One year has ended and another begins. At such an interstitial time of year it seems dually appropriate both to recollect and to imagine, to leaf through the memories, looking back on what has been accomplished, while simultaneously looking at the days ahead and wondering what the coming year has in store for us.

In retrospect we have the student accomplishments, family bonds, academic achievements and friendships made in the past twelve months, and before us we have an exciting influx of new minds and personalities, new events and occasions, new surprises and expectations. I can only speculate what lies ahead, but if this upcoming year is to be anything like the one that has just come to a close we can all prepare to be continually amazed at what student exchange offers and what it produces when students and families are brought together.

 Though I am relatively new at ISE, your humble editor has seen some amazing sights in the past few months. I have seen students come to this country and flourish academically. I have seen young people who make their countries proud, and honor ours with their achievements. I have seen young people adapt, grow, learn, and become involved. And I have seen them leave, hearts a bit heavy, eyes a bit misty, knowing that they leave a bit of themselves here and that their families send a bit of themselves along.

 I have seen our Regional Coordinators, Managers and Representatives, who work around the clock to attend to our students, come together to share tips and stories, all of whom have said goodbye to at least one student with whom they will never lose contact. I have even seen their children working up the courage to say goodbye to their new brother or sister, knowing full well that they will meet again, but each unsure as when or how it will be.

 In our collective future I see the continuation of an ever reaching presence in the global community. I see students and teachers and parents and friends who understand the value of cultural and academic exchange and the present and future possibilities of one day reaching our goal of global understanding and world peace. I see people who refuse to sit idly by as others go hungry, or make war with one another, or refuse empathy.

 And through all this International Student Exchange believe we can make tomorrow a little bit better for the generations to come. Each great movement starts with a single idea, a small step, and a commitment. If you have hosted before, our global network thanks you. If you are interested, do not hesitate to contact us and find out how you can be a host family for a student that wishes to see America and everything our country has to offer. And if you are a student, the world is waiting to hear what you have to say.

 We at ISE wish everyone a safe, happy,and healthy New Year, all the best to your families, friends and students, and hope for a better future through global unity.

In a touching farewell to his host family and friends, Brazilian exchange student, Jose Baiao, admitted that while adapting and adjusting to his life in America was by no means easy, it was an experience he says he will never forget.

Jose’s story is somewhat atypical in the sense that he came for a short stay and managed to take away so much. Despite the shortened time frame of the five-month program he entered, Jose made friends everywhere he went and tried hard to absorb the country around him.  When asked to describe his time here, he replied “In the beginning of my placement…it was not all that I was expecting it to be. Small town, five months without soccer…but five months later I really wish that I could stay.”

We always say that students who find a niche, who carve out a little nook for themselves within the community they are placed are the ones who have most success. In order to really become immersed in the program a student has to find ways to apply their skills and cultural understanding to the American way of life, and then they come to fully realize what the country and what ISE have to offer. Though he had to give up soccer, Jose took up football and adopted the hobbies of his fellow classmates and athletes, and his academic and athletic success have provided him with a host of memories to take back home: “I will never forget the…football games. I will never forget all the jokes. I will never forget Mtn. Dew! I will never forget anything. And…one day I will come back, and you guys better be here to see me.”

 Jose’s host family described him as a “model student” and they are sorry to see him go, but we know that when Jose finally boards his plane and waves goodbye, that it will not be the last time we see him. ISE wishes José and the rest of the returning students a safe trip and happy holidays. We cannot wait to see you again! Bon voyage!

International Student Exchange would like to extend a thank you and congratulations to Sampsa Isahatala and Luis Trinidade from the South West region for their success on the Panthers football team at Yellville Summit High school in Arkansas.  Both students have received a praiseworthy mention for their performance on the football team this year, honoring their coaches, host families, natural families, and of course International Student Exchange with their achievements. Sampsa was awarded 1^st Team All-Conference, and Luis was awarded 2^nd Team All-Conference, both high regards for any student athlete, but somewhat more notable in this case as neither student has ever played American football before coming to the United States.

To Sampsa and Luis, ISE salutes and congratulates your achievement, and we wish you a successful and happy remainder of the year with your host family and school.

When asked “what was the most rewarding aspect of the exchange program?”the majority of host parents will say “the memories,” or “making new friends.” For these fortunate volunteers, the hosting experience was a footbridge to broader and greater experiences, an occasion that enriched their lives while providing an opportunity for educational and cultural exposure to the students they hosted.

