2010 june newsletter - final

8/9/2019 2010 June Newsletter - Final

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The Dalles Chapter of AFSinvited exchange students fromother chapters in the ColumbiaPacific Area Team to visit theColumbia Gorge. Studentsarrived Friday morning atFort Dalles Museum for a

tour lead by Mary Davis.Favorites were the realhuman hair wreaths andpioneer artifacts in theSurgeons Quarters, theAnderson homes teadresidence, the three largebells to ring in the frontyard. Our community is solucky to have this museumas a spotlight of history.Lunch was served at Sorosisafter which the boys played arousing game of Frisbee. Thesecond stop was the Discovery

Center and Wasco CountyHistorical Museum. The highlighthere was the Birds of Prey

presentation and seeing the owl,kestrel and Bald Eagle up-closeand personal. The day endedwith a potluck and evening withone night host families.

Saturday started with a hikeon the cliffs above the ColumbiaRiver to see the Petroglyph She-

Who-Watches and otherpictographs all lead by tourvo lunteer Paula Chri s ty .T r a v e l i n g f u r t h e r e a s t ,Stonehenge War Memorial was a

short stop before spendingthe afternoon at Maryhill

Museum. The educationaltour of Native Americanartifacts helped tie togetherwhat had been seen earlier.Carrie Clark-Peck, Curatorof Education shared both theold and the new artistictalents of local tribalmembers. Maryhill Museumexhibits wonderful culturaldiversity and an internationalflavor in its displays.

The two day were warm andcalm adding pleasure to thisyears Gorge Visit, a successful

outing and learning experience.

A Visit to the Columbia Gorge...

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Ashland Trip 2

Volunteer

Awards

3

Letters to

Host Families4-5

Student Q&A 6-7

Host Family

Comments

8

Prom 9

A Trip to Italy 10-11

Hosting News 11

JUNE 2010

On June 19th, AFS

Columbia Pacific will

be having an End Of

Stay Picnic to say a

final farewell to all the

2009/2010 Exchange

Students. The

potluck picnic will be

held at Oaks Park on

June 19th starting at

noon. Please bring

your favorite dish

from your home

country. Exchange

Students will be given

free ride bracelets to

the amusement park.

There will be a $10

ride bracelet charge

for siblings and guests.For information,

contact Ron Combs.

E N D O F S T A Y

P I C N I C . . . A F I N A L

F A R E W E L L :

Seattle Trip...It was eight kids from all over the

world (Azerbaijan, Chile, Italy (2),K e n y a , T h a i l a n d ( 2 ) , a n dTurkmenistan) and two first-timechaperones who set off on the trip.We caught the northbound trainearly on Saturday morning and were

in Seattle before lunchtime. Thatch'sskill with his iPhone ensured that weeasily found the bus that took us overto the Seattle Center. At theExperience Music Project, we allexperimented with guitars, keyboardsand drums, but the favorite exhibitwas the "Have Your Rock-StarP i c t u r e T a k e n H e r e . "

Later we rode the elevator to thetop of the Space Needle, where wehad a fabulous view of a wet, grey city--really, you can take great pictureseven if the sun isn't shining! After abrief rest at the hotel, we headed outagain to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafewhere we had a noisy celebration of

Gianmarco's unbirthday.

Some of the kids swam in theevening. Later, some of them slept--most of them, eventually... Whetherthey slept or not, we got them up int im e f o r b reak f a s t S u n day

morning. Then we went over to PikePlace Market. The sun actually cameout in time for pictures of everyoneatop the pig. Later some had lunch ata Thai Restaurant, and others went totour underground Seattle. By the

time we all piled into the late

afternoon train back to Portland,everyone was pretty worn out, but itwas that contented, peaceful wornout that you feel after you've spent36 hectic hours with smart andamusing young people from all overthe globe. The girls all eventually

found their missing shoes, and thechaperones survived, so it must havebeen a really good trip!

Theresa Deussen, host mom

Note from Bernice: Theresa Deussenand Boerge Pedersen (Serdar's hostfamily) were the chaperones this yearand they did a great job. They werewonderful with the kids. Boergechaperoned with me last year, so thiswas his second year. I feel so fortunateto have these wonderful volunteers in mySE Cluster.

The AFSers with the PetroglyphsShe Who Watches...

AFS COLUMBIA PACIFIC


2/12

P A G E 2

Ashland Shakespeare FestivalWe loaded upthe kids earlyS a t u r d a ymorning for thetrip to Ashland.The weatherwas warm ands u n n y a n dspirits werehigh.

In Ashlandwe unloadedand divided upthe kids in

rooms. My room had six great girlsand the cooperation was great asall seven of us shared onebathroom. We wandered arounddowntown Ashland, checking outthe stores and basking in the

sunshine at Lithia Park neardowntown.

Our first play was Hamlet. Theprologue was fun and informative.Im not sure I would haveunderstood what was happening ifwe hadnt had it explained to us.Several of the kids were fallingasleep during the play, as it wasquite long, but the acting was good.Possibly the Shakespearian Englishmay have been hard to follow.

The second play the next daywas She Loves Me, a musical. Atthe prologue we found out that thesame story has been used forseveral other plays includingYouve got Mail with Tom Hanks.Everyone was on the edge of theirseats by the end of theperformance and the performersreceived a standing ovation!

We had a lot of fun while wewere there! Some of the kids hungout in the hot tub and others

toured the downtown area.Everyone was in their rooms bycurfew and ready to head back onMonday!

Faith Gabrielson, host mom of

Giulia from Italy

Our Mission

AFS-USA workstoward a more

just and peaceful world byproviding

international andintercultural

learningexperiences to

individuals,families, schools,

and communitiesthrough a global

volunteerpartnership.

