NEWSLETTERMARCH2009

WWW.AFSCP.COM

Visit your local AFS website. It is a great resource for volunteers, host families, and exchange students.

James Spears, Area Team Webmaster

The Dalles hosted its first AFSexchange student in 1957 and has bothsent and hosted one or two students mostevery year since for a total of 95. As weare a small community of 13,000 theseAFS students have been involved withmany families and left us with fondmemories.We, Tedd and Rymmel Lovell, becameinvolved with AFS in 1994 when wehosted our first exchange son fromAustralia. We completed a teachingexchange to Adelaide, South Australia in 1992 and wantedanother connection in a different part of that country. It workedfantastically, and since then our exchange son has returned to ustwice for visits, and we have met his parents on two vacations aswell.Since 1994, we have hosted students from Australia (1), Japan(2), Argentina (1), Thailand (1), Italy (1) and a teacher from Spain(1). We have been a temporary host family for students fromEgypt (1), India (1), and Japan (1).Our daughter Deidre went with us on the teaching exchangeas a 9

grade student. In 1996 she asked to do her ownexchange as a high school senior. She went to Kiruna, Swedenabove the Arctic Circle. She asked for a placement where shecould ski and she was well rewarded. Since then we havereturned with her and our granddaughter to visit her host parentsand see their country.We have been involved with AFS through the years asfundraising chairs, hosting coordinator, liaison to several students,host parents, bus chaperones, chauffeurs, and now chapter chair/coordinator. We enjoy getting to know each student along withthe countries and customs they bring to our table. We oftensearch the internet to see the home country where a student lives,their community, neighborhood, school and home. English is our only language but a smile and carefully chosen words can go along way towards comfortable communication. We’ve never metanyone with whom we couldn’t share.

Ted and Rymmel Lovell, Columbia Gorge Chapter

Being Great Hosts—The Columbia Gorge Chapter

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Tedd and Rymmel Lovell with Roger and Sheryl Treenfrom Healsville, Australia. They are Matt Treen'sparents. We first met them in Australia to visit Matt in2000, traveled with them to Hawaii in 2002, to England in 2004,and last summer at our home in The Dalles when they came tovisit 2008.

Welcome New Hosting Co-coordinators!

AFS Columbia Pacific welcomes our new Area Team Hosting Co-coordinators! Stacey Mills and Andrea Johnson havetaken over the reins as Hosting Co-coordinators for the Area Team.My name is Stacey Mills. I live inbeautiful Portland, Oregon. I havetraveled all over the world andhave had great culturalexperiences everywhere. In myexperience, shared peace, joy andacceptance is the universallanguage of understanding. Ibelieve that AFS provides theopportunity to build bridges of cultural understanding betweendifferent nations.My name is Andrea Johnsonand I am an AFS returneefrom Austria `94-`95. I am astay-at-home mom of twolittle girls who keep mehopping all the time. I havebeen involved with AFS onand off since my family firsthosted over 20 yearsago. AFS is an organizationI believe in, so I am veryexcited to join this team.

YOUR AFS WORLD

AFS Columbia PacificInvites you and your family to join us in celebrating andthanking

YOU

Our volunteersVolunteer awards and presentations,festive hors d’oeuvres and beverages,and lively conversationSunday, April 19th, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.Who Song & Larry’s111 SE Columbia WayVancouver, WA 98661Bring the kids. The entire family is welcome.Watch your mail for an invitation, too.Please RSVP to leta.gorman@bullivant.com

THE CHAIR REPORT—Bonnie Richardson-Kott

I’m the Chair of the local volunteer board for AFS in the areareferred to as the Columbia Pacific Area Team. As the chair, I getto work with fantastic volunteers who seek out good host families,interview students and families, and organize trips andorientations among many other activities. I came to be an activevolunteer because of my direct contact with the many wonderfulstudents from around the world and my wanting to help thosestudents take part in the best exchange experience while inWashington and Oregon.I’ve had the opportunity to participate in many volunteer rolesbut perhaps the most cherished role I’ve had is as a host mom toSiyan from Malaysia. Siyan came to live with my family 2 yearsago and stayed with us for only 6 months. Those months flew byand my family still misses her. We learned so much about acountry that we new very little about. (My two boys love to pointout Malaysia on the globe to their friends.) Even though she hasgone back to Malaysia, Siyan is still part of our family and she willbe for a lifetime our sister, daughter and friend.You, too, can have the experience of a lifetime. Host anexchange student. It will open your hearts and minds …andextend your family by a few thousand miles.

Bonnie Richardson-Kott, Columbia Pacific Area Team Chair

AFS Has Deep Roots

Since our founding in 1947, AFS has matched host families with high school students from all over the world. More than 350,000 families and students worldwide have experienced the lifelong rewards of participating in AFS. Many of our volunteers are former host families or previous program participants, which speaks to the impact being an exchange student has on people’s lives.

