Pick a Lily

One of the things our family enjoys doing is hosting exchange students and introducing them to life and school in the US. We picked AFS because of its long tradition and large volunteer base. A year is a long time. You have to do this because you love showing young people new sights and experiences, the kinds of things money can't buy.

This is a picture of my daugther Iken (on the right) and her friend Sofia from Stockholm, Sweden. Iken met Sofia in Cagliari, Sardinia where they both lived for a year. Most of the time Iken lived with Ciabatti family whose paterfamilias despaired that she would ever find a boyfriend. He even arranged for her to work as a translator for the European Cup Windsurfing Championships in Cagliari and gave her two weeks to find one and stop embarassing him. Sofia is now studying economics in Lund and Iken is in her last year of Chemical Engineering in Cleveland and working part-time as an engineer's assistant. If anyone out there is interested in hiring a chemical engineer, her professor has put her résumé on line.

The first exchange student we hosted was Joana from Cascais, Portugal. She is a brilliant young lady and very quickly found herself in an advanced English class and her essays being entered in state-wide competitions. The last we heard she was studying art history and about to switch over into anthropology. No doubt she'll be outstanding in whatever field she chooses.
Joana at Home

While Iken was in Italy, we hosted Marta from Recife, Brazil. Marta had a brief romantic fling with an ill-fated North American (right under our noses here in Lakewood). His icy-cold heart just couldn't stand up to her Brazilian passion though, and he perished (of natural causes) shortly after their affair. Marta is now married (to an equally passionate Brazilian) and studying hotel management in San Francisco for two years. Yeah!! She is sure to become a very talented and capable businesswoman and when she gets back home, she will be able to endow all kinds of programs for her favorite starving artists. Joana at Home

**Lost?**