May first and second of 2010,some exchange students had achance to visit the lovely town ofAshland, Oregon. It was reallywonderful. And with a perfectsunny day make this trip as oneof my unforgettable moments.

Together with some friends,we spent a long drive withlaughter and song.Until we arrived inour hotel. It was anice hotel. Wewere exhausted,but so excited. Wewere going to see aShakespeare play!!!!

Hamlet wasthe first play wesaw. This was aplay with hight en s i o n , h a rd

language and darkromanticisms. Butpersonally I liked it a lot. My kindof play I recall it. I enjoyed ituntil the end, watched the playand tried to keep my eyes openas wide as I can. I really didntwant to miss any scene, even thenight got later and closed theeyes of some people in theaudience. The prologue activitieswe attended before the play

helped us understand thestory. So even the language wasdifficult to understand, we theexchange students couldunderstand what was going on.On Sunday, the second play wewatched was She Loves Me a romantic musical and comedy.We just could not stop laughing

during the play. The story reallytouched us, the music wasamazing and stuck in our headeven 3 three days after the play.Both plays we saw seemed tobalance each other. The stagewhere the play went on wasawesome and cool, so pretty andhigh technology. The soundquality was great, and the light

set made it so we could notmoved our eyes from the stage.The actors were real lyprofessional and made us feel thestory.

I really enjoyed this trip. Itwas such an unusual trip, we not

only had fun but also got a newgreat experience and education.

W e e x p l o r e danother part ofOregon, we learnedanother part ofAmerican culture,had fun with friendsand refreshed from abunch of schoolhomework (I had 3school projectsbefore the trip, whata relief!) It was reallya w e s o m e , a n d

Ashland was a reallyfascinating town. I

had some time and took a littlewalk to downtown and visitedsome open space there.

Thank you for giving me achance to take this trip. I hopethe next year students will beable to have this greate x p e r i e n c e d t o o . . .

Sincerely, Ester from Indonesia

My Trip to AshlandEster, Indonesia


3/12

AFS Volunteer Appreciation Event Award Winners...

P A G E 3

Columbia Pacific Area TeamJames SpearsChairR o n C o m b s O r i en t a t i o nCoordinatorB e r n i e G e r h a r d t S u p p o r tCoordinatorTom HillearyTreasurerCindy and Greg LambSendingCoordinatorsLynette LedgerwoodSecretaryAndrea RappSupport CoordinatorE r i c S u s s m a n R e t u r n e eCoordinatorTami SpearsCommunicationCoordinatorSa l l y Ann Wel l sVolunteerCoordinator and Interim HostingCoordinator

E m i l y L e i s - Z u s h i S e n d i n gCoordinator

100% Liaison ReportingChris Cavagnaro, Chris Cradler,Maggie Frieske, Janet Gardner, MarkGardner, Bernie Gerhardt, MarilynHays, Tom Hilleary, Michal Kawka,Kristin Lachenmeier, Ruth Ladage,Greg Lamb, Cindy Lamb, Gloria Lutz,Andrea Rapp, Carla Cox, JamesSpears, Tami Spears, MicheleVixathep, Jane Smith.

Diplomacy Supporting YES &FLEXMaggie Frieske and Rustam Kocher

New VolunteersChris Cavagnaro, Michal Kawka,

Boerge Pedersen and TheresaDeussen.

M o s t O u t s t a n d i n gVolunteer

Tom Hilleary, Lorraine Leedy, James Linhares, StephanieOngtooguk, Andrea Rapp,

James and Tami Spears.

Long Time Service AwardRon Combs, Mark and JanetGardner, Bernice Schuchardt,Don Sheneberger, Diane andLess Zoller.

Thank you to all volunteersfor all your tireless effortsin supporting the AFSmission. Everything you

do is greatly appreciated!

CLUSTER MEETINGNatalie Grabrielson, host sib to GuiliaGenti l i (Italy), was recognizedat Gresham High School's Key Clubon Wednesday, April 28, for hervolunteer work at Zarephath Kitchena t T r i n i t y L u t h e r a nChurch. Zarephath serves freelunches on weekdays. She was named"Volunteer of the Year" by Kiwanis'advisor to the Key Club and waspresented Kiwanis'' "Every Day Hero"award. Congratulations, Natalie! Shewas featured in a 1/2-page story in The

Gresham Outlook written by RobCullivan Staff Writer on May 5.

THANK YOU SE CLUSTERVOLUNTEERS!I want to thank the following people inmy Cluster for their help:

Ron Combs, who has attended allSE Cluster Meetings. Ron bringssupplies; i.e., paper plates and plasticware to all meetings. He is also ourphotographer. Ron is hosting Britnyfrom Thailand this year. Ron also

helped organize candy sales at his gasstation this year to help us with Seattleexpenses.

Mark and Janet Gardner, whohave hosted many times for me andthis year they are liaisons to Luis fromChile and Britny from Thailand. Markand Janet also helped chaperone theAshland Trip and Mark has been achaperone/driver for Pendleton andother optional activities.

Mindy Roddy and her husbandMark have opened their home tomany exchange students. They hosted

an Italian girl a few years ago and sincehave hosted in other emergencysituations. They helped find a familyfor one of my misplaced students andhave been a second family toGianmarco. He stayed with themwhen I went to Italy. Her husbandMark even took Gianmarco on aspecial ride on his Harley (of course,after we got permission). They havehad social events at their house andare now planning a Graduation Partyfor him.

Bonnie and Greg Kott areliaisons this year and both are helping

with hosting in my cluster.Boerge Pedersen and TheresaDeussen , Serdar's host family,chaperoned the Seattle trip this yearand Boerge takes Gianmarco bowlingsometimes on Sundays. He also helpat the candy sales.

A big thank you to all my host familiesfor making my year an easy one.

Bernice Schuchardt

Eastside Cluster News...


4/12

P A G E 4

A Letter To My Host Family...

