Volunteering ConnectsUs to Our CommunityWe all do our best to adjust to our host

community. That’s why I’d like to share withyou the experience that made me feel like acitizen of my host town.In October, I took part in the CROP

Hunger Walk. A huge number of people allover the world suffer from hunger. They livein places where there is no access to food andgetting it requires a great effort everyday.The goal of CROP Walk is to raise funds toend hunger around the world. We walkedfour miles together and acted as one family.As a result, our community raised $4,800.I advise students not to be passive. Taking

action, volunteering and helping othersmakes you feel a part of your Americancommunity!

Yuliya Vavryshchuk (Ukraine)Hosted by the Wycoff family

Mount Vernon, IA

IN THIS ISSUEHalloween Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

What an Education . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Zeroing in on Local Life . . . . . . .6

Connecting the World . . . . . . . . . .7

Share Your America . . . . . . . . . . .8

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November 2011Vol. XVII, No. 1

Tapped to Translate RussianUkrainian FLEX student Alexander Shatskovsaid he had a wonderful and importantexperience serving as a translator for a Russiandelegation who visited Maine. Alexander, onthe right, is pictured with his host father, MarkFisher, and Maine Governor Paul LePage.

Bridging the Divides ofReligion and Culture

I am interested in learning aboutdifferent cultures, different people and newthings. This exchange program helps me toachieve my goal. I have been to churchesseveral times. Churches are totally differentfrom our mosques. We do not have music

and dance in ourmosques, but inchurches, manyservices do. I wassurprised to see that.When I went to a

church for the firsttime, I introducedmyself to theminister, and Iasked the minister

to let me speak a little bit to the people.Fortunately, I got this chance. I talked aboutmy culture, Islam, and how we cancontribute to bring nations and people closertogether, as well as to remove the mis-understandings we have among differentreligions. With a rise in humanity, love andpeace, this world can become a better placeto live.

Syed Ali Larosh Zaid (Pakistan)Hosted by the Minch family

Inwood, WV

AHike for HumanityA group of fifteen PAX students from southern Vermont and New Hampshire enjoyed aglorious fall hike upMountWantastiquet in early October. In addition to the fun and exercise,the hike was a fundraiser for the Morningside Homeless Shelter. Seated: Grace Willingham,Emma Reuter, Romain Geremi (Belgium), Tom Schuenemann (Germany), Miikka Sipila(Finland), Enrique Uscanga (Mexico), Hassan Obeidat (Jordan), PAX Area Manager forVermont Ann Newsmith. Standing: Mfutila Nsoky (Belgium), Janne Yang (China), SarahTayeb (Belgium), Henry Herold, Chanick Somsupan (Thailand), Beatrice Bompani (Italy)and Soeren Siemens (Germany).

PAX Students Found Instituteto Enhance Chinese -American FriendshipsZi Wang and I are using our enthusiasm

and knowledge of our homeland to enhancethe friendship between China and the USAby founding the American Interstate ChineseCultural & Educational Association.We are making textbooks to teach

American students about Chinese culture andlanguage. Some of the lesson subjects arefood, festivals, music, the educationalsystem, Mandarin and Cantonese. We willprovide opportunities for U.S. students tohave online communication with students inChina. This will help American studentspractice oral Chinese.To start, there are two chapters. One is at

my school, Urbana High School in Ohio, andthe other is at Zi’s school, Chatfield SeniorHigh in Colorado. There will be quizcompetitions between the two chapters.We are also working on a financial aid

program to cover the cost of the final examwinner’s visit China.

Yidong Hou (China)Hosted by the Mowrey family

Urbana, OH

Gunay Karimova (Azerbaijan), HalimaChambo (Tanzania) and Yuliya Vavryshchuk(Ukraine) at the CROPWalk.

Rubicon Photo

The Power of a SmileOne of the first things I noticed here is the

fact that people smile at you immediatelywhen you make eye contact with them. It isso amazing for me to smile back. It is verypolite to do that, I admit.Another interesting observation is that

Americans are eager to learn more aboutforeign people. I came to this conclusionwhen I had to answer a series of questionsfrom my host parents, classmates and otherpeople in my community. The most commonquestion is whether I speak more than onelanguage. Most people in the United Statesspeak only one language and they find itinteresting to listen to someone saysomething in a foreign language. SometimesI feel embarrassed when I am asked to saysomething in my "native tongue" or inFrench. But it turns out to be just fun.

Evangeline Safeh (Cameroon)Hosted by the Gohl family

Bossier City, LA

AutumnTraditionsIn eastern Iowa,Ama Owusu-Darko(Ghana), GladhysSyahutari (Indone-sia), Ilaria Cerutti(Italy) and NursofiaSideh (Thailand)geared up forHalloween with avisit to a pumpkinpatch and a cornmaze.

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PAX–Program of Academic Exchangeis a not-for-profit educationalfoundation. Established in 1990, PAXsponsors international high schoolstudents from over 40 nations on fiveand ten month academic homestayprograms.For more information, contact:PAX–Program of Academic Exchange

14 Willett AvenuePort Chester, NY 10573

tel (800) 555-6211www.PAX.org

Thank you for submitting letters to PAXPress. Because of space limitations,however, we are unable to print eachletter in its entirety.

PAX Press is printed on recycled

paper with soy based ink.

Stronger and Braverin North CarolinaI found myself growing up after I arrived

in America. I began to think about other’sfeelings, not only my own. When I havedifficulties, I try my best to solve them bymyself instead of asking for help. I’vebecome a stronger person, which helps meface the future bravely.My host family is very nice and warm-

hearted. My host mom wrote emails to myteachers, and she drove me to the mall manytimes to buy clothes since I didn’t bringmany from China.The school here is physically larger than

my Chinese high school but has fewerstudents. We only have seven minutesbetween every block to move from onebuilding to another. In China, we have ten-minute breaks, and the students do not moveclassrooms. Here, I have eight subjects a year(four each term). We can choose the courseswe like. In the first week if we don't like acourse, we can talk to our counselor andchange it. This is awesome and it doesn’thappen in China!

Bingwen Ren (China)Hosted by the Bott family

Charlotte, NC

Greetings from UtahStudents and families from Washington County, Utah spent the day reveling in the astoundingbeauty of Bryce Canyon National Park: Coordinator Laurel Paul, Johan Pekkari (Sweden),Iliana Ceballos (Argentina), Leyre Perez (Spain), Miquel Vilardell Rifa (Spain), Ines ClarosCendoya (Spain), Madiyar Dartayev (Kazakhstan), Aleksandra Shalimova (Kazakhstan), NataliaCojuhari (Moldova), Rodrigo Amado (Brazil) and the Nelson, Hinton and Frieden host families.

