Foreign Exchange

Our lives have been enriched over the past twelve years by the many AFS students who have come through our home. We have been the liaison for six students, host family for one, temporary home for two, and just enjoyed the company-weekend-visits-come-for-supper-take-a-trip-to-Lake-Superior of another eight or more. We've had students from Russia, China, Finland, Norway, Ghana, Japan, Thailand, Egypt, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Germany.

We're currently experiencing another real life geography lesson with Light from Thailand and Mendo from Portugal. We've learned that "all Thai" have a given name which no one uses and at least one nickname. Light's real name is Attaphon and his other nickname is Jeab. We don't really get it, but we don't have to. That's just the way they do it and "Light" has now become a normal name to us! We've enjoyed listening to Mendo tell us about boarding school and the unusual (even in Portugal) school experience he has had.

The guys have only been here for a week and already they've been tubing, swimming, putt-putt golfing twice, shopping, seen a Baptism in a local lake, dined at Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty, toured the school, and helped load the vans and trailers for our church family camp. Light has been biking and took an eight hour canoe/fishing trip down the river (we all ate fish for dinner the next day and Mendo--who lives on the ocean--said it was the best he's had--note for Keith and Chet: they caught walleye, northern, and small mouth bass on the Pelican River) and Mendo has joined the high school football team. The Olympics also took on a new meaning with our international viewing audience. Does anyone else know that Thailand took a gold in women's weight lifting?

Light hanging out with Gabe

Mendo with Keith and Papa
Everyone joined in a name game where you hit people with a pillow. Light had his share of time in the middle and wasn't at all intimidated by Papa. He's ready to strike!

Mendo--trying to remember who's who