W W W . A F S C P . C O M

Goodbyes are not

forever.

Goodbyes are not

the end.

They simply mean

Ill miss you

Until we meet

again!

Dear Goecks FamilyNine months ago I metyou the first time. Wegot to know us betterand better, now we are

like a really family.Because of you I had awonderful time inAmerica, because ofyou I learned a lot, and

because of you my lifechanged. Thank you foreverything you have done forme, I will never forget you!LoveSimon, Switzerland

Dear Sherman FamilyIreally want to thank my hostfamily for making these 10months so amazing! I had somuch fun and learned so

many new things. I know thatit is not easy to just havesomeone you dont know at allcome live with you for such along time. I appreciate it somuch that you guys alwaysmade me feel so loved andspecial! I really enjoyed mystay and I wish I could staylonger. You guys are soawesome and I love you! I willnever forget these cool 10months! I never thought that Iwould have such a great timehere in the U.S. Jordan, youare such a great person and Ihad so much fun talking withyou! Sam, you are superfunny and the best Germanstudent I ever had! Amber,you are just awesome and ihad so much fun doing somany cool things with you!Brandi, I am so glad that wespend so much timetogetherYou are so fun to bearound! Mom & Dad, you are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Thank you for allyouve done for me! I love you

guys! Thanks for hosting meand making a dream cometrue! LoveAnna F., Germany

Thank you Rebeca, Juny, Nenand Benone year went by sofast, I know Rebeca you toldme so :) and yes Ben I tried tocarry my own stuff :) duringthat time, but I know howmuch you all helped me.What for treasures were

hidden under every pillow,Juny :) or what for pants lessroommates we met, Nen :) Iwant you to let you know howmuch I love you and how

thankful for every moment wehad together I am, for all theplaces you took me, for all thepeople I met through you, andfor all the advices and hintsyou gave me. For everygarage and noodles which areout there, I hope that youwont forget me and youllalways have a place in myheart, your daughter andsisterSilke, Germany

Dear Tami & James Spearsmy beloved host parents whohave done so many things for

me. Im so glad that I have thechance to meet such greatpeople like you. You definitelymake this year the BEST yearfor me, thank you. I am sograteful about everythingyouve done for me and alsofor AFS. Ill never forget thisawesome experience that Ivehad with you and I want you toknow that even we will be farapart but you will always be inmy heart, always and I willalways love you. (^__^) Thankyou very muchAom,

ThailandDear Villicana Family I havebeen living with my hostfamily for 9 months already,and it is gonna be my time toleave soon. I have to admitthat I feel so sad, I don't wantto leave this lovely family atall. They are my secondfamily.Nine months for me is such ashort while. There have beena lot of laughter, smiles, andeven tears. They are all

memories, and I will neverforget about these memories.Thank you for you all, my hostfamily. Thank for my hostdad, Fernando, you're a funnydad. You always makesme happy after I am tired froma hard situations. I will missthe time when you used togive me a ride to schoolin every morning. I will miss

the time when wewalked buddy (our dog)together. Thank you for myhost mom, Theresa, you're ashopaholic mom :) I will miss

the time that we usually spendtogether for shopping. I willmiss the time that we clean upthe house together. I will missthe time that we watch themovie at late night. Dad andmom, you know, you guyshave changed me into abetter person. You mademe to care about other'sfeelings. You made me realizethat how amazing you are andhow beautiful parents' love is. Iam love having you!! - Milk,Thailand

Dear GaffordsI just wannatell you thank you foreverything you have done forme and for giving me this bigopportunity.Renzo,Columbia

Dear Schenck FamilyI dontfeel like you are my host familyanymorenow you are myfamily. I would like to thankyou to my American family tohelp me in everything. My lifehas been completed by you. Ilove you guys and I wish that Iwould see you againsomeday.Tipsuda, ThailandDear Deussen-PedersenFamilyI want to say THANKYOU for hosting me for awhole year even though youdont have to host me, its likea gift from them and its thebest gift I ever got. I had sucha great time with such a greatfamily! THANK YOU for thegive of knowing you! I willmiss you guys! - Serdar,Turkmenistan

Dear Green FamilyI wanna

say thanks to my family somuch...they helped me a lot inlearning here and getting theexperience and making meunderstand everything aroundand thanks for welcoming mein their house and taking meand I hope we keep in touchtogether and I will really missthem a lot :) - Farah, Egypt

Dear Cenci Family I want to


5/12

A Letter To My Host Family...P A G E 5

thank my host family for makingmy year here a fun year and forbeing there for me when I neededit. Laughing at each other,coupon shopping and other little

inside things are things that Imgoing to miss. I also want tothank my host parents for feedingme so well and not forgettingdessert. I could go on with thislist forever but I hope you knowhow thankful I am and how lucky Ifeel that you picked me despitethe little problems with school andeverything. I feel like Ivebecome part of the family and Imgoing to miss you, and dessert, alot! - Elina, Finland

Dear Rob, Dee, Sophie andTaegen, - How sad it is that I amalmost at the end of my exchangeyear and that I am going to haveto leave you. You made my yearso incredibly nice, you were thebest host family an exchangestudent could ever wish for. I donot have any single regrets aboutanything I've done, and you canprobably imagine the important

role that you guys have played inthat. You always trusted me nomatter what happened, and I trulyappreciate that. You alwaysencouraged me to have a good

time and fun with my friends,doing everything to make itpossible, and that was amazing.Thanks for being so supportive!Thank you for being so awesome,the 4 of you, you changed my life,and I am truly going to miss you alot! Thank you also for showingme "your" America and for lettingme be part of your wonderfulfamily. This year was the verybest one of my life! Love +huuuuuuge hugs! I can't wait untilyou guys visit me inSwitzerland! ;) - Katya, yourSwiss daughter and sister