One Word: AwesomeSince I came to the U.S., I’ve experienced

a lot of fun things. While I’ve gone to a lot ofparties, activities and clubs, the mostinteresting experience for me is volunteeringfor "Arts in the Park", where people set uptents and sell their art. As a volunteer, my jobis to sell the raffle tickets. I’ve made a lot offriends there and at school where I joined theInteract Club, choir and FBLA. I’ve becomea volunteer at the hospital and the middleschool. I went to the homecoming as a princecandidate!I have a wonderful host family who has

taught me so much since I came to America.They’ve taken me to Las Vegas andHenderson. We go to the movies every week.They make me feel really great.That's my life. In one word, it is

awesome!Yao Xin (China)

Hosted by the Pearce familyBoulder City, NV

Learning the RopesAt the Frontier Ranch in Colorado, FaryalHasan participated in a weekend ropes course.The Pakistani YES student reflects, “Throughtears and hugs, everyone shared and foughttheir deepest fears.”

Men in BlackIn Oak Harbor, Washington, Ken Grisbysnapped this shot of his host sons, ArnaudValdes Gonzalez of Belgium and FrancescoBernardelli of Italy, before their prom.

Yao Xin (China) with his fellow volunteers.

Few Similarities with Kyrgyzstan

Sporting their creations are sibs Nicholas andMariah withYES student Lidya Sophiani.

Groovy TimesBefore school started, my host sister,

Mariah, had a 15th birthday party where wemade tie-dye shirts. She taught me how to tiethe shirt to create different patterns and tomix the colors. Then we let the shirts dry foreight hours. I never thought making a tie-dyeshirt would be so fun and interesting! I nowhave five tie-dye shirts that I made myself!

Lidya Sophiani (Indonesia)Hosted by the Quintero family

Round Hill, VA

I appreciate my new school, my teachersand my American classmates! I am finding“few” similarities with my native country.For example, the students are so free duringthe lessons, whereas students in my countrystand up when a teacher enters a classroomor asks a question.There are so many things that put me in a

positive mood here, such as when Americanssmile or wave at me! I also enjoy schoollunchtime, going on a school bus and beingon the cross-country team. Honestly, it is not

that easy, but I'm getting a lot of pleasurefrom the cross-country meets where peoplesupport and shout for you!Yes, I love my host family. My two host

siblings are thrilled to play with me. My hostparents are really approachable and so muchfun. Just today they helped me with my hairand make-up for my senior picture at school.

Nuska Osmonova (Kyrgyzstan)Hosted by the Gonzalez family

Berryville, VA

One of the World’s Great Natural WondersLeyre Perez (Spain) and her hosts, the Nelson family of Enterprise, Utah, spent the weekendhiking in the Grand Canyon.

My Second HomeNow that I’ve been here for two months, I

can tell everybody that this is an incredibleexperience. With my host mom, I amlearning lots of new things and meetingmany fabulous friends. I feel that this is mysecond home.

Costanza Riva (Italy)Hosted by the Baghal family

Leavenworth, KS

What is Love?

Love is a sweet songSung by dying swans.Angels of heavenFighting for dreamsThey cannot save.

Far is so nearWhen youʼre hereMany deaths tonight

Cannot save our sweet love.

Juho Uitto (Finland)Hosted by the Walters family

Troy, OH

Spurred to ActionIt seems like everything is bigger than in

Thailand. There is open thinking here. Itmakes me feel more comfortable. I’ve donenew things here such as volunteering, KeyClub and soccer. Some things are difficult todeal with, but it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try,but it means I should try harder.

Sawasdee Charoenchang (Thailand)Hosted by the Bertuat-Strange family

Purcellville, VA

Let Me Give You a HandIn Guilford, Vermont, Vanessa Corvi joinedsome neighbors in a “barn-raising” to build astudio. She is shown planing a joist. TheBurrell family is hosting the Italian student.

The Last Days of SummerTaking a break from the Utah sun during apool party are Sanne de Kleijn (Netherlands),James Tangkitsanguan (Thailand), JohanPekkari (Sweden), Yok Tasawat (Thailand) andMegan Yost (Sanne's host sister).

Make a WishIn Mississippi, the Lukas family surprisedtheir student, Viencent Bussens (Belgium), witha birthday cake.

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Fear FactorOne of my cross-country friends invited

our team to her house for a spaghetti dinner.Then we decided to go to a horror maze.While we were waiting to enter, someonetouched my shoulder. When I turned back, Isaw a haunted man. I got scared andscreamed. It was so much fun.When it was our turn to enter, the

instructor told us not to use any kind of lightin the maze and told us that it would be dark.It was scary in the maze. We had to passthrough different kinds of horror scenes.There were haunted people all over, and wehad to go through a haunted bus. We got lostin the bus as it was so dark. Then a hauntedman took off his mask and helped us. Thehorror lasted only for 45 minutes, and thenwe found our way out of the maze. It wasgreat fun for the fall season.

Mah Noor Malik (Pakistan)Hosted by the Carroll family

Bunker Hill, WV

Scored the Perfect PumpkinSince Halloween is not celebrated in Brazil,Fernanda Bernardes, right, savored everyminute of the holiday. The Casillas host her inEl Paso, Texas.

Who’s Spooked?I enjoyed October because of Halloween.

We carved pumpkin faces by first cutting offthe top part of the pumpkin and then takingout the seeds inside. I carved a ghost face andput a vanilla candle inside the pumpkin.One night, I went to a haunted house. It

looked like an old factory and was creepywith scrap metal and vines on the walls.When I went inside, there were a lot ofpeople dressed like zombies, mummies,Frankensteins, Draculas, etc. They tried toscare people by screaming in front of theirfaces, laughing like ghosts, crying, andmaking scary and loud voices. One of thekeepers asked me if I got scared. I answered,“No, it is not scary at all,” and he laughed.

Erlia Putri Imansari (Indonesia)Hosted by the Harvey family

Trussville, AL

The Buzz on Halloween“Pirates, vampires, walking M&M's. I really didn't expect it would be so hard to choose acostume!” Natalia Cojuhari exclaims. The bumblebee outfit won. The Mendenhall familyhosts the Moldovan FLEX student in St. George, Utah.

Halloween HillbilliesIn St. Augustine, Florida, German RamonaBosek is having the time of her life betweenexperiencing new holidays and new foods suchas jellyfish and squid. She is pictured secondfrom the left with her host family, the Fortneys.Her host mother says, “She just goes with theflow and fits right into our family. We just loveher!”

A Trick for a TreatIn a traditional Halloween game,Jongwook Kim tries his best to catch adonut dangling on a ribbon. The Barronfamily hosts the South Korean student inSaltillo, Mississippi.

Time for Jack O’LanternsIn Missouri, FLEX student Ekaterina Shanina(Russia) and Paola Bonini (Italy) took homepumpkins from their farm outing with theInternational Club.

