German Exchange Students

I have probably mentioned that we sponsored a high school girl from Germany to come here, as an exchange student, two years ago. There is enough material to write a small book from her stay, here.

But the reason that I want to mention it on this forum is, the more that time goes on, the more it shows how "God's fingerprints were all over this", and as time develops, it becomes more obvious.

She was a 16 year-old girl from the southwestern portion of Germany, below the Netherlands, and somewhat toward France. She was polite, but I later learned how strong-headed a 16 year-old girl could be.

Her family paid $11,000.00 (U.S. dollars) for her to come here for a 9-month school year, from September to early June. They were not rich people. Her father is a truck driver, and her mother is a pre-school worker.

We were only obligated to give her a room (that could be shared by another girl) with a bed of her own, meals on week-ends and supper during the week. Also she was supposed to purchase her own meals, when we went out. It did not work out like that. We told her that she is a member of this family, and we pay for our family's meals. Also, she did not like the food in the school cafeteria (it WAS greasy, I tried it), and so we would fix her a breakfast of cereal, oatmeal, toast, etc, and come up with some kind of a sack-lunch.

I will be continuing with the story of our adventures, a few times per week.

This thread is both a story and a discussion, and so feel free to add comments or post questions.

As I had stated, I want to use this to weave how much God's influence & plan came together in our lives with this young lady, but just to understand the atmosphere, I need to add some information.

So it was early September, and my wife and I were at the Memphis Airport at 10:00 PM, holding home-made signs with flags of the U.S. and Germany, saying "WELCOME", as we watched the hallway that was supposed to have the passengers of our arriving aircraft.

We had only seen a photograph of our girl, and the COVID restrictions were still in full-force: everyone was required to wear a mask on aircraft and in all airports and government buildings. It was a huge aircraft and as over a hundred people went streaming past, we watched the masked passengers: some passed us to into the main terminal, and some remained in the restricted area, heading down an escalator to baggage claim.

As we spotted a slender teenage girl with straight auburn hair and wearing a mask, we were yelling and waiving. The doorway between us had bold lettering stating, "EXIT ONLY. DO NOT ENTER." Well, when she was about 40 feet from us, instead of coming toward us, this young lady turned half-left and headed toward the escalator, at which time, my wife was yelling her name, and running into the "EXIT ONLY. DO NOT ENTER." doorway, now a TSA employee is yelling at her to stop, and my wife continues into the doorway, shouting that she is not stopping, and that she must get our exchange student.

I am thinking, "Oh, no. Tonight, we are going to jail for obstructing a Federal Agent.....".

From Infantry, Paratrooper, and Special Forces Training at Forts Jackson, Benning, and Bragg; and with follow-up training on subduing and restraining prisoners at the Police Academy, I was JUST able to stop my wife's forward momentum, since my wife had already gone past the 'EXIT ONLY" sign and just as she was about to pass over the bright black & yellow diagonal stripes in the doorway, while the TSA agent's radio was JUST starting to clear its holster.

I persuaded my wife to please turn around and go down to the baggage claim for this flight, see if she could locate our girl, and I would remain there, just in case...; and she agreed.

As no one else was coming down the corridor, I just stood there, waiting for the phone call from my wife that she had our exchange student and her luggage. As about 10 or 15 minutes passed, I thought to myself, "How can you NOT find someone at the baggage claim that is assigned to ONE aircraft?".

About this time, two teenage girls wearing face masks came down the corridor walked up to me, and the taller one said "Hallo". I said, "Fabienne?". She said, "Yes.". I asked where she had been. She said, "Oh, this is a friend that I met on the plane. She is from France, and we rode together. We were the last two persons off of the plane, and then we went to the restroom."

"Well. Welcome to America. Now let's to downstairs, to see if my panicked wife has aggravated TSA enough to get herself taken into the Detainment Facility, yet."

Hey, when is the next installment?

joecool wrote:Hey, when is the next installment?

Good point!

On the way...

So....

As we left the Memphis Airport, heading into Mississippi (15 miles away), we asked Fabienne if she was hungry, and she indicated that she was.

If it had been 2 years earlier, finding a convenient place to eat would have been no problem, but this was when the COVID Lockdown was just easing. In other words; you COULD go outside, but only if you were wearing a burka or a niqab. Dining rooms were scarce.

So, I knew that Exit #2 toward Tupelo had a good variety of eating places, but it was getting late. There were lights on at Taco Bell, and I mentioned it, but the dining room looked dark.

As we continued down the street, I saw a McDonald's and said, "Well, it looks like McDonald's is IT.".

She was in the back seat, and said in a soft, pouty voice, "Oh, I Really would have liked Taco Bell.". (It ends up that they have McDonald's all over Germany, but practically no Taco Bell, and she wanted as many new experiences in America as possible.)

The wife got something light, and I ordered a 3-Taco Supreme Special, along with drinks. Hey, how many tacos can a slender 16-year-old girl eat?

I learned the answer to that. I got one taco out of the entire box.