Dear Lindsay FamilyThank youso much Sandra and Daniel! Foreverything you have done for me.I enjoyed spending time with you,but now it is time to go home. Iwill miss you a lot and I hope youboth can visit me and my family inAzerbaijan.Jahan, Azerbaijan

Dear Whittemore FamilyI wouldlike to say a billion times ofTHANK YOU to my host familyfor everything every momentsthat we have spend

together here. Thesememories going to bewith me till the dying day.Also share thesememories to family andfriends, encourage themto become an exchangestudent to meet a greathost family that they willcontinue contact themeven if the year wasended.Kohung,Thailand

Dear Rousing-WeinerFamilyThank you forbeing the best hostfamily on earth. I reallyfelt like home and I willnever forget about theexperiences we hadtogether and the year Ispent with you - Lucia,Germany

News from The Dalles Chapter...The Dalles

Chapter inJ a n u a r yw e l c o m e dFix fromThailand byw a y o f Copperv i l l e ,California. Heis hosted byM a r k a n dChloris Mullins

joining host brothers Nate and Rhett. Fix is a Jr. at The DallesWahtonka High School. His break dancing skills brought himinstant popularity and his easy going manner aided his

successful move. Just before mid-year orientation The Dalles boys had a

sleep-over at the chapter chairs home and enjoyed playingPictionary. They said it really helped build vocabularyunderstanding. A second sleep-over happened in Mid-Marchwith the four boys staying up until 2 a.m.fun! Pictionary andThink-Blots became very competitive games.

All four boys are involved in high school Spring Sports:Alex (Switzerland), Tim ( Belgium), and Alessandro (Italy) playon the tennis team, Fix (Thailand) is on the track and fieldteam.

A farewell event was hosted by Sol Ontiverous family

before his departure to Japan on March 21.He received his Japanese family informationone week before departure, so that was arelief to all. To accomplish his exchange, Solorganized personal fundraisers selling kettlecorn and sodas, he helped sell AFS oranges& grapefruit, and worked hard to gatherneeded funds. He was very determined tosucceed in this experience. We wish himthe very best during his year in Japan.

Alessandro had an early Spring vacationtraveling with his host family to Costa Rica.Alex was at Seaside and Canon Beach whileTim enjoyed a trip to Utah, Alessandro andFix helped accomplish many yard, garden

and home projects during the school break.Alex reported he is learning a lot of different things in his

baking class. He just finished with cookies, and is now startingwith pies. In his Astronomy class he has also learned a lotabout comets and possible earth impacts...

We wish all our exchange students a beautiful spring andhappy trails.

Rymmel Lovell

The hardest part of

any friendship is when

its time to say

goodbye. As much as

we might like things to

stay the same, change

is an inevitable part of

life. The universe may

seem huge and the rift

between friends on

opposite side of the

world may seem a

great distance. There

are many tools

available with which

we can communicate,

but even without these

tools there is a secret

that only real friends

know, and it is this...All

the mountains and

valleys in the world

cannot separate friends

whose hearts are as

one.


6/12

P A G E 6

W W W . A F S C P . C O M

What the Exchange Students have to say...What did the ExchangeStudents have to saywhen they were askedthe following questions?

1. What will you missthe most about the U.S.?

Ill miss the goodtimes at the U.S. Illmiss my host family andall of my classes at Aloha High SchoolMilk, Thailand

I will miss mywonderful host familyand all my friends themost! Im also gonna

miss my high school and allthe other things that I donthave at home! - Anna F.,

Germany My friends and my host

familyRenzo, Columbia

What I will miss the most ismy host family. Im prettysure that I will miss the lifestyle, friends, and this lovelycountry.Tipsuda, Thailand

I will miss the most theschool it was a lot of funFarah, Egypt

My friends definitely. Ifound so many new friendsover here and I will reallym i s s t hem . Hendr i k ,Germany

I guess the crazy Americans=D ha-ha well actually Ithink Im gonna miss myschool a lot, and my friends.Its gonna be really hard toleave them. Portland isgreat city and I really founda way of life I love here...soIm basically gonna miss mylife in Portland.Lora,France

Some of the friends andfamilyFix, Thailand

I will miss all the junk food,sports at school, the friendsI've made here, my hostfamily and all the options inevery possible thing you canget.Elina, Finland

The things that Im going tomiss the most are for sureschool and my friends. I'm gonna miss the whole funatmosphere, the sports,

clubs, school spirit, thedances and parties, football games, etc. Im gonna missmy friends a lot as well, Ireally cant wait to come

back to visit them, and Ipope they are gonna visit metoo! - Katya, Switzerland

My host family and friendsJahan, Azerbaijan

I will miss the people in heret h e m o s t B r i t t a n y ,Thailand

Education System its waymuch easier hereKohung,Thailand

I will miss most my hostfamily and all my otherfriendsSimon, Switzerland

I will definitely miss my host

family and of courseGianmarco! - Serdar ,Turkmenistan

Im gonna miss my school,my friends, my host parentsof course and all the greatmoments that I spent withthem. Being an exchangestudent in a foreign countryfor a year is a big chancea n d a g r e a t g r e a texperience. The bestexperience ever. I will neverforget it.Pauline, France

Im gonna miss Taco Bell somuch...The beefy 5 layerburritos for only 99 OMGAlex, Switzerland

My host family, friends,American high school, prettyneighbors and rain! - Riho,Japan

My awesome host familyand my friends from school,sports, AFS, and mayothers - Lucia, Germany

Ill definitely miss my host parents, pets, and my bestfriendAom, Thailand

2. What food will you miss thatyou cannot get in your homecountry?

Ill miss a lot of Mexicandishes, but the most shouldb e . . . M e n u d o ! ! ( t h etraditional Mexican soupmade with hominy andtripe) - Milk, Thailand