It is also popular to hear a host say “I decided to host not really knowing what to expect, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.” I many cases, their student becomes a part of the family, and after a few months they become so inextricably intertwined in the family’s day-to-day life that the family cannot foresee having to say goodbye at the end of the program.

These instances are not rare, and neither are they overlooked; they are the kinds of relationships we like to hear about at International Student Exchange, and thanks to Susan Cheng of Texas, and her students, Helene and Emilie, we have another to add to what has become a long and brilliant list.

Susan was nice enough to share with us a letter written by one of her students, and a story about a special gift that will ensure she never forgets what hosting a student has done for her and for her family. Please take a moment to read Helene's letter, in which she thanks Mrs. Cheng for the the year they spent together:

“Miss Emilie arrived with a handmade recipe booklet with decorated cardboard covers and giant rings to hold the pages. She had converted all of her favorite Norwegian recipes to cups and teaspoons…from the metric so that I could enjoy making (or she could make for me) some of her favorite foods.”

We at ISE would like to say thank you to Susan, Helene, and Emilie for sharing their story with all of us. We wish all of you out there reading, hosting, and living a happy and healthy holiday.

Homecoming festivities are a time honored tradition in America, dating back to college celebrations in the late 1800s in which students and faculty welcomed back returning alumni. The week long revelry generally included dances, rallies, picnics, and football games during which school teams would face off against their athletic and academic rivals.

Today these celebrations take place all over America, but there may be some districts hard pressed to find a region that does it with the gusto and fervor shown in the Northwest. In states like Washington and Oregon, homecoming is the event of the year for students and citizens. Parades, games, dances, and all manner of festivities take place the whole week long, and at the end the King and Queen chosen by the student body will stand preeminently with their classmates and neighbors to celebrate another year and the return of their local heroes.

In Ephrata, Washington, for example, homecoming includes a week of rallies, themed dress up days, dances, and games in which students and teachers compete against one another for various prizes. This year was especially notable, as Ephrata took home their first football victory in several years against their longstanding rivals.

In the Northwest region as a whole, nine exchange students were named king and queen of homecoming at their respective high schools, and the exchange students had a chance to meet neighbors and former alumni from all over the country.

We at ISE wish the Northwest region and all regions across the U.S. a successful and productive year, and congratulate Ephrata on their recent victory.

My best experience since I’ve been in the United States was when it snowed last weekend. All the exchange students from my area were at a Halloween party playing games outside when it started. I had never seen snow before, and watching fall was a surprise I will not ever forget. 

After the party all the exchange students came to my host family’s house to a sleep over and we played a lot of games and had a lot of fun. We watched the snow pile up outside and after a while decided we had to get a closer look.

When there was a lot of snow outside, I went with my friend to take pictures and she fell into a snow bank. It was so funny! I loved my first contact with the snow!

In the morning I made a snow man with my host family and some of the exchange students. I loved this experience and I cannot wait until the next snow storm.

Carolina Telles Matos

Brazil

There are those who believe that the American sense of family, the community that exists between, among, and within families in his country, has become a thing of the past. It seems rare that people discuss or even mention the inherent complexity and importance of the American family dynamic and its effect on the cultural image we project in the global community. Long gone are the days of the Cleaver Family, Good Housekeeping, and Betty Crocker images Americans are so famous for producing, but what has not changed is the core idealism: We are a nation of families, and those families form the bonds that hold the nation together. What our families do, who are families are, and what our families strive for, the ambition and the sacrifice, the mutability of the modern family, and its capability to adapt to ever shifting cultural change is the reason we can continue, despite political disorder, economic uncertainty, and civil unrest, to coexists and move forward as a nation.

There are those who would argue that a high divorce rate and a dwindling marriage rate would indicate the contrary, but all these statistics mean is that we are augmenting the way we interpret the idea of family. We are collectively broadening our understanding of what familial bonds mean and how they function, and we are looking toward the future with a greater understanding for what the American family dynamic may come to be. Change is the engine of our social constitution, and the American Family, along with the American Ideal, the American Dream, and the American People, will evolve as a whole.

You may ask, “What does this have to do with student exchange?” In a word: Everything. Families and students are fundamental elements of the exchange program. Without our host families our students would have no means to experience the U.S., and without the academic and edifying interests of the students there would be no cultural exchange program.