An Angel TurnedVampire QueenBecause we don’t have Halloween in

China, this was my first experience with it.The Wednesday before, my mom, sister and Iwent to find a costume. We found a supercool fallen angel costume in a supermarket.There were two, a medium and a large. Mymom said that with the medium one Icouldn’t put any clothing under it, whichmeant I would be super cold on Halloween.Where I live in America, it is much colderthan my home in China, so keeping warm isa problem. There was a girl looking at thelarge dress, too, and she took it before wedecided to buy it. So we came back homefour hours later without a dress.On Thursday, we kept up our search. We

found one really quickly. It was a vampirequeen dress, which was really big and pretty.It was long and would keep me warm.

Fangzhou Zhu (China)Hosted by the Herring family

Shelbyville, MI

Masquerade MadnessAt a Halloween party I hosted for my

students and their host families, everyonehad an awesome time playing games, whichhelped them get to know each other. In onegame, each guest wrote three statementsabout themselves - two true, one false. Whenthe card was read, the group had to guesswhich one was not true. They also had a greattime in a game where they wrote an unusualstatement about themselves. The cards weredrawn and read, while the rest of the grouphad to guess who that person was!We had some amazing costumes in our

group, from funeral directors and NavySeals, to plane crash survivors and sharkencounters! Pizza, nachos, candied appleswere served and the night was closed out byroasting marshmallows.

Susan James, Community CoordinatorSt. Augustine, FL

Watch Out for TwilightIn Florida, the Magnells pose with theirvampire son, Xabier Garcia of Spain.

Call Me CleopatraIt was my first Halloween ever. I dressed

up like Cleopatra since I like Egyptiandresses. I wore my costume to school, and Iwent trick or treating with my host sister. Iwish that I could celebrate Halloween in mycountry, too.

Fatima Yamin (Pakistan)Hosted by the Barrick family

Martinsburg, WV

Ghost BustersCoordinator Shari Osterude said her studentsweren’t afraid to venture into St. Paul,Minnesota’s famous haunted caves wherebootleggers and gangsters once lived.Pictured are Laura Brase (France), YunerShau (China), Napassorn Ayudhya (Thailand),Alberto Brioschi (Italy), Wonjoon Kim (SouthKorea), Simone Scarafoni (Italy), Masa Drazic(Serbia) and Davide Ghersevich (Italy).

A Rollicking GatheringAt their Halloween bash, Indiana PAX students went from a pumpkin carving contest to a hayrideand then topped off the night with a bonfire, hotdogs and s’mores. Students: You can win prizes

for your environment-savingprojects! Get information aboutthe PAX Goes GREEN contest onthe “Whatʼs New” page of thewebsite www.pax.org. Donʼtdelay! The first round of projectentries is due January 30, 2012.

Reduce, Reuse& RecycleAt the Austin, Minnesota Re-Fest, theseFLEX and YES students taught festivalgoers how to reduce their garbagefootprint: Kseniya Kuryanova (Russia),Katya Zhuzha (Ukraine) AnnaRukavishikova (Turkmenistan) andLintang Syuhada (Indonesia).

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Making Commitments, Making Friends“As a PAX student, my first goal is to communicate with other students,” says Yasha Laila Ali,a Pakistani YES student living with the Whittaker family in Westerville, Ohio. To get to knowher classmates, Yasha (third from the left) joined clubs and did volunteer work. After twoweeks in the Key Club, she was selected as their Junior Representative!

Confusing at FirstCIVA Charter High School is a wonderful

school. People are so friendly and alwayssmiling. It’s not a very big school, soeverybody knows each other.American school is very different from

Malian school. Here we can choose ourcourses, but in my country everybody mustdo the same thing. We don’t have lockers, soit was very hard for me to learn to open mine.In Mali, the students stay in the sameclassroom and only the teachers move. Atfirst, I was always late because I was tryingto find the classrooms.Most exciting to me are the bowling club

and the dance class, which we don’t have inmy country.American schools give so much

opportunity and power to students to do whatthey want and to help them for their futurecareer.

Kadidia Samassékou (Mali)Hosted by the Pearson family

Peyton, CO

ATribute to PAX’s MaryPayne Hairald for HerExtraordinaryAchievementsLongtime Mississippi PAX Coordinator

Mary Payne Hairald received a thunderingapplause at the Nettleton High School(NHS) Homecoming game for her work onbehalf of thousands of students. At halftime, it was announced:

The Nettleton School Board has named afacility on the Nettleton School Campus inhonor of a past educator whose outstandingcontributions to the Nettleton School District wewould like to recognize tonight. The NettletonSchool District is honored to announce that theNettleton High STEM Lab is now known as"The Mary Payne Hairald Vocational Lab."Mrs.Hairald taught in the public school system for 49

years with 46 of those being at Nettleton whereshe attended and graduated as valedictorian ofher class with 12 years of perfect attendance. Inl997, Mrs. Hairald was named the NationalVocational Teacher of the Year before 10,000attendees in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her many honorsand awards have been so extensive, but just toname a few include three times RegionalVocational Teacher of the Year (seven states),four times Mississippi Vocational Teacher of theYear, four times Mississippi DECA Advisor ofthe Year, three times Outstanding MississippiDECA Alumni Member of the Year, HonoraryMember of Mississippi DECA, HonoraryMember of Mississippi DECA Alumni,Honorary Member of DECA Foundation, fourconsecutive years of receiving the NationalAward for the State DECA Newsletter, StateOfficers Advisor for six years, and advisor of 18State DECA Officers from the NHS DECAChapter.

Congratulations Mary!

Guitar HeroEyerusalem Kifle (Ethiopia) found her rhythmin California. The Day-Brook family hosts herin San Luis Obispo.

Host sister Melissa Hins and Laura Paino(Spain) do the Sabercat snarl.

Showing Sabercat SpiritSchool spirit is something every school

should have. I never realized that until I sawit here. Every movie and T.V. series usuallyshows cheerleaders, bands or some kind ofspirit. I wondered, is it real?In Spain, as I’m sure in other countries,

we don’t have these activities. I have neverseen pompom girls or a mascot dancing.Here I did. It is fun to see which pajamaspeople wear on Pajama Day and how manypeople wear a pink shirt for the fight againstbreast cancer. It’s a way to have fun atschool.

Laura Paino (Spain)Hosted by the Hins family

Moore, OK

Homecoming in VegasAs PAX students at the same school in LasVegas, Nevada, Peilun Shi (China) and MartaCastello (Italy) were natural dates for theHomecoming Dance. Marta reported, “Thiswas my first semi-formal dance. I had a lot offun shopping for my dress and shoes with myfamily. James and I were a little nervous, butonce there, we had a great time! We danced forthree hours straight!” James expected slow,“gentle” music and was surprised to findeveryone dancing in a pretty “wild way!”