I really like Mexican food! :)Ill probably miss that causewe dont really have it inG e r m a n y A n n a F . ,Germany

GRAVY! Amy, my mom is thebest cook ever! - Tipsuda,Thailand

The food that I will reallymiss is artichokes and thesquash we dont have themin EgyptFarah, Egypt

Carl's Jr.! Fast food is ratherexpensive in my country andit isnt even very good -Hendrik, Germany

I think that food I might missthe most might be bubbletea because we dont havethat back in France...and I

LOVE bubble tea! Its beenmy best friend when I hadhard times so Im gonna missit a lot.Laura, France

Roast Beef!! - Fix, Thailand

Hmm...hard one..cupcakes, pop tarts, cheetos, iccream cake, fruit loops -Elina, Finland

Bagels and donuts! And also Mac and cheese arawesome...goldfish, grahamcrackers...not really good foryou but it tastes so good! :) -Katya, Switzerland

Chocolate chip cookiesJahan, Azerbaijan

Probably some desserts andall kind of candiesBritny,Thailand

Mountain Dew!!! - Kohung,Thailand

I can get pretty much all ofthe American food in mycountry so there is nothingto worry about.Simon,Switzerland

There is several of them butmostly Chinese food

Serdar, Turkmenistan Im gonna miss maple syrup,

peanut butter and cinnamonrolls. Which is kind of weirdbecause I hated it in France!Peanut butter is the bestthing ever! - Pauline, France

Im going to miss my hostmom Rymmels pancakesAlex, Switzerland

Aom in Seattle,

WA

To My Aom,

May flowers always

line your path and

sunshine light your

day. May songbirds

serenade you every

step along the way.

May a rainbow run

beside you in a sky

thats always blue.

And may happiness

fill your heart each

day your whole life

through.

Love, you host mom


7/12

P A G E 7

What the Exchange Students have to say... Actually, I can get any foods

form America in my country butIm sure Ill miss the serving sizeof American food here! - Riho,

Japan Such great people...people that

are open to everything new -Lucia, Germany

Fettuccini Alfredo, and the restof my host moms cooking (^-^) -Aom, Thailand

3. What is the most important thingyou want to tell your friends andfamily back home about America?

Snow is yummy!!! - Milk,Thailand

I will tell them that America isawesome and that they all have

to go there! =PAnna F.,Germany

That it is pretty cool and that Ireally had funRenzo, Columbia

The U.S. is awesome! - Tipsuda,Thailand

That is the problem! You haveto come here to understand how Americans are. Thats nothingyou can explain just like that,except one thing, The Simpsonsis a reality show! - Hendrik,Germany

I think Im gonna tell them how great experience it is, how Americans are not all thosestupid people like we sometimesthink.. There is great people over

here doing great things..and also,theyre not ALL fat! Ha ha =) -Laura, France

Lots of things!! - Fix, Thailand

That things are not like in TVand that everybody is not stupid.Oh and plenty places to eat andbig portion sizes! ;) ha haElina,Finland

How different school is, how nicethe people here are, and I wantto prove that most of thestereotypes we have are wrong,or not totally true. Also showsome aspects from America thatthey might not know. I reallywant to do a slide show withpictures and videos from all thatI did this year, and also show all

my school sweaters and ticketsand stuff, just so they have anidea what I lived through.Katya, Switzerland

America i s an awesomecountryBritny, Thailand

Outdoor school and anotheractivities like sports, clubs, etc.Kohung, Thailand

There isn't just one importantthing there are so many goodthings I want to tell them.Simon, Switzerland

Ill tell them that American highschools so much different than in

Turkmenistan (classes, sports,and un i f o rm ) - Se rda r ,Turkmenistan

I would like to thank my parentsfor giving that big change to bean exchange student and I thinkI will never thank them enough!

A year as anexchange studentin a foreigncountry is thebest thing thathappened to meand I would liketo thank my host parents withoutw h o m m y e x c h a n g ewouldn't be adream cometrue! When Illbe back home,

Ill push myfriends to do thesame experience! - Pauline,France

I dont want to tell themanythingAlex, Switzerland

My school life! And our cafeteriaof Twilight!!! - Riho, Japan

How great the landscape is andhow I changed personally andwhat made me change - Lucia,Germany

Not everybody is blond, LOLAom, Thailand

What I will miss the

most is my host family.

Im pretty sure that I

will miss the life style,

friends, and this lovely

country. - Tipsuda,

Thailand

In April, I took Gianmarco and Agata toDisney World. We flew to Houstonand spent the night with my son, andMonday morning caught a flight toOrlando. It was an adventure as weflew "Space Available" on a pass...my sonworks for Continental. We were lucky

and didn't get bumped going, but Agataand I spent a day in Houston at my son'shome coming back, when they only hadone seat available. We let Gianmarcotake the only seat available. We hadbeautiful weather, a nice, convenient

hotel and the kids got to spend two fulldays in Disney World. The three of usspent about 3 hours the 2nd daylistening to a Time Share presentationwhich saved them about $100apiece. The sales person was veryimpressed with my two Italian AFSersand is interested in hosting. I had fun

just relaxing around the pool andspending time at Disney Village. Theywere good kids and easy to travelwith....a great adventure!

A Trip to Disney WorldBernice Schuchardt


8/12

P A G E 8

You and I will

meet again

When we are least

expecting it

One day in some

far off place

I will recognize

your face

I wont say goodbye

my friend

For you and I will

meet again

~ Tom Petty

What Host Parents have to say...H e l e n a f r o mBrazilOur funniestmoment with Helenawas when she wantedto make a Braziliandessert. Jason came

home and found heropening a can with agiant butcher knife.She was stabbing thecan and trying to pryit open with a spoon.He quickly showedher how to used thehand held canopener. What willwe miss the mostabout Helena? Shequestioned so many

things that we told her, her responsewas always really? - JenniferMeehan, host mom

Claudia from ItalyOur funniesttranslation moment was when mydaughter Bethany was talking aboutwanting an Australian Shepherd.Claudia looked at her and said Whydo you want a shepherd? Why dontyou want an Australian Surferinstead? We will miss Claudiasupbeat positive attitude. She is sobright and cheery almost all of thetime. When she ran track at thehigh school, to her it didn't matter ifshe won or lost, it only mattered toher that she tried her bestRachelJohnson, host mom

Renger from the Netherlands It ishard for me to come up with onlyone funny story about Renter.There are way too many to choosefrom. Okay, the Dutch jokes aboutthrowing a bike on the roof Howdoes a teenager throw a bike on theroof? He doesn't, hes too lazy tothrow the bike on the roof. Howdoes a relativist throw a bike on theroof? He puts the roof under thebike. And how does a macho guythrow a bike on the roof? He throwsit over the roof. And so forth..this isDutch humor - Ramune NagisettyClaudia and Agata from ItalyPaul

was driving Claudia and Agata fromthe mall to Lucia's party. Claudia andAgata were in the back of the carspeaking rapid-fire Italian, while our 3and a half year-old daughter Frankie,usually very chatty, sat in silence.Then after Claudia and Agatastopped talking, after a short pauseFrankie shouted "Hakuna Matata!"No doubt she was trying to join theconversation and used the only"Italian" she knew! - Mary Senatori,host mom

Agata from ItalyAgata will kill us

but we'll never forget the day shewent shopping downtown, in themiddle of winter, wearing a lightsweatshirt and cotton "espadrille"shoes with no socks. Well, we allknow how Portland weather can

change on a dime. While the Italiangang were safe and warm inside thePioneer Courthouse mall, thetemperature dropped about 20degrees and it started to snow ...heavily. By the time she returned viathe Max to the Lloyd Center stop,there were about 6 inches of snowon the ground and I couldn't pick herup because our car tires weren'tsnow-worthy. She walked as far asshe could to a local cafe about 8blocks from our house, and thencalled me, "Mary! I can't walk anyfurther -- I am FREEZING!" So I gotall bundled up and walked to the cafe

and brought her a winter coat, socks,a hat, scarf, and gloves. It was prettyfunny ... kind of a Portland rite-of-passage moment! - Mary Senatori,host mom

Gianmarco from ItalyFunniesttranslation moment...one morning Ifixed Gianmarco scrambled eggs andhash browns on my electric grill.Some time later he asked me to fixhim bumbled eggs on the blackthing. There have been many funnymany funny moments. One is thestory about a couple girls asking heand Serdar what they charge? Theboys had no idea what they were

talking about. The other incidenthappened a few nights ago. He wentto church with Luis and the churchgroup asked if anyone wanted themto pray for them. Gianmarco wasntpaying attention and Luis told him toput his hand up. What I will miss themost about Gianmarco is his smilingface; the words thank you; andspell it; and why, Bernice, why.Bernice, host mom

Aom from ThailandWe are goingto miss all of thequestions about whywe say crazy phrasesand strange words, we

will miss learningabout strange foodsfrom Thailand andwatch ing B iz arreF o o d s A n d r e wZimmern eat bugs.One of our funniesttranslation momentswas when we weretelling Aom about ourfavorite Fair food theElephant Ear. Aomasked, how do you cook it? Deep

fried? Isnt is rough and hairy? Shethought we were talking about eatinga real elephants ear. We had a goodlaugh when she realized that it was atype of doughnut. - Tami Spears,host mom.

Anna F. from Germany is a beautifulyoung woman who is not afraid totry new things and has made themost of her experience by doing so.She participated in the school play"Little Shop of Horrors" as apregnant woman, and the day thecast wore their costumes to schoolto promote the play, a teacheractually thought she was pregnant,but Anna set her straight real quick.Anna is also a member of theGerman Club, on the tennis teamand is in the Woman's choir atschool. Singing is probably herfavorite activity. Not only has she

c o m p e t e d i n t w o s i n g i n gcompetitions through the school buthas sung several times in church.Her next adventure will beperforming at a dance festival inMcKenzie Stadium with 2,000 otheryouth her age. I know she has had alot of fun learning the dances and isready for the performance which willbe held just days before she goeshome. One of my favorite things iswhen I come home from work orsomewhere and she hears the garagedoor open, she is there with thedoor open to greet me. She alwayshas a smile on her face and has made

our home an even more pleasantplace to be. One of the things sheshared with our family was how theydye Easter eggs on her island usingonion skins. It was a lot of fun andthey turned out far different thanwhat I had expected. She will trulybe missed when she goes home, butwill always be in our heart! - RhondaSherman, host mom

Katya from

Switzerland and Alban

from Germany

Lucia from Germany


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P A G E 9

PROM 2010...


10/12

P A G E 1 0

Not many people have the opportunity to travelabroad for three weeks and have familiar facesmeeting them at each of their destinations. Mydaughter, Lori, and I planned our Italian vacation forthree weeks so we could visit our Italian exchangestudents. Lori studied in Florence, Italy with Lewis& Clark College about 20 years ago. We visitedGuilia Pertusati (1995-96) and Daniela Timon (1978-79), and Clio Grossi (2003-04) and her friendGiulia Soroldoni, and got to see Davide Sobrino

(2000-01), who lived with Pat and Ron Combs; andNicole Testini (2003-04) who lived with Lori andher husband. We also got to see Barbara Timon,Danielas sister who was also an AFS student toCalifornia. You could never book a trip like thiswith any travel agentwe got to experience andlive Italian culture for a short time with our Italianstudents. This trip would not have been possible ifI had never become involved as a host mom andvolunteer with AFS. After you read this story, Ihope you get on the phone and call AFS and tellthem you want to host a student.

