Bringing the world to Fayette County AFS Intercultural Program
Rachel Morgan Staff Writer
Fayette County has a long history of both hosting exchange students and sending their own students abroad through the AFS Intercultural Program, one of the oldest and biggest exchange programs in the world.
Community figures such as Sheriff Vernon Stanforth, local teachers Laura Matthews Hottinger and Julie Garringer and Justin Griffits of Alligriff Mortgage Company have all studied abroad, in Norway, Mexico, Ecuador and Finland, respectively.
"Hosting makes you so appreciative of what we have," said Ohio River Valley Support Coordinator Nancy Wadley of Circleville. "We don't even think about it - we don't think in global terms."
Wadley's involvement with the program began in 1959-60 when she was an exchange student in Sweden through AFS.
The AFS program officially began in 1947-8, but its origins date back to World War I. There was a volunteer ambulance corps who drove ambulances on
the front lines that operated solely on donations. When the war was over, they were left with extra funds, in currency from around the world.
"They decided to bring students from the countries where they drove ambulances to the United States to study," Wadley said.
So, AFS was born.
The program at first began with just ten countries. Now, the program has grown to over 45 countries, with more than 3,000 students exchanged per year in the United States.
Wadley has hosted AFS students seven times - from Chile twice, Austria, Israel, Yugoslavia, Costa Rica and is currently hosting an Indonesian student named Ivan.
Ohio River Valley Coordinator Teri Maust of Washington C.H. has hosted AFS students four times - from Argentina, Brazil, Belgium and Turkmenistan.
Both cite hosting as in invaluable experience for their own families. And their families have also grown, with the addition of these new "sons" and "daughters" from around the globe.
"I think the kids learn so much more about other countries," Maust said. "Families that have not hosted don't realize how somebody from another country can become such a part of your family."
Maust's son Kyle attests that hosting is a positive experience for AFS "siblings," as well.
"My family and I have hosted three AFS foreign exchange students in the past," said Kyle, who is finishing up his sophomore year at Wilmington College. "I was age 11, 16, and 18 when we hosted these students and I was treated to a special experience each separate time. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the nations and cultures of each of these students. I especially enjoyed my last exchange sister, Shahnaz. She was from Turkmenistan and her fascination with our culture and values changed my views on a lot of things."
However, AFS students and their host families are not without their problems. There are sometimes issues that need to be resolved with the help of outside liaisons, assigned to every exchange student and their host families.
"Teens are still teens, no matter where they're from," Maust said with a laugh.
These volunteers meet monthly with the student and family separately to make sure everything is going smoothly. Exchange students also have an "aunt" and "uncle" family for added support.
"One of the strongest things about our program and one of the things that I think other programs envy is the strength of our support system," Wadley said. "If a student and family is having a problem with chemistry, we will work on it. It's a learning experience. We try to work through the cultural pieces. We expect students to do most of the adjusting, but it's not expected to be an endurance test. If necessary, we will move students."
Contrary to popular belief, hosting an exchange student is not expensive for the host family, Maust said.
"A host family provides a home, room and board, transportation and love," she said. AFS students come to the United States with health insurance through the program and their own spending money.
Host families can also fill out a sort of 'wish list' for exchange students, such as a student who plays sports or plays a musical instrument or likes animals or wants to live on a farm.
"We try to pick students that will fit the situation," Wadley said.
Studying abroad as an AFS student is a little more costly, she said.
"It's the equivalent of one year of in-state college," Wadley said. The cost comes from Visas, health insurance, travel, spending money and the cost of the operation of the program.
One of the main goals of the AFS program is to build better relations between countries, Wadley said.
Under the AFS umbrella, there are three programs designed to do just that - the Congress-Bundestag program (CB,) the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) and the Youth Exchange and Study Program (YES.)
CB was started in 1983 by the U.S. Congress and the German Parliament and provides 50 scholarships for United States students to study in Germany for a year and 57 scholarships for German students to study in the United States.
"I think this (program) was established to recover from the wounds of two wars," Wadley said.
FLEX originated from the Freedom Support Act passed by U.S. Senator Bill Bradley in 1992. This program provides scholarships for students of the former Soviet Union to study in the United States for a year.
"This idea was to expose them to a democracy," Wadley said.
YES, the newest program, began after 9/11 by the U.S. Department of State. Its intent was to bridge gaps and increase understanding between the United States and predominantly Muslim countries. YES provides scholarships for students from 10 different countries to study in the United States for a year.
"If countries don't have diplomatic relations, the first exchange is often a cultural exchange, such as a traveling orchestra, Chinese pandas that tour the United States," Wadley said.
And exchange students.
"Our goal has always been to develop relationships between countries with the goals of establishing better relationships," Wadley said.
The hardest part of the AFS program?
"(When the exchange students go home,) it's one of the toughest days," Maust said. "Because they have become a part of your family."
In fact, both Maust and Wadley have AFS students that have stuck with them.
"There were some that I had a hard time letting go of and some that I didn't think I would be able to let go of," Wadley said.
Javier from Chile is one student that Wadley and her husband George have kept close to their hearts. They visited him in Chile in 1997 and met his family and even attended his wedding when he was 31.
Maust cites Shahnaz from Turkmenistan as one student she struggled to let go. Shahnaz worked for Three Mom's Catering and was affectionately called "Sunshine" by the women, Maust said.
"You still get upset when you think about them," she said.
For more information on hosting a student, studying abroad or volunteering for AFS, contact Maust at 740-572-2124.
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