More Than ClassesThe most exciting thing at my school was

Homecoming. It was my first time to go to aball. When I saw that guys and girls wore fulldress, I was shocked. How pretty they were!Most of them looked like movie stars orprinces and princesses.I take part in some interesting clubs. The

ICE Club helps students share their culturewith Americans. For example, we saw thefilm Hua Mulan in Chinese.MESA Club is a science club. We will do

the Science Olympiad next year as a group.From working with others on one project, Iunderstand cooperation better and haveimproved my English.Operation Smile helps children with

harelips by raising money. The presidentshowed us photos and a video about herexperience in foreign countries with thesekids. This activity helps me feel theresponsibility American students feel. Irealize that even small efforts can change theworld.

Feiyu Lu (China)Hosted by the Miller family

Albuquerque, NM

What are the Odds?In San Luis Obispo, California, CoordinatorJan Walters couldn’t believe it when she sawtwo college-bound PAX alums from Serbiadisembarking the plane with these Class of2012 PAX students: Ethiopian EyerusalemKifle, Spaniard Ainhoa Ruiz, and ThaisChayanee Wongwatcharanon, ChutapatSuwansatiean and Jaranawan Kongchantuk.Once again, the phrase “it’s a small world”rings true!

YES student Kadidia is in the center.

The Magic FluteOur Andrea performed in the district

audition and came in 2nd place out of 15flutists! She will go on to represent GreenMountain Union High School at the DistrictFestival Concert.Andrea auditioned with minimal study

time. She received her music piece on aThursday and auditioned the followingMonday. We are all so proud of herachievement and can’t wait for the districtconcert.She is also in the high school band along

with my daughter, Sasha, and many othergifted children. They will be performing theannual Christmas concert, as well as asummer concert. These concerts are a greatjoy as the music program at Green Mountainis outstanding.

James Petrycki, host father forAndrea Anderez (Spain)

Proctorsville, VT

Serbian Athlete HelpsHis Team DominateMichigan’s Huron High School water poloteam, the River Rats, couldn’t believe theirluck when teammate Kyp Papageorgioubrought his host brother, AleksandarPetrovic, to the tryouts. The Serbian studentis a standout water polo player.AnnArbor.com describes him as having “astaggering combination of size, speed, powerand finesse.”

School is CoolI’ve made a lot of friends and developed

a great understanding with my teachers. Themain thing that was hard for me was thetardy system because we don't have thatsystem in our schools. I have great fun in myalgebra class and robotics class because theteachers are awesome and most of thestudents are my friends.

Muhammad Usman Ghani (Pakistan)Hosted by the Fetter family

Cedar Rapids, IA

Novice Runner is Oneof West Virginia’s BestRunning was very hard at the beginning,

because in Ukraine I did sport orienteering,which is very different. I tried to improve myresults at every cross-country practice. Ifinally found myself listed as one of the “top50 runners” for the West Virginia State 5k(out of 836). It is funny to see a weirdEastern European last name among theAmerican names in the rankings listed in thetri-state area newspaper, The Journal.We have a great team. For the first time in

the history of my school, we got second placein the regional championship, and we’regoing to the state championship!I love West Virginia and my host family!

In my first two weeks, I traveled to ninestates with them. I also experienced anearthquake and a hurricane. I’m not boredhere!

Denys Andrushchenko (Ukraine)Hosted by the Minch family

Inwood, WV

Seizing OpportunitiesI like Steele High School very much. I’m

on the Pep Squad which performs at footballgames. Our team won the state championshiplast year, so football is very popular. It’sexciting to dance on the field.In theatre arts we are rehearsing the play

Metamorphosis for a festival in Houston. It ismy favorite course because the students arecheerful, funny and helpful. After school wework on the play Willy Wonka and theChocolate Factory.Last week we had Open Mic Night. I sang

a popular Russian song from a famouscartoon. The next day, lots of students andteachers said it was wonderful to hear theRussian song.I also enjoy playing tennis. Matches are

new for me. With the Key Club, I servedfood to the poor at the San Antonio FoodBank. It was great to hear their thanks.

Maria Gladysheva (Russia)Hosted by the Weekes family

Cibolo, TX

Signing My WayMy school’s American Sign Language

group invited me to go with them to a nearbycorn maze. Since it was an ASL group, theywere told not to speak but use signs tocommunicate. I had never seen a corn maze.It was really confusing. It took almost twohours. I had loads of fun! I even learned tosign the alphabet!

Karan Shah (India)Hosted by the Menefee family

Alden, KS

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Butterfly or BustWhen I came here I decided to do sports

to keep fit. My host sister was on the swimteam so I joined it, too. I came to the firstpractice, and I was really scared. All the girlswere perfect swimmers, but I had never doneit before! I looked at the coach, who is strictbut nice, and she told me to jump in thewater. I jumped in and showed her how Iswam. She said I was good for a beginner.That made me feel more confident. After thepractice was over, I felt exhausted but happy!After more than a month, I realize how

much I get from this experience. I havewonderful friends who help me in difficultmoments, who make my life here so brightand unforgettable, and who understand myfeelings. Because of the swim team, I feel athome here.Moreover, now I have an aim! I want to

learn how to swim butterfly. When I watchmy friends "flying" in the water, it inspiresme so much. I am sure that one day I will beable to do it -- to fly like a butterfly.

Anastasia Burakova (Russia)Hosted by the Livingstone family

San Antonio, TX

A Passion for ClayI am taking a wonderful class called

ceramics. In class, I make beautiful things:pots, a set of cups, pinch pots and all kinds ofitems. My ceramics teacher, Liz Denoirde, ismy favorite teacher. She is a great potter andpainter. She lets me take the clay home andhelps me with many things. Today she sentme to teach a class about how to make bowlsfor a charity.Everything here is great. Vermont is

beautiful. It is snowing now and I am soexcited. It is really cold. I love it here!

Hin Akil Haidar (Lebanon)Hosted by the Kinney-Landis family

Guilford, VT

Soccer: Going All OutRecently I joined the school soccer team.

While I was training, I couldn't help but noticethe difference between American andUkrainian school soccer.

American sports are much better organized.Team spirit is very high. We listen to theAmerican anthem before every game.We travelto every game by school bus. Parents come tothe games and support their teams. Americanschools also have their own colors. My teamcolors are red, blue and white. When it comesto the day of the game, we wear our socceruniforms to school. At the end of the season,the players present flowers to their parents. I'mreally glad that I joined the soccer team andgained these new experiences.

Alexander Shatskov (Ukraine)Hosted by the Fisher family

Oakland, ME

Bravo to FLEX student Alexander Shatskov for hiscritical role in the state semifinal game win againstthe defending state champions.

What an Education!

Couches in Class?Here, the teachers have their own

classrooms that they can decorate and putfurniture inside. In my American history class,my teacher has a couch!