On September 3rd we left Portland for Newarkand then on to Milan. Shortly after our arrival inMilan, Clio Grossi and her father Massimo arrived

and took us to their home in Monza. Massimo,Clios father, invited Lori to go running with himthat evening and even loaned her his shoes. He willbe running the New York Marathon next Fall. Thatevening her mom, Lela, cooked a typical dinner forus from that region and family and friends werethere. One of their friends came with a bag ofbaseball hats and presented each of us with a hatand s story about where he got the hat. It washilarious! I did not host Clio, but agreed to be herWelcome Family. That never happened because afamily was found for her in The Dalles. Clio and Ikept in contact that year and when she went home,I made a trip to Italy and got to meet her family.

Then a couple summers ago, Clio and her friendGuilia Soroldoni came to Oregon and spent amonth with me. Since then, each time I go to Italy,Monza and the Grossi family are my first and laststop. They are a delightful familya lot of fun;theyre AFS volunteers. There is always a lot oflaughter in their home. Giulias family is now also apart of my large international family, and I always

get together with them while in Monza. Some dayher mom and brother may come to visit me.Our next stop was Livorno. Guilia Pertusati

(my second Italian girl) was from Livorno. I havevisited the Pertusati' family many times in Livorno.Giulia and her husband now live in Cagliarli,Sardinia. Giulias mom and dad, Marcella and Piero,met Lori and I at the train station and we stayedwith them for several days. While in Livorno Loriand I made a day trip to Florence on the train andthe next day Marcella and Piero drove us throughthe rolling hills of Tuscany to Siena and SanGimignano.

We then flew to Cagliarli to spend five dayswith Giulia and her husband Carlo. Marilyn Haysand I went to Giulia and Carlos wedding just twoyears ago. In Cagliarli we took a city tour, got

Italian hair cuts, and explored the downtown areanear Giulia and Carlos home. The next day theydrove us north to Santa Maria Narvese, where theyown a vacation home. They took us out in theirboat to a nice place where they dropped anchorand we went for a swim. Since the water waspretty choppy, we went back to Santa Maria,packed up, and went to Carlos father Ugos homein the countryside where we spent a night. Hetook us on a tour of his olive grove and had atypical barbeque for us of sausage and pork chops.We ate something called Fici d Indio, and heshowed how they are gathered. They are the fruitof a cactus which looks like a giant prickly pear; wewatched a demonstration of grappa being made;and went on a drive through a nearby village where

the buildings are painted with scenes of theirculture. .We then went back to Cagliarli, and earlythe next morning Giulia drove us to Olbia wherewe caught a ferry back to Livorno. Giulias brotherpicked us up in Livorno and took us back to thePertusatis home. The next day Marcella and Pieroinformed us that they were going to drive us to LaSpezia in Le Cinque Terre, and we visited the NavalMuseum there with them. This is another family Idearly love as they have always made me feel like amember of their family. Marcella is a retired schoolteacher and Piero still teaches at the University inPisa.

For the next three days we were on our own inLe Cinque Terre. We stayed in Riomaggiore atLa Terrazza B&B, a B&B at the top of the town, onestop before the cemetery. Clios family found this

great place for us.. Riomaggiore is one of the fivevillages in Le Cinque Terre. Lori and I visited fourof the villages. A train travels back and forththrough the villages and you can actually walkbetween Riomaggiore and Manarola. Le CinqueTerre is located on a rugged portion of the coaston the Italian Riviera. Its just west of La Spezia. Itsometimes is known as The Five Lands. Whenthe weather is good, you can hike from one city tothe other.

Asti was our next destination, where mystudent, Daniela and her family lives with herhusband Marcello and two children, Federica andAndrea. Daniela is a doctor and has her own

practice there. Most of you are probably familiarwith Asti Spumante wine.and the other excellentwine Barbera dAsti. This is wine country! WhenDaniela lived with us, she compared the similarityof the Willamette Valley with all their wineries inthe countryside around Asti. Daniela and herfamily came to visit me a few years ago25 yearsafter her year here as an AFS student. The first

night in Asti we had a nice dinner and then droveto Torino to hear Danielas sister Barbaras sonsing. Barbara was an AFS student in California theyear after Daniela was here and has visited myhome several times. The next day Daniela took usto her friends winery, Da Capo, and we helpedharvest grapes with many of their friends. Howmany people are able to go to Italy and help withthe grape harvest???? I picked grapes until it startedto rain and thunder and lightning. I then went tothe house and helped clean and prepare many

vegetables for the dinner for the 50+ grape pickers.The main dish was something called Bagna Cauda.A sauce was made with many cloves of garliccrushed in a large pan and a giant size can ofanchovies added to it. They were then crushed all

together and about a gallon of olive oil was addedto it. It was then boiled for a long time. In themeantime we prepared many raw vegetables. TheBagna Cauda was then served in individual fondue-like pots. At the table you would add the freshvegetables to your individual pot and let themsimmer. At the end you added a fresh egg and let itcook. There was a lot of good bread and wine, anda lot interesting people.. We enjoyed so muchtalking with them and getting to know all of thesewonderful, warm Italian people from all walks of life--an artist, a German couple, another man Danielabought a table from, an engineer, and evensomeone who had sang karoke with my son Rick.

The next day we visited the Crotin deMombarone, near Asti. We went on a hike withDaniela, Federica and their friends to the

countryside in Asti. It was very interestingahillside with many caves where people lived manyyears ago. There were five or six rooms withpieces of old furniture. It was amazing as there wasno electricity and evidently their only light wasfrom lanterns or candles. If you have Facebook, Ihave photos on my website. Couldnt find anythingon the internet. At the end of the hike we went tothe home of one of the farmers who went with us,and he served us wine, fresh fruit, and snacks.