On the 2-hour drive from the Memphis Airport, traveling along on the Interstate, she said, "My. America is so BIG.". I said, wait until it is daylight, and you will really see how big and open it really is.

Taco Bell kind-of became one of her "vices". I just had knee surgery. Over the course of the previous 3 months, I had lost about 15 pounds, because I often did not feel like eating because of the pain or suppressed appetite from pain killers.

But have no fear. Over the next school year, all of the weight would come back - along with a bit more, because our car developed a new noise.

Every time that we would go into town and pass the mall on the southwest side, a sound would come from the back seat, "OOH, Taco Bell!".

Claymore wrote:"OOH, Taco Bell!".

Sounds like you corrupted her & turned her into a taco junkie

ccm2361 wrote:

Claymore wrote:"OOH, Taco Bell!".

Sounds like you corrupted her & turned her into a taco junkie

There are worse things in life. I ate my first taco at aged 20 (actually, I ate 7 of them). And I haven't stopped.

Age 20??????? You were cruelly deprived by your parents

ccm2361 wrote:Age 20???????   You were cruelly deprived by your parents  

Yeah, they were meat and potatoes people. I remember my dad taking the family to an authentic Chinese restaurant in Seattle. We were all clueless on the menu, so he said that he would order for all of us. When the waiter came by, he said, "Four hamburgers." The waiter was momentarily stunned and left. Moments later, we could hear arguing in the kitchen. A VERY long time later, the waiter was back with our order. Greasy burger patties between slices of white bread. My dad said, "Eat."

So it was about 2:30 AM, by the time that we got home.  

We had specifically chosen Fabie, because her father is only a year younger than me (and I am older than dirt), and I am aware that teenagers sometimes feel uncomfortable about being around older people.  

Another thing is that she has an Australian Shepherd dog that she is absolutely in love with.  We have a Golden Retriever, that is the world's biggest baby and is an absolute "black hole" of love and attention - no matter how much you pour in, she always wants more.  In fact, if you are petting the cat, she will try to crawl up on your lap and get in-between you.

So, we opened the door to let the dog, Annabelle, out of the house to meet Fabie in the driveway.  Annabelle immediately ran up to her, rolled over on her back at Fabie's feet, and started whining uncontrollably, like she had just been reunited with her best friend after years of absence.  

Now in the past, I HAVE seen Annabelle act stupid and affectionate, but never like this.  From that night forward, they were absolutely inseparable.

Well, the next order of business is to get Fabienne enrolled in school (as she IS an Exchange Student, and that is kind-of the Idea).

At first, we wanted to get her into the Red Bay, Alabama School system. The town has a population of about 3,200, there are 526 kids in the school, they have a football team, and it is only 7 miles from our house.

However, the school system is cracking down on kids coming in from out-of-state, because they do not receive any tax revenue for non-resident students. Also, the bus does not come 7 miles into Mississippi, which means that we would have to go to Town, twice each day for dropping off and picking up.

We are in the school district for Tremont, Mississippi (Population 471). The bus DOES come here to pick up the kids, but it is fairly early: about 7:00 AM. The total school system has 325 students, and there is no football team.

Since it looked like Red Bay would not accept her, we took Fabienne to the Tremont School, to see if we could enroll her. As it winds up, the school is EXTREMELY friendly to Exchange Students, as the Assistant Principal has hosted about 8 exchange students in his home, and currently had one that year.

This had an additional advantage. The organization that coordinates the students coming to the United States had academic requirements for the blocks of classes that the students needed to take during the year (they couldn't get by, just taking classes in Agriculture, Auto Mechanics, Shop, & Football). U.S. Government, U.S. History, and English were some of the requirements. While I was kind-of lost on the wording of the class requirements, the Assistant Principal said, "No problem. This, this, this, and this for First Semester, and this, this, this, and an elective for Second Semester, and she is all set....".

Claymore wrote:  While I was kind-of lost on the wording of the class requirements, the Assistant Principal said, "No problem..."

Now, if you had been enrolling her in Jump School...

My wife's annual family reunion in Augusta, Georgia was on Fabie's very first week-end here, prior to starting school. So after being here for a day, the Wife, Fabie, and our 17-year-old niece loaded up the car for a 400 mile trip to (almost) the East Coast.

The Exchange Agency specifically states that you should give the kids a couple of days to "decompress", and not put anything big into their schedule. (So much for THAT idea.)

It was OFF for a 4-day trip.

As it ends up, it was great. She didn't really have time to get home-sick. She was with several teen-age girls, and the family where the reunion was had huge house with a swimming pool.

You miss her, don't you? Are your passports up to date?

joecool wrote:You miss her, don't you? Are your passports up to date?

I don't want to spoil the ending of the story.

So, after 4 days on the road, Marilyn and the girls arrived back in Mississippi. It is pretty traditional with the Wife's family and even folks at church, here in the South, for EVERYONE to hug "hello".

This was One of Two hugs that I got from her in nine months here. It is not that she was afraid or didn't like me, but her family is not "huggy". I was aware of that from my own German family in Wisconsin. So while it would have been nice to get more hugs, I was not going to impose our standards on her.