There are a lot of people in my school andthe teachers have to separate us into fourperiods for lunch. When the bell rings, thehallways are always crowded.

Also, we don’t study many subjects. Weonly have to learn English, American history,science and math, and then you can choosewhatever you want for other subjects. Myschool has many options for dancing, singingand acting. You can mix those all together anddo a musical.

Blanca Barajas (Spain)Hosted by the Rennhack family

Parrish, FL

Bend it Like LeonGerman Leon Gatzemeier says the best thing about playing soccer was making friends. Notsurprisingly, he said the worst thing was practicing in the desert heat of Las Vegas, Nevada. Hethanks his hosts, the Hernandez family, for being staunch supporters at his games.

Spaniard Blanca Barajas, on left.

A Lesson a DaySchool here is different from school in my

country, but this is a valuable lesson. I followthe classes very well. In my opinion, Americanschool is fun and not boring. I am in the choirand the band here, and I marched in the paradeat school. I have plans to join a wrestling club.Speaking English every day is very useful forimproving the language. The experience here isalso a good lesson in keeping an open mind andtolerating fellow human beings.

Lintang Syuhada (Indonesia)Hosted by the Roberts family

Elkton, MN

Football, the American WayThese two months spent here are a total

accomplishment for me. Living like anAmerican is not always easy, but so exciting.As a goodAmerican, I joined the football team.What a crazy sport!

On the first day, they explained to me, “Yousee that guy in front of you. Well, you tacklehim as hard as you can.”

What! This guy is only fifteen, and he is ahead taller and 30 pounds larger than me. So, Ibecame the kicker for the team. It is safer butnot especially easier.

What has impressed me here is the schoolspirit. Everybody is cohesive and proud of hisschool, which just doesn’t exist in Belgium.

I am impressed with theAmerican way: howthe team stands together before each footballgame, how they remove their helmets to recitethe national anthem and how people are silentand put their hands over their hearts. I see therespect and pride that the crowd has toward thenation, which gives me goose flesh each time Isee it.

François De Baerdemaeker (Belgium)Hosted by the Spencer family

Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Strike Up the BandThe crowds went wild when Eun Ji-Shin(South Korea) and her high school marchingband performed at a parade. She says, “OurMichael Jackson Thriller dance was amazing.”Eun lives with the Sharp family in Niles, Ohio.

Overcame ChallengesAt first I felt alone because my English

wasn’t good and I couldn’t expresseverything I felt. On the first day of school Iwas very nervous, and I felt the same for thenext two weeks. Fortunately things changedfor the better. I’m starting to have friends andmy English is improving every day. I mustadmit that sometimes I feel a little homesick,but that is not completely wrong. In fact, onething that I have learned from this experienceis the value of the family. When I was inItaly, I never thought about this. Now Iunderstand that family is the most importantthing we have. I’m very lucky because now Ihave two awesome families that I love!

Ilaria Cerutti (Italy)Hosted by the Homan family

Cedar Rapids, IA

Italian Ilaria Cerutti (front, far right) with herdance teammates.

It Was the Best of TimesIn West Virginia, Egyptian YES student Farah Elaboudy, third from the left, had a magicalHomecoming night with her friends. The Carter family hosts her in Charles Town.

Indonesian Wins Big inThe Great DebateOn October 21, I joined the South

Anchorage Lincoln Debate Tournament. Inever learned the Lincoln Douglas debateprocedure before because in Indonesia, theAsian, Australian and British parliamentsystem is used. I studied hard to prepare mycase for both sides.There were many contestants from all the

high schools in Alaska. From all thecontestants, only four students wouldcompete again in the semi-finalist round. Iwas very surprised when my name was listedfor it. I was the only student from my schoolselected to compete again.My opponent in this next round was

Jasmine Shestakov from the best debate teamin Anchorage. She spoke fluently and fast. Ionly could hear some of what she said, but Iworked very hard to do a good rebuttal.Finally, I won 27-24.In the final round, I battled with Dylan

Lee. He was very smart because it wasn’t thefirst debate for him like it was for me. Thejudges said, “Muhammad, your debate isvery awesome. You made many goodphilosophical arguments. Although youraccent is quite different, I like your speakingstyle. Good job Indonesia!”In the tournament announcement, I got

second position. I was very happy because itwas my first U.S. debate competition.

Muhammad Arief Purnomo (Indonesia)Hosted by the Seidler family

Anchorage, AK

New School, New FriendsIn northern Virginia, Shafic Oman (Ghana)and Jon Ales Artaza (Spain) compare notesafter their first day.

Rallying for My TeamI am a member of the Eastwood softball

team. I had a hard time at first, but I soonadapted and now I push myself as hard as I can,just as the coach says. I enjoy the momentswhen my teammates call me “pushy-girl” andyell “go, go, Ziyi!” I really feel we are one teamand one family. Everyone encourages eachother in training. We promise each other not tohave soda and junk food. We made a big “get-well-soon card” for the coach when he was inthe hospital. We sold tickets to a steak dinnerand served people during a football game toraise money for the team. The coaches careabout everyone’s health and tell us not to doanything stupid. I love my team!

Ziyi Sang (China)Hosted by the Garcia family

El Paso, TX

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South Dakota RocksThis picture is from the day before my

16th birthday at my friend Darac Harry’shouse. We were getting ready for the footballgame. Everything had to be pink because thegame was dedicated to breast cancerawareness.The people in my school are very friendly

to me and they help me with the challenges.The easy-going attitude of the people issomething I really like. It makes differentthings easier.There are so many possibilities for doing

sports here. That’s one of the things I likemost about America. Being on a team helpsyou feel like a part of the group because youwork together with people. I like cross-country running after school and dancing inAberdeen every Thursday.

Carolin Dürr (Germany)Hosted by the Wright Family

Houghton, SD

A Real Pow WowLado Sirdadze (Georgia) was impressed by theNative Americans he met at a pow wow held atHaskell Native American University. TheFLEX student is spending his year with theBlunt family in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

From Italy to IowaI think that the life here is totally different

from my lifestyle in Italy, but I find itinteresting. I came here to find somethingdifferent. For example, guys and girlsusually hang out at the mall or they ask youto go to their house even if they don't knowyou that well. In my town, you are usuallysupposed to know someone really wellbefore you ask him or her to come to yourhouse. There are some differences in thefamily, too. The curfew is different, somerules about guys are different, and so aresome rules about cleaning the house.The school that I attend, compared to my

school in Italy, is a castle. It's new and huge.There is a big lunchroom with a lot of tables.There are a lot of classrooms and thestudents change rooms every block, whereasin Italy the teachers change the rooms. Weare in the same classroom every year, everyday, every block, with the same people.Here, there are five to ten minute breaksbetween every block because we have tochange stuff in the lockers. In Italy we don'thave lockers, so we just take our rucksackswith us in the classroom. In addition, in Italypeople my age don't usually work becauseit's impossible to work in that society if youstudy. Guys and girls of my age here work alot. This made me realize that you can't justask for money from your parents, and it isbetter to try to provide for yourself on yourown.Since I came here I figured out that I'm

really more interested in new cultures andtravel than I thought. I’ve started to be morecareful with my stuff, my clothes and mymoney.