When we returned to the house, DavideSobrino came to see me. Davide lived with Pat andRon Combs in 2000-01. I was a Welcome Familyto him. He brought his mother and girlfriend. We

Under the Tuscan Sun And a Little Rain in Other Places by Bernice Schuchardt

Carlo and Giulia

Barbara Timon

Davide & his girlfriend


11/12

P A G E 1 1Area Team

ChairJames Spears

Chair-ElectOPEN

TreasurerTom Hilleary

Hosting CoordinatorsOPEN

Sending CoordinatorEmily Leis

OPEN

Orientation CoordinatorRon Combs

Support CoordinatorsBernie Gerhardt

Andrea Rapp

Volunteer CoordinatorSally Ann Wells

Liaison CoordinatorOPEN

Returnee CoordinatorEric Sussman

CommunicationsCoordinatorTami Spears

WebsiteJames Spears

CHAPTER/CLUSTER

COORDINATORS

Columbia GorgeRymmel Lovell

Hillsboro/Forest Grove/BanksJim & Erin Linhares

Lake OswegoLorie James

North ClackamasMaggie Frieske

North/Northeast PortlandChris Cradler

Portland West

Sally Ann Wells

Southeast/Gresham/SandyBernice Schuchardt

Tigard/TualatinAndrea Johnson

Tillamook/Oregon CoastSue Cudd

WilsonvilleMichelle Labrie-Ripple

Yamhill CountyTami & James Spears

Camas/WashougalRuth Ladage

Longview/Kelso/ToledoDebbie Erickson

Vancouver/Battle GroundBernie Gerhardt

YES/FLEX StudentCoordinatorsMaggie FrieskeRustam KocherRymmel LovellOPEN

Visiting TeacherCoordinatorsJerrie Nelson

Sally Ann Wells

The Calendar 20092010

JUNE 27 DEPARTURE DAY

JUNE 19 END OF STAY PICNICOAKS PARKContact Ron Combs

Western Region Hosting News...Host Family SurveyA survey to current host familieswent out May 27 asking if they areagain interested in hosting and/orhe lp i ng w i th hos t f ami l yfinding. The survey will close June11 so please encourage yourfamilies to respond before then. A

reminder message will be sent June3 to those who have notresponded by that date.

TwitterOur Hosting Facebook page is nowconnected with Twitter! For thoseof you who use social media, all ofour updates on Facebook will nowshow up as tweets.

International Living RoomCheck out the May issue of theInternational Living Room, sent to2,500 host family leads. Thismonth's eNewsletter focused on

Japan.

When do we use the FamilyPlacement Mailed (FPM)status?When a hostfamily hasb e e nscreened andaccepted tohost, which

means weve received completehost family paperwork (with theexception of the PAF as long as wehave at least a verbal approval fromthe host school), and backgroundchecks have been finalized. At thatpoint, we send host familyapplication to the partner country

to share with the hosted student,a n d h o s t f a m i l y - s t u d e n tcorrespondence is approved (note-we must receive a signed PAF priorto student arrival)

When do we use the FamilyPlacement Confirmed (FPC)status?When all requirements for FPMhave been met, ie. we havereceived all pieces of the hostfamily paperwork, backgroundchecks have been cleared AND asigned Placement Acceptance Form(PAF) from the host school hasbeen received. This is the last andfinal stage of the process wecomplete before students' arrival!

GLOBAL LINK TIP OF THEWEEKRecording contacts in HostFamily contact LogsWhen working with a potential orcurrent host family, it is importantto record each time you makecontact with them. You can create

contact records in the host familyscontact log in Global Link followingthese steps:1. Click on Service Ref. number2. Under Service Case Detail click

on Person Info.3. You can find all contact

information for your lead in thePerson Detail.

4. Enger a comment in the contactlog each time you contact thefamily, and/or attempt to, clickon the Contact Log tab onthe Person Detail page.

5. In the Contact Log you can seeall comments or emails for thislead. To leave a comment clickon Create Contact Log.

6. Type your comments and clicksave.

And a Little Rain in Other Places by Bernice Schuchardt Continued...had a short visit and he told me thatsome day he and Ricardo (my studentfrom Peru) are going to return toPortland and have a reunion at myhouse.

The next day Bardonnechia wasour destination. Daniela and her familyown a condo there. We took the trainthere to spend a night and on the waystopped in Torino to have lunch withBarbara, Danielas sister. Bardonnechiais a ski resort where my son Rick skiiswith Danielas father almost every year.My husband Lawton was also therea

photo of he and Daniela s father taken

on one of our trips sits on a book shelfas you enter the condo. This village isalso where part of the WinterOlympics was held. .The next day wereturned to Asti.Back to Monza. We left Asti in themorning for Monza. This was the onlytime we made a goof on thetrains.we got on a train and it wasnot going to Milan.it was going toGenova. But, how lucky, at the nextstop we were able to get off and get onthe train we were supposed to be on.

Clios mom, Lela, picked us up in

Monza and we went to their home; had

lunch; Lori went running with Massimo,and Lela had another nice dinner.Giulia S. and her mom came for dinneras well as some relatives and friends. Itwas Clios birthday. While we weretraveling, Massimo had ran a 1/2Marathon and presented Lori with hisMarathon shirt. The next day, we gotbrave and took the city bus todowntown Monza and did someshopping at the markets That night wespent the evening packing and the nextmorning Massimo took us to theairport. So, it was end of a great

vacation.


12/12

AFSCOLUMBIA

PACIFIC

Tami Spears1025 NE Irvine St.

McMinnville, OR 97128

Want Souvenir/Scrapbook? E-Mail: Ron Combs [email protected]

For more information and for our newsletter archives, visit the Columbia-Pacific website at www.AFSCP.com

2010 june newsletter - final

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