Foreign Exchange Programs and a Changed Life!

On this Thanksgiving Day in America, I am thankful for an abundance of things--family, good friends, a warm place to live, adequate food, and special memories of events and people that changed my life.

As a young person growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, I was very insecure and self-conscious--a true introvert.  My parents recognized that, and although they encouraged me to get out and do more things socially, that's not where I felt comfortable.  I had friends and was reasonably well-liked, but I never quite felt like I fit in.  And then something happened that changed my life forever.  My parents decided to make a giant leap and invite a foreign exchange student from Germany to become part of our family life for a year.  Nothing could have made me happier.  Christa was like the sister I never had. She loved being shown around our little town and being part of activities in our small high school.  Everyone seemed to love her, and I never remember an unkind word spoken by her or about her.  Boy, was I lucky!

That year we spent together helped me become more outgoing and involved in school events.  I also had a chance to grow and learn to view things from another perspective.  My friend grew up in another culture, and that expanded my world as well.  When she left for home the following summer, I was terribly sad, but determined that I wanted to visit her in Germany the following summer.  I worked as a recreation leader the summer she left and saved money so I could visit her the following year.  I spent the summer of 1966 with her family, and it was there that I met a friend of hers who was to have special significance in my life.  Three years later that good friend moved to America and became my husband.  Although we're no longer together, we've shared many happy times, raised three children, and welcomed countless students from other countries into our home for various periods of time.  I also became a supervisor for a foreign exchange program in the Twin Cities and have kept in close touch with several students. I studied German in college, and although my grammar is far from perfect, I can still carry on a conversation. 

I will always be grateful to my parents for creating a wonderful opportunity for me.  Little did they know then how it would change my life.  I am grateful to Heinz as well, for taking a chance on that shy, quirky, but feisty young woman.  Today--Thanksgiving Day--my daughter and I will celebrate with him and his wife in their home.  We've come full circle, and have a wonderful friendship, as well as three terrific kids. On this Thanksgiving Day, I'm especially grateful!