Giulia Notaristefano (Italy)Hosted by the Hildreth family

West Des Moines, IA

At Home in IndianaMy state Indiana is very cold and unlike

my homeland, which is so hot thatsometimes the temperature reaches 51degrees Celsius (124 F). People here say thatIndiana is not as cold as other states likeMinnesota.My host family is very loving. They treat

me just like their own son. I am surprised tofind how neighbors are so much closer andcaring to each other.Students here don’t have many final

exams. Most of your marks depend on yourhomework and class assignments. The mostawesome thing is that you don’t have to weara boring uniform everyday.I joined the boy scouts, a baseball team,

student council, the speech and debate teamand the Boys and Girls Club. Making a lot offriends has given me a chance to know moreabout American kids.This experience has taught me a lot of

things, especially about becomingresponsible. Now I am more mature inmaking decisions.

Umar Farooq (Pakistan)Hosted by the Holt family

Richmond, IN

German Carolin Dürr records her year.

A Cultural SmorgasbordI am very lucky to be in this place. The

South is very different from the rest ofAmerica. People play sports I have neverseen, for example, football and softball.In my area there are a lot of exchange

students. Everyday I learn something newabout their culture and teach them aboutmine. So this program gives me a realcultural exchange experience!My host family realized my dream to see

Disneyland. It was the most unbelievable andincredible experience I have ever had!

Saikal Muartbek kyzy (Kyrgyzstan)Hosted by the Willis family

Titus, AL

Crazy Colorado:Jumping Waterfalls andCamping with BearsAs we know, it is not easy to leave your

country and go to a place where you don'tknow anyone, but with the Rhoades family itdefinitely was much easier. When I firstarrived in Colorado, they organized a verybusy welcome weekend! The first Saturdayhere was very exciting. My host brother Johnand I jumped the Cascade, which are a seriesof freezing waterfalls! After that we wentcamping in Silverton. It was an adventurebecause there are a lot of bears there. I thankmy family for the amazing welcomeweekend and for making me feel like part oftheir family.

Aitor Barrantes (Spain)Hosted by the Rhoades family

Durango (CO)

The Rock and Roll CapitalHost sister Margaret Foley introduced NeeleMenter (Germany) and Maria Mendez Guerra(Mexico) to Cleveland, Ohio.

Zeroing inon Local Life

Michigan Group Takes on Monster Roller CoastersSixty-one students representing 21 countries had a day packed with thrills at Cedar Point, anamusement park on the Lake Erie shore in Ohio. The trip was led by Michigan Area ManagerAnita Wilson and coordinators Pam Knaffle, Heidi Rocha and Linda Workman.

Smooth Waters in UtahYES students Seema Yousaf (Pakistan) and Lamiaa Hadi (Morocco) had a splendid afternoon onone of the lakes near Salt Lake City, Utah.

Vermont Corn &ApplesOn September 25th, Kelley Cartularo, the

Chittenden County PAX Coordinator,greeted PAX students in the cornfields ofVermont. The program of the day was to firstget lost in a corn maze and then to go pickapples in a local orchard—without gettinglost. Eight PAX students came, accompaniedby three host dads, a host brother and myself.We didn’t get so lost in the corn maze.

Between following Luigi Burlando (Italy)and using Kelley’s advice to always keep arow of corn on our right side, the group madeit out safely after half an hour.Then, it was time to go apple picking. It

was funny to see how personalities came outwhen the boundaries to our spaces became afield full of apple trees! Everyone left happywith bags full of apples and the feeling ofbeing part of a nice community transplantedin a new place.

Thank you, Kelley, for organizing thispleasant autumn catching-up afternoon. Nextmonth, we are hiking up Mt. Philo to have apicnic on the top!

Alice Anton, Community CoordinatorBurlington, VT

Spaniards Irene Bagues Portillo, Silvia ElgueroTejera and Miranda Gonzales.

Unplugged: A Visit to an Amish FarmCoordinator Trudy Krintz’s students were surprised to learn that some Americancommunities eschew modern technology and conveniences. To understand how thesecommunities operate, Krintz and chaperones Jim Krintz and Deborah Resnick brought theirstudents to a working Amish farm in Shipshewana, Indiana. Pictured are David Pena Ortiz(Mexico), Charlotte Limborg (Belgium), Saadet Tas (Turkey), Nikita Smirnov (Russia), GalalAlawi (Yemen), Klara Gruesgen (Germany), Vio Muhammad (Indonesia), Melek El Fecaa(Tunisa) and Janica Diamalon (Philippines).

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Pumped with PrideIt was difficult to get used to school

during the first week. It seemed so huge! Onedifference is that we study sixteen subjects inRussia, and now I have only eight. I wasquite surprised that people usually don't careabout what they wear to school, so theatmosphere is more informal than in Russianschools. But the main difference is that U.S.schools have spirit. It's so great that peopleare proud of their school. I saw it duringHomecoming Week when everyone wore theschool colors. During the Homecominggame, a lot of people had black and orangestripes on their faces! It would be great if wehad such things in Russia.

Daria Eronteva (Russia)Hosted by the Jewell family

Skowhegan, ME

Honk and WaveIn Utah, these FLEX students in CoordinatorLaurel Paul’s cluster learned about Americanstyle campaigning during a “Honk and Wave”event for Jon Pike, a former PAX host parentand candidate for the St. George City Council.Pictured are Natalia Cojuhari from Moldovaand Madiyar Dartayev and Sasha Shalimova,both from Kazakhstan.

Lessons in DemocracyHow are bills created and passed? Thesequestions and others were answered at a mocklegislature session held at the Missouri StateCapitol. Coordinator Liz Carver’s cluster alsoheard one of PresidentAbraham Lincoln’sspeeches by a look-alike speaker whochallenged them tothink about animportant issue thatnations face: How dowe unite a dividednation? At the podiumare Heinrich Dettmann (Germany), LenaOberwetter (Germany), Lado Sirdadze(Georgia), Bogdan Prysyazhnyuk (Ukraine)and Anna Khoperia (Georgia).

Media savy FLEX and YES students Mohammad Mahmoud (Jordan), Dema Issa (WestBank), Yegor Rudnytskyy (Ukraine), Kseniya Kurkova (Russia) and Arooj Ali (Pakistan).