As a cultural exchange program, we expect our students and families to share in one another’s traditions and customs. Students come to study in American schools, meet other American students, and become a part of the American family. The importance of “integration” is paramount, because the most successful pairings are the ones where the student comes to meet the host family and the student is seamlessly inducted as a member. But it matters just as much that the students bring their customs and values with them to the U.S., and that the host family reaches toward understanding, sharing who the student is and what he or she has learned both within the family and outwardly in their community.

These iconic exchange moments, while magnanimous and significant in scope and effect, often take place amidst what most Americans would consider ordinary events. It is the sharing of food, the discussion of differences in customs and traditions, the immersion in pop culture and cinema, or the experience of setting foot in an American city. In these everyday moments Americans and foreign exchange students are forging a path towards global enlightenment and understanding; they are, very simply and nobly, exchanging ideas and participating in the one and only kind of merger that is ever going to unify this planet.

For these reasons and others the students and families of the North Central region deserve a little recognition for carrying the torch that much further with their community pot luck dinner. Whether they realize it or not, each and every person in attendance is taking part in something bigger and greater than just a meal, though it is the food and promise of a good laugh or a conversation that draws people to the event in the first place. Students from all over the globe and families from all over the region met together, some of them for the first time, and shared in a simple dinner, the end result of which was another small (albeit essential) step forward towards the achievement of a unified global community.

The smiling faces and hungry eyes are enough recognition of the importance of this culinary cultural exchange, but the memories these people will take home with them, the experiences the students will take back overseas, and the bonds they will form that outlast the best of meals are what matters to our organization and to our families. Thank you to North Central for giving these students and families the chance to become active purveyors of the exchange ideal, and for all the people who made this night possible.

The students of International Student Exchange and their Area Representative (Nancy Jo Wilson) put together a Pumpkin Painting Event for the children of Clifton-Clyde Area on Oct. 15, 2011. Youngsters who attended the event were invited to paint pumpkins, make ghosts, have their faces painted, play games and meet exchange students from all over the world.

20 foreign exchange students have been placed around North Central Kansas this year, and 17 of them were able to come and attend the event with the children.Thanks to generous donations from several local organizations including The Clifton American Legion who donated the Legion Hall; Sutton Family Farms from Norway, Kansas who donated the pumpkins; and Wal-Mart Super Center of Concordia, Kansas who donated a gift card to help purchase materials, the students and local children all had a chance to take part in the cultural exchange experience and spend an afternoon of fun with peers. Other donors for the event included SSC Trucking Inc. of Miltonvale, Kansas; Galen Haas; Sandy Schwab; Eva Schwab; Trisity Pope; Ashley Crowl; Sharon Hartman; and Leah Schwab.

As part of the ISE exchange program, students who participated at this event were able to log hours for ISE’s Project H.E.L.P, a community service component required of all students hosted here in the U.S. Host families of the students also volunteered to help make the day fun and eventful, lending their help and support to the students they sponsor.

The children and their family members who attended were able to meet students representing the countries of Vietnam, Thailand, Slovakia, China, Taiwan, Brazil, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Ecuador, Venezuela, Spain, Germany and Turkey. Thank you for all those that donated to help make this event possible, and thank you to Clifton-Clyde High School for giving our students a chance to study and learn in the United States.

International exchange students from the Great Lakes region volunteered their services last Saturday at the Northern Illinois Food Bank, collecting, boxing, and shipping food to food pantries and distribution centers all over the northern Illinois area. Tammy Hughes, the Regional Director of Great Lakes, stated that helping out at the NIFB, a collection center which helps over 500,000 hungry people in 13 counties annually in northern Illinois, is something she encourages her students to do on a monthly basis. "We do this all year long,” said Hughes.

Community service is a large part of the ISE program. Students who come to America under ISE sponsorship are expected to log at least five hours of community service while in the U.S., but these students have gone above and beyond, volunteering as often as two Saturdays a month for the duration of their program (anywhere from five months to a full year). ISE proudly salutes their efforts and the efforts of all those who make this program and its benefits possible. Below are several photos of the exchange students hard at work

International Student Exchange would like to congraulate Chinese exchange student, Tianhua Yang, for winning first prize in the Gesso Italiano (Italian Chalk) Competiton for his rendition of "Michaelangelo's Bust of David With Butterflies." The 2011 competition drew over 180 artists from all over the country, including many students from San Diego and surrounding cities. Winning in the division for "Best Educational Team," Yang not only took home the satisfaction of a job well done, but a small cash prize as well. Below are photos of his stunningly vivid portrait.