newsletter-dorothy-whitefield-spring-2003

Published For Our Wonderful Host Families,
Coordinators, STUDENTS, and schools
Letter from Dorothy
Dear Host Families and Students,
When I write letters to students and host
families, I like to imagine the people I’m sending
them to. Sitting here writing this letter I realize
that there are several families and students who I
have never met. I hope that we get to meet at our
Farewell Party (details in newsletter).
WOW! The past 9 months (4 months for
our second semester students) have flown by!
Remember in September you were all wondering
why you ever thought that coming to the United
States to live for a year was such a good idea?
Here you all are within a few weeks of returning
to your homelands. Now you are wondering how
you are ever going to say good-bye.
Unfortunately, the one thing all exchange
students have in common is that they all must
return home.
It is a bittersweet experience. You are
excited to see your families again but so sad
about leaving your host families and new
friends. As the time draws near you may want
to retreat from interacting with your family and
friends. You’ll do this in order to protect yourself
from feeling sad. My suggestion to all of you
would be not to do that! Your host family is
going through separation anxiety as well but
unlike you, they have no one that will be waiting
for them once you are gone. Stay close to each
other and keep the experience sweet to the end.
Reverse culture shock is very common.
Read “Coming Home Again” to learn how to
cope with saying good-bye and re-entry into
your culture. This will arrive in a separate
packet. Talk to your coordinator about your
feelings. He or she can help you just by
listening. They’ve been through it with other
students so they understand. You can always
call me.
The war in Iraq added another
dimension to this year. It added stress to
everyone’s life but more so to the students from
Germany and France. Most were surprised
that Americans didn’t hold them responsible
for their government’s decision. It also
surprised them that most of us were willing to
listen to their opinion with an open mind and
without judgment.
Thank you to all our host families for
making this year a successful one. Ups and
downs are a normal part of the hosting
experience. Hopefully, there were more ups than
downs. At this point your student may not
realize the full value of the gift you have given
them, but like most teenagers, the realization
will come. The unselfish act of opening your
home to a total stranger does more in
promoting world peace and understanding
than any other act. I hope that all of you will
host again in the future.
Have q safe and pleasant summer.
Peace,
Dorothy
Spring 2003

Santa Maria High School has a long and rich history. We want to thank them
for accepting our exchange students with open arms and making them part of
their culture. This year we have Sabrina from Switzerland, Yuichiro &
Naoyuki from Japan, Ivette from Belgium, Min Jae from South Korea and
Zula from Mongolia, and Maria & Shan from Germany attending Santa
Maria High School. Thanks for all you have given our students!
SPOTLIGHTS
Melanie has been an AC for 3 years.
Her family has hosted 6 AYP kids
and too many short range kids to
mention. Melanie loves learning
about other cultures and has
passed that love on to her own
family and other hosting families.
Melanie’s ability to give seems unending.
Her energy is infectious!
Melanie Smith with her husband, Marlon, oldest
daughter , Mariah, and younger children,
Josiah, and Terrina.
Thank-you Melanie for being a
great person and a wonderful AC.

S TUDENT THOUGHTS
“Being an exchange student is fun, exciting,
makes you think for yourself and
helps you get to
“ I’m having a very very good time
know yourself this year and my family is so nice. I
better….. Before
I came
like American family!” Miyuki
here my view of the United States was
very restricted. …...life is quite different.
My school for example is totally different.
In Belgium, my school had 3 buildings,
with 3 floors. So the first day at Rio
Mesa, I was amazed! The classes are
spread out all over the campus….”
“...I am an only child in Belgium and here I
have 2 host sisters, which makes everything
exciting.
The four
“….first driving lesson this Thursday @
2:15, so make sure you’re not on the
of us, including
my host
road…..DANGER!” Sam
mom, share a lot of good times and special
moments together......they have taught and
helped me to discover lots of new things
and they truly became my second family.
….it couldn’t be otherwise, and I am going
to miss them very much!”
Virginie Paturiaux
“Go to Red Lobster - get the
“My name is Maria
crab. It’s the best.” Vuttipol
and I’m from Germany.
I was waiting
so badly for the news where I would go and
with who I would stay.
The time when you don’t
know with what kind
of people you are going
to live with for 10
months is one of the
hardest.”
“When I finally got my family….I had the feeling
that I now could leave my home because somebody
else was waiting for me on the other side.”
“One of the first things I discovered about myself
when I arrived was how many stereotypes I
had, which I didn’t even know of.…..especially
my host family helped me to see through many
of them and to stay open minded.”…
“It’s a great experience and I can
recommend it to everybody.”
Patrick
“I was afraid when the
war started that it
would break something
in the relationship
with my host family or my friends. But my
host family, friends, and teachers showed me
that they were still open minded to my ’German’
opinion and that they tolerate it.” ……
“All the different cultures just amaze me. I know
it might sounds stupid to you but here in California
I first really got to know people of a different
skin color. I think this is a great part of my experience.…….I
have a grand relationship to my
host family. I talk to my host mom for hours at a
time…….For the first time I experience what a father
is like. I grew up without one and here I
have a ‘Dad’. ….and
then there is my
host brother who
when he comes
“I am happy to go home to see my family but I
feel sad to leave my life here.” Zula
“I like America. Every American is
really nice and I am having a great
time!”
Matthias
“Amazing, Different, Joyful”
Virginie
home from college takes me to his friends even
though I am younger…..he’s just like a real older
brother.………..It’s crazy. It means being far from
home and missing everybody but it also means
to find something wonderful as friendship, love
and tolerance. Everybody should have the
chance “to experience that.”
Maria from Germany
“I remember when I was stand-

