Spring 2013 TEMPO - Tampa Preparatory School

6on the terrapin trailtempo spring 2013The Weisses and Mikaela at home for the holidays. (l–r) Madalena Weiss, Mikaela, David Weiss, back,Daniel and Andrew Weisschallenge? “The first day I was herethere was an alligator in the yard!”A year is a long time for a teenager tobe away from family, but the Weissesembraced Mikaela, and from the beginningshe was part of all the family activities.Before classes began in August, sheaccompanied the Weisses to a familyreunion in Missouri. The Weisses invitedher father to visit during theThanksgiving holidays, and he joinedthem for a traditional AmericanThanksgiving with other friends, andMikaela shared her own holiday traditionsby baking traditional Swedishbreads and cookies, like raspberry cookiesand saffron buns. Although Mikaela occasionallymisses her family and friends inSweden, she “really loves it here.”The school Mikaela attends in Swedenis a performing arts school because that’sthe field she wants to pursue. She’s doingwell in all of her classes and her favoriteis Musical Theater. When her mother visitedin February for several days shewatched Mikaela sing a duet withBroadway star Caroline Daly in Nights onBroadway. Mikaela also enjoys French.It’s been an adjustment because inSweden she didn’t have classes every day.“Here, homework added to classes makesa school day so much longer.”Madalena Weiss was born in Portugaland raised in Africa. “We’ve always beena multi-cultural family that enjoys diversity.Our son Daniel [a senior] studied inSpain last summer and lived with a hostfamily for four weeks. We thought itwould be nice if we provided a foreignstudent with the same kind of positiveexperience that Daniel had.”Daniel and Andrew, a sophomore,agree that the adjustment of a new familymember has been easier than theythought. “We weren’t sure what to expectsince we’ve never had another person livingwith us, let alone someone fromanother country and a girl. But it didn’ttake long for it to feel ‘normal.’ Mikaelafits right in.” They also agree that ithelps that “her interests are the same asours. She likes sports, especially hockey.”Madalena said that language was not abarrier in communication at all.“Mikaela came to the U.S. with strongEnglish skills and they have improved.She’s also teaching us a little Swedish!”“There have been many positivesabout having Mikaela with us. She’s notsimply a guest. She has become part ofour family and has brought our familycloser together. It’s fun to teach her aboutlife in the U.S. and learn about her familyand way of life in Sweden.”As for Mikaela, she agrees that, “Thefamily is the most important thing. That’swhere you spend most of your time.”Would the Weisses recommend hostingto another Tampa Prep parent? Madalenareplied, “Absolutely. You learn a lot aboutother cultures and about yourselves. Youalso feel good that you are providing asafe, loving and learning environment tosomeone who is brave enough to spend ayear thousands of miles away from theirown family.”When Daniel and Andrew were askedif they had anything to add, theyanswered, “She’s like the sister we neverhad!” T