AFS Columbia Pacific Volunteer Appreciation Event

YOUR AFS WORLDHow has AFS changed your life?

My life has changed in an amazingway, I have learned so much about theworld and myself within thisexperience—

Carolina, Chile

It teaches me to respect differentculture by offering me the chance toknow people from different countries.Getting countless help from my hostfamily and other volunteers strengthensmy belief that we are undoubtedly ableto make the world a greater place.Living away from parents and friendsback in China, I get more mature,independent and responsible. ThankAFS—

Libin, Visiting Teacher, China

It brought to me my best time in my lifeand the best experiences ever :) -

Vera, Germany

AFS gave me the opportunity to stay inAmerica and to be here—

Killian,Germany

I see things way different now, and ismore interested in other cultures. Ihave learned how well I have it inDenmark. I know how much I love myown family and friends, and howimportant they are for me. I found outthat I will be super lonely if I would livefor myself in an apartment, so I aminstead going to live in a collective for college students. :D—

Maria, Denmark

It has changed my live with giving methe opportunity to go to America. Ilearned some great things here that Ihopefully never forget.—

Daniel,Austria

AFS changed my life a lot!!! I think I’m just growing up and I’m gettingconcerned about more adult stuff likepolitics or the actual climate change. Ithink I gained a lot more self confidence too—

Philip, Germany

My life has been changed already.Right now I am in tennis team. I couldnever think I would play this kind of sport. Besides, I recognized manyissues in society doing my senior project. And I got opportunity tocompare my school and Americanschools, so I already know that aredifferences. For example, teacher andstudent involvement. I went throughAmerican education program. Another valuable thing in which I have beenchanged is my family and friends backhome. I understand how they areimportant to me. I am happy for eachemail or letter that I get from them. Ithink it encourages me a lot.—

Raima,Kyrgyzstan

AFS changed my life in this way, that Iam more open towards people, that Irealized that not everything is as badas it looks like and that every day couldbe the best of my life. It lies in myhand, what I make out of my life. To beindependent and to make my owndecisions is the greatest gift you couldhave.—

Anna-Lena, Germany

By opening up my eyes even more tothe world outside. AFS has been abridge for me to all the fantasticexperiences I have had over here sofar, also AFS has let me meet one of my very best friends over here! -

Andreas, Denmark

My experience with AFS has taught meto live intensely every moment of mylife and to be open to any newexperience. Because it doesn’t matter if the experience is good or bad, youalways learn something.—

Lucia,Spain

I have gotten to know myself better andwhat I think I really never thought of that they are so important for me.—

Ellen, Germany

This year is my huge abyss. It teachesme about the real world and real lifethat in somehow not like what weusually thought it was. Also I’ve grownup and learn how to be independentand roots me abroad friendship whichwill be forever.—

Pimchanok,Thailand

This exchange program has changedmy view of life. I have learned so muchabout myself and other people—

Juulia, Finland

AFS let me learn different cultures, seemore about the world and have adifferent idea about the tings surroundme. AFS lets me have the chance toexperience a different life—

Dianhong,China

AFS gives a lot of chances to me. I meta lot of people from many kind of nations. I can try a lot of activities that Inever have done before in my country.I have friends from many kind of countries also. I learn about how tolive with them that have differentculture. THANK YOU VERY MUCH—

Nutnida, Thailand

A lot. AFS change my life, made mesee the world and my life in a differentway. Being so far away from myparents made me independent person,more mature, free, responsible, thinkmore in my future. Now I would like tolearn more about different cultures,travel, visit my new friends around theworld. I think this is the bestexperience of my life. I love AFS! -

Monica, Costa Rica

Stacey and Andrea have hit the ground running. A newColumbia Pacific hosting blog has been set up for chapter/cluster coordinators, host families and students. Thehosting team hopes this blog will accomplish the followingfour things:

Highlight information on students we are currentlylooking to place with host families.

Provide exciting information on students who havealready been placed with a host family.

Distribute information on changes in hostingprocedures, policies or training meetings.

Generate interest from potential host families who wouldlike to learn more about hosting but are unsure who tocontact.As this busy hosting season descends upon us, we hopethat you will visit the Columbia Pacific hosting blog often.This tool should provide a valuable opportunity to keepeveryone up to date on the daily happenings of our studentsand their placements!How to access this blog? Go to the AFS Columbia Pacificwebsite (www.afscp.com), click on “current volunteers”,click on “visit the hosting blog/view incoming students’. ORyou can go directly to the blog at the following web address.www.afscp.com/weblogs/hosting.htm.Make sure you scroll through the entire blog to view all ofthis important information.