Cheers for VolunteersI participate in the Key Club and Interact

Club. Those clubs give me the ability toexplore American life through volunteering.We don’t do this much in Russia, so I waspretty excited to do something useful forother people. My first volunteeringexperience was cleaning up after a pancakebreakfast at the local Civic Center andmaking hot dogs for lunch!

Ekaterina Shanina (Russia)Hosted by the Howerton family

Lebanon, MO

A Taste of TanzaniaMy host mom asked me if I would like to

cook something from Tanzania. Consideringthat I missed my hometown food, I said yes.So we went to the grocery store and boughtchicken, rice and a couple of ingredients thatare similar to the ones in Tanzania. It took me90 minutes to get the food ready to be served,and the only question on my mind was “Willthey like it?” Well, they LOVED it and theyasked me to cook more often!

Jeremiah Mbuya (Tanzania)Hosted by the Jones family

Lincoln, NE

Samurai HonorWhen Manon Okabayashi (Japan) trick ortreated as a historic warrior from herhomeland, people remarked that they havenever seen such a costume. She lives with theBleeker family in Gig Harbor, Washington.

Living in a MovieI live in a pretty small town that is less

than an hour away from New York City.Living so close makes it really easy to gothere. The most American thing I've donewas the first day when we lit a fire andcooked a marshmallow over it! It's like livingin a movie.

Ludovica Andrenacci (Italy)Hosted by the Schaefer family

Wilton, CT

The West Bank Meetsthe American WestLiving in Utah is a whole new experience

for me. It is so exciting to experience newthings and be responsible. I’ve learned somuch in school and with my new host family.I’ve played new sports like Americanfootball and made a lot of friends fromschool and from the YES program.

Gabi Awad (West Bank)Hosted by the Kosmas family

Salt Lake City, UT

PAX Abroad: Living the Good Life in SpainGabby Perlewitz gives a shout-out from "Los Pirineos", the mountains that border France andSpain. The Wisconsin teen is pictured with her Spanish host sisters, Irati and Naroa Mugartegi.

Broadcast NewsI was living with my wonderful PAX

coordinator, Teresa Lambert, for my firsttwo weeks when we went to a BBQ wherethe community of Ocean Shores wasgathered. Everybody asked Dema and meabout our countries, our first experiences inAmerica and our future plans. I said that Iwanted to be a journalist, and so thesuperintendent of local radio stationKOSW proposed a Foreign ExchangeShow!I was so excited! We immediately

decided that I would be responsible for thejournalism staff, interviews, news anddiscussions, and Dema would be the DJ.We also wanted to play popular music fromour countries. Our PAX coordinator is a DJon KOSW, so she helped us and contributedto our ideas.On the 16th of September we held our

first broadcast! When the microphone fellinto our hands, we could not tear ourselvesaway! It was then we realized that our showwould be successful! We talked aboutschool activities, friends, popular teenagemusic and having fun! An hour of

broadcasting passed really quickly.But that is not all! Teresa saw my photos

and told me that some were interesting! Shesuggested that I become a member of theOcean Shores Artist Gallery, so I canexhibit my pictures.I will never forget the people who

enabled this. Thank you, PAX and FLEX!Kseniya Kurkova (Russia)

Hosted by the Morales familyHoquiam, WA

Tune In with Dema“Playing songs and talking about mybeautiful country, Palestine, is a seriouslygreat experience,” says Dema Issa, the DJ ofthe Foreign Exchange Show. “I’ve beenblessed to have this great opportunity.”

A Guide to GovernmentThe Hudzinski family has not only introducedYES student Amra Saric (Bosnia andHerzegovina) to American foods and customs,they’ve also been teaching her about Americangovernment. As part of her education, theHudzinskis took Amra to the PennsylvaniaState Capitol where she met with StateRepresentative Todd Rock.

Stealing the Show atComedy CentralAlabama Cluster Leader Rebecca Kinney

and YES student Asaad Aman (Yemen)became the center of attention at a ComedyCentral show featuring Muslim Americancomedians. Before the show, the WashingtonPost interviewed Kinney while Asaadworked the room. Kinney said he charmedeveryone as the “perfect example of a studentambassador”. At the end of the show, themain acts thanked Kinney for her work withexchange students and encouraged the crowdto talk to her about exchanges.

Connecting the WorldThis year, PAX is proud to coordinate 300 students from twoU.S. State Department programs, the Youth Exchange andStudy (YES) and the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX). During their American home stay, YES and FLEX students attend town meetings, visit localnewspapers, see small businesses in action and participate in community service projectsand other enhancement activities. They meet community leaders and see America at work.Students also make presentations about their countries, especially during InternationalEducation Week, November 14-18, 2011.

The PAX Class of 2012 YES students come from Albania, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bosniaand Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Gaza, India, Indonesia, Israel (ArabCommunities), Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Macedonia, Malaysia,Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, WestBank and Yemen. The FLEX students hail from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

Focus on GermanyIn Portland, Oregon, Lynne Kuhnhennprepares for her International Education Weekpresentation on her homeland.

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My Second FatherI have a wonderful host father. I have

never met such a person like Gil, who is sofull of vitality.It seems like I have two fathers because

Gil takes care of me like a son. He calls me"Sonny". We have a lot in common. We arealways laughing like two best friends. Myplan in the future is to be an accountant, soGil has taught me how to use theQuickBooks system.We travel a lot. He has shown me

beautiful places: Atlantic City with it'samazing boardwalk, Cadillac mountain andmany states. During these trips we alwayshave fun and never get bored. We are goingto Florida this winter to visit Disney World.When I heard this, I was very happy becausethis has been my dream since childhood.Thank you to my coordinator, Bunny

Geisler, for this wonderful host parent.Vasiliy Chernov (Russia)Hosted by the Roy family

Oakland, ME

SHARE YOUR AMERICATo learn about hosting, call PAX - Program of Academic Exchange at 800-555-6211 or visit www.pax.org.

PAX students speak English, and have personal spending money and insurance.

“Vasiliy is one exceptional exchange student,”host father Gil Roy raves. “We are having awonderful time.”

My African DaughterWhat can I tell you about my student,

Eva? She is bright, funny and energetic. Sheis so bright that she is way ahead of most ofthe students in her classes. Eva helps theother students overcome their hurdles andhas even shared a different way of solvingmath problems that her teacher supports.She makes everyone around her laugh all

of the time. Eva sees a fun side to everything,no matter how serious the subject. Shelaughs at herself when most people mightfeel embarrassed. Her energy is very positiveand rubs off on everyone. No one can bedown around Eva.Her energy is insurmountable. Even on

the weekends, she is up early taking care ofher homework, her wash or whatever elseshe needs to take care of. She neverprocrastinates. She has taught me that I canget more done by getting up early. Since I am

back in school, Eva is my role model forstudying hard.We have had a wonderful time learning

about Eva’s culture in Cameroon, Africa.Eva’s family is part of a tribe there. Theymake beautiful pottery and instrumentswhere she comes from. At a PAX event inSeptember, Eva dressed in her nativecostume and shared the pottery she broughtwith her to the States. Eva showed a slidepresentation about her culture, too.Recently, Eva made a native dish of meat

and potatoes that was enjoyed by all. Wehave been able to share the American culturewith Eva by attending local fairs, museums,and churches. She is up for anything, and weare up to doing anything with Eva. We feelvery fortunate to have been chosen as Eva’sAmerican parents.

