New Kids On The (American) Block
Words and Images by Terrell Manasco They come from far away lands, crossing frigid indigo oceans, soaring over snow-capped mountaintops, arid terra cotta deserts, and traversing several time zones, their wild young hearts eager for knowledge, their dewy eyes seeking bold new adventures. They have tearfully left behind family and friends, but on the other side await new life experiences, new families and friends who will eagerly welcome them with open arms and loving hearts. They will shed tears and they will share laughter. They will assume the role of both student and teacher, learning new words, phrases and customs, while imparting upon others portions of their own native tongues and culture.Patti Johnson is a local International Exchange Coordinator (IEC) for Education First's (EF) High School Exchange Year. She helps locate potential host families and places exchange students with them. She is also a host mother. If EF needed someone to champion their cause, they could not have found a more capable cheerleader than Patti. "I help them through the application process and EF has close to 3,000 kids that are available in the course of a year," Patti say. "I choose a few that I feel would be a good match, and give [prospective parents] a few to choose from. We keep in contact at least once a month. If there are any issues that arise, we're there for them to call us."
Front row, L-R: Julia Bernet, Alex Schultze, Tanja Reichmuth, "Palm" Sungsuwon, and Lea Friesen. Back row, L-R: Host mom Megan Key, Pat Drummond, host mom Margaret Farley, Kelley Farley, and Patti Johnson.It's almost noon on a Friday, and the Alabama sky is a clear azure blue. Patti Johnson and nine other people are gathered around a table inside Green Top Barbecue to have a quick lunch. Five of them are high school students: Alex Schultze, from Frankfurt, Germany, Konthicha Sungsuwon, (who is called "Palm") from Chonburi, Thailand, Tanja Reichmuth, from Einsiedeln, Switzerland, Julia Bernet, from Ennetbaden, Switzerland, and Lea Friesen, from Wolfhagen, Germany. With Alex is her host mother from Graysville, Margaret Farley and her daughter Kelley Farley. Sitting with Julia is her host mom, Megan Key, of Carbon Hill. Pat Drummond of Corner, an International Exchange Coordinator and 20 year veteran of EF has arrived just in time to order lunch.Patti says the process is a lengthy one. The average time from submitting an application to approval is three to four months. It's also rather expensive. Parents typically shell out $15,000-$18,000 for their child to come here, which covers tuition or other school costs. "The kids are also responsible for all of their own personal and spending money while they're here," Patti explains. "All the host parents are required to provide is room and board. No shampoo, no eating out or anything like that."Last year Patti hosted a student named Nick, from Switzerland. She will be hosting Nick's sister this year, and her own son Jared is currently a student in Switzerland. "Most are here for the school year. They have a ten month visa," she says.
Prospective host parents also have an arduous process ahead of them before they can be approved. "We had to fill out a form online, we had to go through a background check, we had to prove we could financially support taking them," says Margaret Farley.Students are allowed to communicate with their families back home via Skype or FaceTime, though Patti says it is limited. "It is suggested that Skype is no more than once a week," she says. "And they are also taught that they should speak to their family and friends in English while they are here."Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. "The only one who would be speaking [English] would be my older brother, but his English is like....horrible," Alex says.
With the varied language and cultural differences, it's typical for Americans to ask the students questions, some of which are unintentionally humorous. "Someone asked me one time the question, 'Do you have the sky in Germany?' " says Alex."It happened to me yesterday," Lea adds. "Because it was raining, someone asked me if we have rain in Germany.""A friend asked me, 'What's sweet tea in Swiss German?' I was like, 'We call it iced tea'," says Julia, with just a hint of a southern drawl.
It's not uncommon for students to incorporate English words and phrases after hearing them frequently. Sometimes, however, the opposite is true. Megan says her two year-old daughter Brooklyn has actually picked up some of Julia's Swiss German. "She's walking around the house while Julia's at school saying stuff all the time, and I'm like, 'What are you saying?' She will say, 'Sissy said, Sissy said,' " Megan laughs.On the other hand, there are also a few foreign words that don't exactly roll trippingly off the English tongue. According to Julia, the Swiss German word for "cabinet" is invariably troublesome for most Americans. She pronounces it a few times to illustrate. When no one is able to repeat it, she politely smiles and writes it down on a napkin: choichichastli.When the five young students were asked what they each thought was the best thing about American schools, most agreed that pep rallies, Friday football, and school spirit were at or near the top of the list. Julia said having eight hour school days was preferable to the ten hour days in her native Switzerland.
Tanja feels that the teachers here in America are more accessible. "I really like the teachers here," she says. "I'm so much closer to the them than I am to the ones back in Switzerland. We talk about things like how was the weekend, and they really want to know what we did. The teachers at home just give us the assignment, but we don't talk to them."Perceptions of what life in America is like often change once the students settle in here. "Y'all are less cray-cray than I thought," Alex says, and the entire group erupts in laughter. "Though I didn't expect there to be so much focus on hunting and not on school." Palm says it's easier here to get an education than in Thailand. Julia admits she expected it to be a cross between High School Musical and NCIS.
Inevitably the dreaded day arrives. The school year is over and it's time to leave. Numerous hugs will be given out as students say their tearful goodbyes to their American families before boarding a plane to return home. Many will stay in touch with their host families through texting, social media, and Skype or FaceTime. Some may possibly even return after graduation. Julia says she would like to attend UAB. All five unanimously agree it has been a life-changing experience, and they are very thankful they did it.For anyone who is considering either becoming an exchange student or a host parent, Alex has these words of advice: "Just do it," she says. "Get out of your comfort zone."For more information about hosting an exchange student, please contact Patti Johnson at 205-522-1530 or at pljinjasper@yahoo.com. 78To read more stories like these, please visit and "like" the 78 Magazine Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/78mag/