, after
dinner, doing work at the kitchen table.
After Caro left, my sister, Maddy, departed for her trip to
France. She was participating in the same program as Caro
and would spend a year abroad in Rochefort, France. Having
Caro stay with us was a good opportunity for Maddy to see
cultural exchange from the other side. Maddy was 16 years
old when she went abroad going, and going abroad during
junior year of high school is frightening. She could see the
different emotions Caro might go through, how Caro would
adjust to our culture. And, luckily, Maddy and Caro got to
meet up across the world in Caro’s hometown.
The house was lonely with my brother the only child left
at home. I visited often to keep my mom company, as the
house went from six people to three in only a few weeks.
It wasn’t long until my parents made up their minds: We
would have another exchange student as soon as possible.
When Maddy came back this last summer, a new exchange
student shortly followed. This time: a 16-year-old German
boy named Lukas. When I went home for Fall Break, I met
him for the first time and we had the opportunity to hang
out and get to know each other.
Though Lukas is in the same program Caro was in, the
experience has been totally different for my family. As each
person has different interests, motivations and aspirations,
Lukas and Caro could not be more opposite. Lukas is a
6-foot-7-inch analytical, musically talented performer
and the perfect contender for our high school’s basketball
team. Having never played basketball before, I found it
comical that in the four days I was home, Lukas was outside
practicing every day and learning a very stereotypical
“American sport” to satisfy the Dow High coaches that saw
a very, very tall kid join the school in September.
I am so thankful that my family hosts exchange students
because I get this invaluable opportunity to be a big
sister to someone new. Accepting a new person into your
home, and your status quo, can be really difficult. When
it goes right, the experience is so rewarding and fun.
Saying goodbye to Caro was one of my saddest goodbyes,
and I’m sure Lukas’ goodbye will be equally sad.
In the future, I encourage anyone and their families
to host an exchange student because the experience is
invaluable. It’s not like travelling to another country
and experiencing the culture firsthand; rather, it’s
watching someone else grow within your own culture.
I saw Caro perfect her English, play for her high school
soccer team and travel all over the country. Similarly, I
see Lukas dedicating himself to basketball, playing in
our high school band and even carving a pumpkin for
the first time. It’s so fun to watch someone observe, ask
questions and soak up everything you take for granted
each day.
2B
Magazine Editor:
Karl Williams
Deputy Editors:
Nabeel Chollampat
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Design Editor:
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Photo Editor:
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Creative Director:
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Editor in Chief:
Shoham Geva
Managing Editor:
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Copy Editors:
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the statement
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 / The Statement
All Around the World: On the Other End of Exchange
B Y I S O B E L F U T T E R
the
tangent
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILIE FARRUGIA
COVER BY SHANE ACHENBACH AND NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT