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Local Families Host International Students over Thanksgiving Holiday Break

By Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune Staff

Photo by Starr Walkup, reproduced courtesy of the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune

  International students from three
   countries arrived in Chillicothe on
   Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006, to
   spend the Thanksgiving holiday
   with Chillicothe host families. The
   Klines, Meltes, and Bays hosted
   the international students this
   year who were visiting from Korea,
   Japan, and Taiwan. Seven other
   students stayed with families in
   other nearby towns. Other
   countries represented in the
   homestayprogram were mainland
   China and Saudi Arabia.

   The students are studying English
   in the Intensive English Program at
MU in preparation for their college-level academic course work in a wide range of majors, including veterinary medicine, business, accounting, engineering, music education, interior design, and others.

“While I was teaching in the IEP at MU, I saw these homestays make a real difference in the lives of the students,” said Starr Walkup, homestay coordinator. “Many came back to their studies with renewed enthusiasm. It gets a bit depressing to be operating in a language where you are not always able to express yourself as well as you can in your own, so it is nice for the students to receive the hospitality and care of a family for a short time.” Host families in past years have welcomed the students and “made them feel a part of the family,” she reported.

In a briefing before their visits, the students were encouraged to bring items of interest from their countries to share with children and adults in the host families. In the past, some students have brought ‘traditional dress' from their country while others brought games and pictures. One student brought all the items for an elaborate traditional tea, while some even cooked a meal for their host families. “We want it to be a positive experience for both the host families and the MU students,” says Walkup. “So a good deal of preparation goes into the students' visits.”

She explains that it is not only the host families who benefit: “My parents hosted a woman from South Korea when I was around 12, and I know it impacted me a lot, so I am enthusiastic about the program from the side of the families. As a teacher I've seen the way students benefit from a better view of Americans than TV gives them. It's a win-win program. I feel that working with it may be my small contribution toward world peace.”

“We are always looking for good host families who'd like to be a part of this program in some future year,” she added. For more information or to be put on the mailing list for next year, please contact the MU Intensive English Program at 573-882-7523.