JUNE 2003

A F S

C OL U MB I A - P A C I F I C

Directions to Lents Park from I-205North orI-205 South:

Take exit 17 on toFoster Road. From South turn left ontoFoster Road Exit; go to first light turn rightonto 92nd. From the North turn right ontoFoster Road go to first light turn right onto92nd. Go two lights and turn left ontoHolgate by the Arco station, which will beon your right. Entrance to the park will beon your left about two blocks.Call Ron Combs on his cell phone if youget lost at (503) 314-5243.

STUDENT DEPARTURE - SUNDAY, JULY 6

Students will depart from Lents Park inS.E. Portland (89th and S.E. HolgateBlvd.) beginning at 3 PM on Sunday, July6. It is important that you arrive there nolater than 3 PM, as all luggage will beweighed and then placed in a rented van.You will no longer be able to access thisluggage after this, so it is important thatyou place everything you need (includingyour passport) in your carry-on.Remember, all items such as scissors,knives, etc. are not allowed in your possession when boarding a plane.

Generally, the weight limit for each checked piece of luggage is 70 lbs (about 32kilograms). Please be aware that someairlines have weight limits of 50 lbs per bag.The size limit for each checked piece of luggage is 62 inches (about 152.4 centimeters- add the length + depth + width of your luggage to figure out the size). Your carry-on bag must be less than 45 linear inches.Be aware that if either of your bags is larger or heavier than these figures, you may be chargedan "excess baggage" fee - which can beanywhere from $80-$300 (to be paid by cash or by credit card). AFS will not pay these chargesfor you! The airline may also not allow youto check these bags in at all. You will have toleave behind anything that is overweight.Please make sure you have a credit card youcan use in case of excess charges.Carry-on luggage needs to be able to fitunder the airline seat or in an overheadcompartment. Items such as golf clubs, bicycles, skis, and snow-boards are generallyconsidered "over-sized" baggage, and youwill usually have to pay a charge ($50-$110),depending on the item's size and weight,even if such an item is your second"checked" piece of luggage. It is a good ideato call the airline beforehand to check on anyoversized baggage. These regulations arealso posted on the websites for each airline.Finally, remember that items on airlines get banged around. Be sure to pack your musicalinstrument or electronic equipment in hardcases to protect them. Such items will likelyneed to be checked as a third piece of luggage, and you will need to pay additional baggage fees as required by the airline.

Students from Central America:

Be awarethat airlines have an embargo on additional baggage during the summer months. Youwill NOTbe allowed to travel withadditional baggage, whether or not you arewilling and able to pay for it. FederalRegulations prevent the airline fromallowing any weight over 70 lbs per bag,with a maximum of 2 bags. They will alsonot allow you to travel with boxes or oddly-shaped bags.Each student should check with the airline(s)he/she will be returning on to confirmwhether the 50-lbs limit applies. Please bear in mind that each student may have flownover on a combination of carriers that are co-chaired, but may have different restrictions(i.e. Luftunsa and United).Each student should have his/her naturalfamily forward him/her (i.e. via-mail)his/her flight itinerary. The natural familywill be the first people to receive thestudents' flight itineraries. Once the studentknows which airlines he/she is taking home,the student can contact the airline and check the restrictions. As stated in the letter above,web sites for airlines are another source of this information.

YOUR LUGGAGE - WEIGHT AND SIZE LIMITATIONS ATTENTION:THAI STUDENTS

We now have word that NW Airlines(most THAs will travel on NW) willaccept 70 lbs, not 44 lbs as is indicatedin previous info. The 44 lbs is for allother countries except the USA to flyinto THA.

STUDENT NEWS

When:

Thursday, June 26.

Where:

Oaks Park, Area #2

Time:

1:00-7:30 p.m.

Who is Invited:

All AFSers, host families(newand old) and all AFS friends.

What do I bring?

This is a potluck, so bringyour favorite food to share. AFS will providePepsi and bottled water, as we are not allowedto bring in outside drinks - an Oaks Park rule.

AFS will furnish ride bracelets forAFSSTUDENTS only.

For more information, call Sally Ann Wells(503) 452-1868, Bernice Schuchardt (503)775-4161, or Ron Combs (503) 777-8117.It would help us out a lot if you would let usknow if you will be able to come. There are alot of things to do, so come prepared to have alot of fun.

YOU ARE INVITED TOTHE END OF STAY PICNIC

The weekend started off on Saturday, May 31with five Pacific Cascades students arrivingat Bernice's home - Andrea Contreras(Chile), Melanie Kustra (Germany), HafdisAsbjarnardottir (Iceland), Yohei Harano(Japan), and Felicitas Laurent (Germany).Christine Stevens escorted them to Pioneer Square, where they met up with our Columbia Pacific students for a tour of thetown. At 5 p.m., approximately 25 returnedto Bernice's for spaghetti dinner and then back downtown for the Starlight Parade. Anunofficial headcount at the parade wassomewhere around 40+ families and AFSers.

