Archive for January, 2011
Youth Host Family Info Session – May 1
Defy borders, build bridges of peace and understanding and extend your family tree! AFS-USA, the oldest and largest non profit, volunteer driven, international high school exchange organization in the world, is currently seeking host families for high school students coming to the states through the US State Department funded FLEX and YES programs.
Each year, international high school students engage in a highly competitive program in their home countries for scholarships that will enable them to have a study abroad experience in the United States. They are hosted by American families and attend local high schools for the duration of their experience. To supplement their year of cross-cultural understanding, the students are hosted in clusters (each consisting of at least three or more Sponsored Programs students) within each AFS area team of the US. The students stay for the entire 2011-12 school year, Aug. 2011 thru June 2012. These outstanding young leaders of tomorrow are eager to learn what it’s like to become a member of a family, school, and community in the United States. In many ways, they serve as ambassadors to build bridges of understanding between their countries and the U.S. AFS enables students to live with host families, experience community life, and learn more about their host country.
Local trained volunteers offer ongoing support during the stay with orientations, planned events and a trained Liaisons for each family and student. These sponsored program students come from over 20 different countries. From former Eastern block countries like Ukraine and Tajikistan, to countries of primarily Muslim population such as Pakistan and Indonesia, as well as countries like India, Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt and many others. Host families provide students with a bed, meals, and the same kind of guidance and support that they would give to their own children. Visit the websites below for more info:
http://www.afsusa.org/host-family/scholarship-students/
http://www.yesprograms.org/news/view/asst-secretary-ann-stock-yes-program-one-of-the-most-important-public-diplomacy-intiatives
Learn more at the AFS information event being held at the Bozeman Public Library on Sunday, May 1st from 3-5pm. Questions, please contact Nancy Jochem at 406.587.0530.
THE UNITED STATES’ HOLIDAY
Have you ever experienced The United States’ Holidays? As you know, there are many holidays in U.S. I experienced the Thanksgiving holiday above all. I will tell about a part of how they spend the holiday.
The Thanksgiving Day is on fourth Thursday in November. MSU has holidays the day before and after. Students who come from far can go back home temporarily. According to my host family, they always held a party with their families in this holiday. They prepared a lot of dishes; turkeys, stuffing, mash potato, pumpkin pie, gravy, cranberry sauce and so on, for party. It looked like a banquet, and they ate a lot. After eating they spent time talking, playing card games and so on. I thought it was happy to spend holidays with their family. But Thanks giving holidays were not all.
The day after Thanksgiving Day, a lot of people went shopping very early in the morning. The day was called Black Friday. Almost all shops lowered the price of their goods to boost sales, so people bought a lot of goods. It looked like rehearsal for Christmas. Of course, I also bought goods for my family.
Thus, they celebrated these holidays. That was one example. Maybe, you will be able to see more interesting celebration in Christmas holidays and New Year holidays. To experience a lot of holidays with many people will be good chance to study other cultures.
-Yoshi