Sherry Gohl, host mother forEvangeline Safeh (Cameroon)

Bossier City, LA

ThankYou for OpeningYour Heart and HomeThis year is full of adventures and

opportunities for me. I am really happy tohave such a great host family who supportsand cares about me. I am very thankful tothem for opening their heart and door to me.

Nozanin Amonova (Tajikistan)Hosted by the Barrick family

Martinsburg, WV

Peak ExperienceSouth Korean Kyungula Kang, or “KK” asthey call her, and her host sister, Zoe Perra,celebrate reaching a mountain summit inBrattleboro, Vermont.

Bananas for Banana Bread“Lea Hasbach has loved baking with ourchildren,” reports Patricia Gerke of NewJersey. The German teen now countshomemade banana bread as one of her newfavorite foods.

Have you seen our exchange student? Wecan’t seem to find her! Our town, CoganStation, really isn’t very big. Certainly astudent can’t be that hard to find. She was apetite young woman that arrived in midAugust. Her baggage is in the closet whereshe placed it on the day of her arrival. Shewas so quiet and guarded, yet we knew therewas much more to her personality.We could have lost our student during the

trip to the farmers’market or on one of manypaddling excursions on our local lake. Itcould have happened while on a visit to thegrocery store or shopping at the mall. Weremember discussing U.S. history, literature,math, religion and science during nightlyboard games. There was never any mentionof her leaving.

We asked our daughter OlenaNesterenkova if she had seen the exchangestudent. She answered in English, with aslight Ukrainian accent, that she barelyremembered that girl. It would seem ourexchange student has actually become ourfourth daughter, fully vested in our dailylives. This daughter is at ease discussingissues of the day, actively participating indebates at the supper table. Our daughterfeels free to laugh, love and even be sad,openly within our family.Occasionally losing something is a good

thing. Finding a daughter with maturity,poise and a kind heart standing in the placeof our exchange student is the Mynczyworfamily’s reward for looking.

The Mynczywor family, hosts forOlena Nesterenkova (Ukraine)

Cogan Station, PA

Lost Our Student, Gained a Daughter

ADream RealizedAt first, I thought being an exchange

student would be hard since living withoutyour natural family for an entire year canbe so hard. But staying with an Americanfamily is a great experience, and my familyhelped me deal with the homesickness. It isa precious gift that I will treasure for myentire life. My hosts will always be my

second family.I hope people with kind hearts will

never stop helping a dreamer make herdreams come true. I want to thank thosepeople who helped me achieve one of mybig dreams.

Fatma Macog (Philippines)Hosted by the Rutherford family

Richmond, IN

FLEX studentMadinaSeytmuradova(Turkmenistan)and YES studentFatma Macog(Philippines)with their hosts.

Where’s the Chicken?One day we were talking and Jia asked

where our chicken was. I said, “Our chicken?What do you mean?”Jia said, “You know the place where you

cook the food and keep the food.”I replied, “Oh, our KITCHEN!!!”

Mariam Torres, host mother forJia Xi (China)Lawton, OK

Our Brave Tajik GirlAnisa came to live with us a couple of

weeks ago. She is funny, smart and kind, butmost of all, she is part of our family. I knowthat we have many cultural differences, and itmakes me realize what brave children theseexchange students are! I was most shockedwhen Anisa told me about her friend that hadto wed a boy she didn't like because theirparents already agreed to it. We are having anamazing experience having a student!

Suzi and Max Heath, host parents forAnisa Ikromova (Tajikistan)

Sedona, AZ

Off to a Great StartHost sibs Megan Shaw and Ted Rienietswelcome Gema del Pozo Villegas of Spain.

Lucky MeWords are not enough to express how

lucky I feel for having the opportunity to livewith the Duffins. It was hard to comebecause I never traveled out of my countryand I’m close to my parents. However, thisfamily made it easy for me. I want to thankevery member of my family and mycoordinator, Vicky Wason, and everyonewho makes my experience so beautiful.

Lamiaa Hadi (Morocco)Hosted by the Duffin family

Salt Lake City, UT

Continuing the Exchange

“After hosting Seongjae Hong, we are happy toreport we traveled to South Korea to visit himin his homeland!” John and Lori Candalino ofNevada tell us, “He did a great job oftranslating, but of course, a smile goes a longway. It was so great to meet his family and tourhis country. After learning to make Koreanfood, it was great to try the real thing.”

How Nice Folks Like Us BecameWedding Crashers in SerbiaLittle did we know then what the future

would bring when I contacted our localcoordinator Joy Brumbaugh to begin theprocess for hosting a student.

On November 7, 2009, Tihon moved in.This tall young man from Serbia was verypolite. Long story short, he quickly became oneof the family!

Tihon extended an invitation to us to visithim and his mother Sasa in Serbia. For ruralpeople from Missouri who have never beenfarther from home than Florida, this seemedimpossible! The temptation proved irresistible,and in July 2011, we flew to Belgrade.

After eating a wonderful dinner on oursecond day there, we were walking along theSava River and noticed a boat hosting a“party”. That party was a wedding reception.

Sasa talked to the groom’s father, and we wereinvited inside and introduced to the bride andgroom. The father told us that he knew the 1999American led NATO bombing was determinedby the government. He said that good peoplelive everywhere, and he asked us to tell ourfriends and family that there are good people inSerbia. How very true, as everyone weencountered treated us with a very welcomingdisposition.

Serbia is a very beautiful country, and wewere able to see a good part of the country. Wesaw farmland, mountains, beautifulmonasteries, art galleries, Roman ruins andeven pre-historic artifacts. We had deliciousfood! We saw some farmers cutting, raking andstaking hay, all by hand in the southern part,and “modern” farm equipment in the northern

part. After seeing a church built in the 6thcentury, it made us realize how young ourcountry is!

Our boys Justin and Cody were able to stayan extra week after my husband and I left. Theyexperienced the nightlife in Belgrade. Giventhat there are not a lot of places to go in ruralMissouri at midnight, it was an experience theyloved!

We are hosting again this school year, andwe are again enjoying getting to know our newson, Kijan from Germany. We are forevergrateful to Joy for getting us involved withPAX.

Melody Pezold, host mother forKijan Khazeifi (Germany) and

2010 PAX Alum Tihon Tomic (Serbia)Fulton, MO

...with a foreignexchange studentfrom one of morethan 70 countries.