STARLIGHT PARADE AND ZOO WEEKENDNIKE VISIT HIGHLIGHTOF THE YEAR

By Sultanbeck, Kyrgyszstan

I bet all the AFS students this year haveexperienced things that they will remember for a long time. One of mine this year wasa tour around Nike World Headquarters inBeaverton. I even got to play a couple of unforgettable soccer games on the RonaldField, named after one of the world's bestsoccer players.I met Rustam Kocher at his office in theMichael Jordan building. Rustam was anexchange student to Indonesia in 1988/89,and is a fellow Muslim. He took me on atour of the campus. There is absolutely noway to be subtle about these buildings, thesoccer fields, running tracks, two full-servicegyms, the lake in the middle of campuswith birds, and the modern, stylish shapesof everything on those amazing 170 acres.It was a little bit hard for me to play soccer against the all the Nike employees likeRustam, who workout every day and stay inshape, but I did my best. I was able to use theemployee locker room, which has a hot tub inone corner and TVs with leather armchairs.I also had a chance to shop at the NikeEmployee Store. While I was there, two players from the NBAGolden State Warriorswere also shopping. They were huge andtall. It took me almost three hours to check out all the apparel and try on most of the basketball shoes like Shox and Air Max.It made me feel proud to be an exchangestudent here in the Pacific Northwest, closeto Nike Headquarters, especially whenRustam showed me the special autograph boards signed by some of the most valuable NBA, soccer, and football players, runners,and athletes who have visited NikeHeadquarters and were as pleased as I was.I also got to see Michael Jordan's uniformthat he wore during a game where hescored a career-record 69 points.Another cool thing is that world-famoussoccer club Manchester United is comingto Nike to practice before their game inSeattle in July - David Beckham is going to play on the same field where I did!I appreciate it Rustam! Thank you!Special thanks goes out to our Portlandvolunteers: Sally Ann Wells for organizingvolunteers to save us a spot to view the parade; Bernice for cooking the spaghettidinner and organizing the overnights; Elliot,Mark, Angela, Francisco and Christine for helping and hosting; Rustam Kocher for organizing our "Fourth Annual AFS Day atthe Zoo" on Sunday, and, of course, our overnight host families-the Bartels fromVancouver, the Eure family (a new hostfamily), Ron and Pat Combs, and Bernice.And a special thanks to the weatherman who provided a beautiful, sunny weather!

Do you have a draw full of cards from charitiessoliciting your donations that you don't use?Donate them to AFS - we can never thank our volunteers enough. Your cards will cut down onour expenses and cost you nothing.Send them to Sue Byrum, 2675 Sykes Road,St. Helens, 97051, or give them to one of your Area Team members who attending the June19 meeting, the End of Stay Picnic on June26, or departure on July 6.

RECYCLE YOUR CARDS -DONATE THEM TO AFS

Ron Combs is looking for four helpers to manthe IOF 4th of July Fireworks booth inVancouver from 10 a.m. to midnight. Volunteerswill be taken on a first-come, first-served basis,so call him soon if you are interested - (503)771-8116. Helpers are expected to work at leastone day in a fireworks stand, which will beoperating between June 28 and July 5 for 3-hour shifts, or longer if you want. The Vancouver Fireworks is one of the largest displays in the Northwest, and you would have a great view.Ron will provide transportation.

WANT TO SEE THE VANCOUVER FIREWORKS?

STUDENT NEWS

Panithan Sirirattanaphonku

Panithan introduced Thai culture to differentgroups for his senior project at Tillamook HighSchool. Host dad Don Sheneberger encouragesyou to check out the presentation webpage:

http://www.sheneberger.com/BKK.html

Junko Oguma

was a team member on WilsonHS's dragon boat team. Junko lives with theJohnston family.

Sultanbeck Duyshenov, Kyrgyszstan

Sally Ann Wells sent in this comment aboutSultanbek, "I was very proud of Sultanbek andhis conduct and comments at the World AffairsCouncil Reception for host families, who werehosting the visiting Kyrghy educators."

ITALIAN RETURNEE FLIESIN FOR FRIEND’S PROM

How many girls have a date flying in fromItaly to escort them to their prom? JackieBartel did. Returnee Davide Sobrinoreturned in May to escort his friend, Jackie,to her prom.Davide was an AFS exchange student atFranklin High School in 2000-2001. Hespent a week visiting his host family, Ronand Pat Combs, went to Reno with theBartels, visited with his liaison Kristin andsaw Bernice (his Welcome Family).Jackie's mom, Pam, has worked with RonCombs with our AFS/IOF bowling league person, and just recently their family hostedtwo of our Pacific Cascades guests.