Summer is here! As you prepare to relax with
family and friends, consider hosting an AFS
International Student for the 2008-2009
school year. In a few short months, students
will be arriving from over 50 different
countries, all embarking a life-changing
experience. If you and your family would like
to learn more about how you can take part in this
experience, join our Online
Info Session. Also, in
this issue, read about how hosting with AFS helps
build a more just and peaceful world, one
community at a time.
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AFS student exchange program changes lives
Newcastle Now article by Hugh
Sigmon
"In 1967, a wide-eyed
17-year-old from a
small town in North Carolina steps into the
doorway of a jet that just landed in Manila,
The Philippines. As he steps onto the tarmac
and into his summer adventure as an exchange
student, little does he know that this summer
will be like no other and it will forever
change his life. In 1999, a 17-year-old steps
off a jet, this time in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, and exchanges a comfortable life
in Chappaqua for the unknown excitement of a
community service project in Northern
Argentina." Read
more. |
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Host Mom Barbara Wills Featured in Leaf Chronicle
Leaf Chronicle article by Mindy
Campbell
"While Barbara Wills has
only two
biological daughters, she has many more sons
and daughters across the world who call her
Mom. Barbara, along with her husband,
Stanley, has hosted more than 10 foreign
exchange students over the years. These
students have come from all over the world
and have stayed for different amounts of
time, but they have always been accepted into
the Wills family with open arms." Read
more. |
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Biographies of AFS International Students
We're including these bios so you can
envision what it would be like to share your
day-to-day life with a new family member. AFS
accepts host families year round. If you and
your family are interested in welcoming an
AFS Exchange Student please fill out the
Hosting
Interest Form. We'll then connect you
with a local volunteer to discuss students in
your area.
Abeida from Kenya
Abeida is a
member of the
Kenya Red Cross Society and Kenya Wildlife
Service. She loves singing, writing poems and
taking walks on the beach. She also plays
basketball.
Abeida says she is open minded and very
cheerful. She is ready to help anyone and takes
risks in order to try and succeed.
Abeida has 4 older siblings. Her mom is a
volunteer social worker and her dad a
business man. She would like to be a
newscaster or editor in the
future.
Otto from
Belgium
 Otto loves
sports, especially basketball, and plays on
his local basketball team. He's also a music
fan and enjoys almost all types of music. He
likes to watch movies and to go out with his
friends on the weekends.
Everybody in Otto's life comments on his wit
and sense of humor. Otto lives with his mother,
father and sister in a university town.
They have a close relationship and
enjoy spending time together. Otto hopes that
this year will help him define his goals for
the future.
Eva from Austria
 Eva loves to draw and has
been interested in art from a very young age.
Her parents are teaching her to cook and she
is finding it very relaxing and rewarding.
She also recently began playing golf and
tries to play once or twice a week.
Eva says, "I am open-minded, as well as a
very good listener and a loyal friend." She's
an optimist who always tries to bring out the
best in others. Her teacher says she is "very
friendly, polite and respectful" and easily
makes friends. In
the future, she looks forward to a career in
public relations or event management.
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