S TUDENT THOUGHTS
ing at the airport, leaving everything what I’ve
had, everything what I’ve liked before. I didn’t
know what will happen with me, I didn’t even
imagine that I am doing it.”
“America was difficult. It was a
long time, but I LOVE it.” Fabio
“When I got off the
plane, they all were
there waiting for
me . My eyes were
filled with tears, not because I missed my family
but because I was so happy I see them.”
“They opened for me a new world and they
helped me to go through it even when I was
hard sometimes. I was
glad they cared about “I LOVE Taco Bell.”
me....I can be myself,
Lena
I am having so much
fun with them and I really love them.”
...“I learned lots of things during my staying
here. …...This year taught me how to be more
responsible and more independent....The way
home will be different than the way coming
here. There won’t be a small scared girl walking
through the airports, but the girl who
learnt something about her life and
the girl who knows how to face several
problems without running
away from them. I couldn't do it
without the help of my host parents.
I am thankful every day which I can
spend here with them. They created a new
“Everything is really big here
and I’m really sad it’s almost
over.’
Emma
family for me and I
will never forget anything
what they have
done for me. This
year is almost over and I don’t feel like going
home. …..I have a feeling that I an leaving
home and I am going home….Through this everything
I am very happy I could be an exchange
student.”
Katie from Slovakia
“So far it is the best experience of my
life, America.” Timo
there’s a saying that says:
“……My exchange
organization
back home
“If you tell me, I will listen
If you show me, I will see
If you let me experience, I will learn”
LAO_TSEU
It’s one of the reasons why many students
and I choose to go
on a program like
AYP, and why it
turns out to be a
success. When I
got accepted in the program I was very
happy and excited. What I didn’t realize
was that the hardest part still had to
come; waiting for a host family.
…..Hundreds of ‘what if’ questions came
up and all I could do was wait.”
“...and met my family for the first time
they were so friendly to me and took me
out for dinner right away. I had a great
time and I knew this year was going to
turn out great…..
The journey had
“Coming here was all changes. Change for me,
my family and my whole life. That’s the biggest
experience I will ever have.” Elena
just begun and
throughout the
year I’d learn a
lot about them and about myself. One of
the best moments was when they told me
after two weeks that they wanted to ‘keep’
me. They loved me as if I was one of their
“It’s really good to come here.
I’m having fun and met really
nice people here.” MinJae
“It’s awesome and the best
year of my life.” Anne
own and treated
me that way. What
they did for me
this year is priceless
and will stay with me for the rest of
my life. I never felt like I left my real family,
I just got a second one.”
Sam from Belgium

Calling all Host Families
and Students
This is the time of year when we are looking
for families to host a student for the next
school year. It is not an easy task but we
take it seriously and work hard to achieve
our goal which is that no student remains
unplaced. Students, remember when you
were waiting to hear about who your family
would be? They were possibly found
through a referral from another student.
Host families, remember when you received
that call asking if you would consider hosting
a student for the school year? Most
likely someone referred you to the person
who called you or you already knew the
person who called. That is how we find host
families. CHI doesn't advertise in newspapers
or magazines nor does it have a national
TV ad as some organizations do. We
place all of our students through word of
mouth. This is the best way to guarantee
that we get the best host families. Most of
you are a friend or relative of someone who
has hosted. Now we want to ask you to do
the same thing. There are over 100 students
on our website who are waiting for a home.
Please pass the word. As the new administrator
for some of you, I promise that all the
host families will be 100% supported. You
can call me at any time at 1-877-737-0409.
I have full apps on each student.
You can also view the unplaced students at
our website: http://64.226.135.98/chi/
Username: chocolate Password: doodles
Thanks for all you do!
REMEMBER! - WIN A TRIP!
For those of you new to hosting, each year
we give away trips valued up to $750. This
year CHI will be giving away 3 trips, one for
the Ventura County families and two for the
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County
families. We're changing it a bit this year.
To qualify, a family must be hosting the student
at the end of the school year. Host
families will have their name put in for each
semester they have hosted a student. If a
family has "taken over" a student within the
last semester, their name will be put in one
time. Families who hosted last year as well
will get an extra entry for each semester.
Each host family can have up to 4 entries if
they hosted both semesters this year and
both semesters last year. This is one of the
best parts of the job!
Good Luck!!!
YEARBOOKS WILL BE
SENT OUT AFTER
JUNE 1st

April 2003
10th - Katarina Bellovas’s 16th Bday
22nd - Emma G;uiliana’s 15th Bday
May 2003
5th - MinJae Tim’s 16th Bday
June: 2003
7th - Fabio Marinho’s 16th Bday
20th - Shkodran Zogai’s 16th Bday
29th - Homa Arabestani;s 16th Bday
July 2003
4th - Lara Portela-Bernal’s 18th Bday
24th - Naoyuki Nishiyama’s 17th Bday

Dorothy Whitefield
Cultural Homestay International
Things to Remember
• If you have not yet booked your
flight, DO IT NOW!!
• If you need a domestic ticket,
BUY IT NOW!
To view or download a colored version of
this Newsletter visit the C.H.I website and
then look under Central California.
www.chinet.org/connect/connect.html
May 26th
Farewell Party @ Avila Beach for
students in SB & SLO area.
June 1st:
Farewell Party @ Sycamore Canyon
State Beach for students in
Ventura County area.
Come and see who will
win the trip!
Details Inside