 The Tlusty-Woelfle family welcomes their eldest, Bennet Ruhland, home from Madrid. From left, Brandelyn Tlusty, Julie Woelfle, Bennet Ruhland, Justin Woelfle, Briauna Tlustly and Brayden Tlusty (bottom). (Photo courtesy of Julie Woelfle)Exchange students have long played a role in the exchange of ideas from other cultures. The Faribault Rotary Club is looking for two more host families for this year’s youth exchange program. Rotary exchange students are 15 to 19 years old who travel from one of the 33 countries involved with the program to experience American life, culture and education system. The 17-year-old exchange student from Thailand is coming and needs two families in Faribault to stay with during his trip. The host families would be hosting the student for the second and third legs of his journey in America. The second leg of the trip is from December to March and the third leg will begin in April and continue to July. |
 Linda and Darrel Schultz take their grandchildren and the two exchange students on a trip through northern Minnesota. From right, Darrel Schultz, Linda Schultz, Briauna Tlusty, Špela Soršak, Pablo Negro, Brandelyn Tlusty and Brayden Tlusty. (Photo courtesy of Julie Woelfle)What’s it like? Julie Woelfle is a former exchange student and host of exchange students and has a few of her own kids going overseas to live and learn in Thailand and Chile this year. “From my personal experience in being an exchanging student, being the mom of an exchange student and hosting a student from another country, I know how life-changing this program is,” she said. “It is not easy, no matter which side of the experience you are in, but one thing is for certain: It is life-altering in a very positive way.” She said the first time she sent one of her kids overseas was tough. The day he got on the airplane leaving Minneapolis was honestly one of the hardest days of my adult life,” she said. “I cried nonstop. From experience, I knew he was fine. But from the perspective of a mom, I was so nervous ... Then I got a message with a picture from his host family that he arrived safely in Madrid, Spain. “I was happy and selfishly sad. I knew I wouldn’t see him for 10 months. At the same time, I knew his experience would be life-changing. And it was; he learned a lot about himself and has a greater appreciation for culture, diversity and acceptance of different viewpoints.” |
 From left, Briauna Tlusty, Pablo Negro, Brandelyn Tlusty, Špela Soršak and Brayden Tlusty smile in the snow on a trip through northern Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of Julie Woelfle)Still, Woelfle said sending her kids overseas isn’t any easier the second time. I would love to say I am more prepared now than I was with Bennet, but this time there will be two spots empty at the dinner table and two kids not there at Christmas,” she said. But Woelfle said she knows the experience will make her children better global citizens. “Not only will they learn so much about them as individuals but they will also gain a perspective of the world that only a foreign exchange experience through Rotary can offer,” she said. According to North Star Youth Exchange’s website, becoming a host family can be a mutually beneficial experience. “Each side can act as teachers, leaders and ambassadors of their cultural background by answering questions, teaching each other and opening minds to new thoughts and experiences,” the website says. “No matter our age, we are all students of culture and life, which is why becoming a host family is so rewarding.” |
 From left, Špela Soršak, Briauna Tlusty, Pablo Negro, Brandelyn Tlusty and Brayden Tlusty pose for a photo at the head of the Mississippi River. (Photo courtesy of Julie Woelfle)Becoming a Host Family There are some requirements to becoming a host family, including having a bedroom for the student and being vaccinated for COVID-19. They are asked to treat their exchange student “like one of their own children” and to “be patient with and help with the exchange student’s understanding English and American culture.” While the Rotary provides the exchange students with $80 each month of their stay, they must cover any additional expenses. It is customary for host families to pay for the exchange student during family outings, like going to a restaurant or movie theater. Woelfle explained the important life lessons that she’s picked up during her time with the program. “The world seems huge but, at the end of the day, we are all way more similar than dissimilar,” she said. “More interactions with exchange students will help all of us being able to look at things with a lens that is different than our own.” Reprinted with permission from the Daily News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