However, eventually, I did notice that I would occasionally find that in Church, or on vacation, she would be holding my hand.

The bus is coming on Monday, for Fabie's first day of school.

However, I live on a (paved) country road, that runs for about a mile and a half off of the State Highway. The school bus needed a place to turn around.

I own an acre of property across from the township road that the bus will come down to pick up Fabie. It has enough of a driveway for trucks and 4-wheelers to go through for deer hunting, but there was a large Water Oak that overhung the driveway, and would scratch up any school bus that was maneuvering through. (A Water Oak is a type of Oak tree, but it is very, very brushy, almost like a Cedar Tree.)

I got my chain saw out, and set to remove the Water-Oak obstacle. I have downed a few trees, and I knew how to avoid windy days and notch the tree for the direction that you wanted it to fall.

I did everything as I should: notched it to fall away from the road.....but there is another phenomenon: trees tend to grow the most foliage and lean in the direction that they get the most sunlight from. Since the road was to the south, and the woods was to the north, guess which side of the Water Oak had the most branches and foliage.

After sawing and notching, when the tree "popped", it went on the hinge-cut, 180 degrees away from the notch - and right across the road. No real harm done. It missed the mail box, but I didn't want my redneck neighbors to be drinking beer, laughing, and pointing, while they sat on the road, waiting for me to get the tree cleared off.

Well, I hid my mistake from most folks - except the mail lady, as she narrowly passed through. All I could say was, "Well. It had more leaves and limbs on this side of the tree....".

OOPS

Fabie had indicated that she enjoyed Reading, Hiking, and Dogs.

EXCELLENT.

Since it is a twelve mile drive to school, and she did not have a driver's license (or any nearby friends: let-alone a friend with a driver's license) we really did not want to spend each day going back and forth, picking her up from sports practice, after school.

But I own 46 acres of wooded land with roads and trails on it, and there is nothing that our Golden Retriever would like more than to go on walks with her favorite girl.

This part of Mississippi is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The soil is poor, being eroded mountain rock, and it is bright red from the high iron content.

Fabie arrived with a beautiful new pair of white tennis shoes. The soil here would ruin those shoes after one good rain. So I took her to the local shoe store at Fulton, the county seat.

I figured that I could get her an inexpensive pair of shoes for about 35 to $50.00, that she could use as "grub" shoes to walk up and down the hiking trails.

As we were in the store, I saw several "hiking" style shoes in brown and other earth-tones, which I suggested to her. She looked at the shoes, looked at me, and softly said, "Well, my feet really prefer Nikes.".

Ninety-nine dollars later, we left the store with a pair of Nikes to use when hiking on the property with the dog.

(In nine months, she never went hiking with the dog.)

So, I must back up three weeks, to when we had not even considered getting an exchange student:

Our niece came home from the local school and said that there is an exchange student from Russia, who was scheduled to come here, but it fell through, and she will not get to come to America, because she has no sponsor family. (Now, this was before Russia was such a stinker with the Ukraine invasion.)

So, I spoke with the Wife. We had spent some time studying Russia, when I was on my Special Forces Detachment (but not really for "benevolent" purposes).

I had been to Saint Petersburg and Arkhangelsk, Russia, when helping my sister to adopt her daughter. And so I had met Russian people, and this student could also occasionally speak with my niece, if she wanted to connect with someone "from home".

So we contacted the exchange student agency. We were told that our niece was not totally correct. They did not sponsor Russian students, but there were several students from Europe (mostly Germany) that had not found sponsor families, and since the school year was beginning that very week, it appeared that if they were not accepted very soon, they would miss coming to the U.S. for this school year.

My heritage is German, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin has a long German heritage, and so we thought that we could see if any of the students from there would seem to be right for us.

They had about a dozen students that were still waiting, but we needed to have a background screening, before we had access to the files on the kids (reasonable). So we submitted our information for the background checks, and in about three days, we were given access codes, so that we could see photographs and resumes of the students.

Now, there was obviously no commitment on our part. We were just seeing who needed sponsors. The kids each had about a two paragraph introduction, and if you wanted more information, you could click on their profile for more. We checked, and narrowed down to about 4 or 5 kids that seemed like they might enjoy being with us.

That Sunday, after church, we went to a restaurant with a couple of friends. After we ordered, and were waiting for lunch, my wife blurted out to the other wife, "Guess what! We're hosting an Exchange Student from Germany!"

The other wife said, "Oh, that's great. We've had several exchange students. We could host one, too!".

And so as our wives participated in excited clucking and chatter, my friend and I just looked at each other with stunned expressions.

"What just happened?".

Claymore wrote:
That Sunday, after church, we went to a restaurant with a couple of friends.  After we ordered, and were waiting for lunch, my wife blurted out to the other wife, "Guess what! We're hosting an Exchange Student from Germany!"

The other wife said, "Oh, that's great.  We've had several exchange students.  We could host one, too!".

And so as our wives participated in excited clucking and chatter, my friend and I just looked at each other with stunned expressions.

"What just happened?".

Oh you have those things happen too? I feel your pain.