Exchange student

[shaz]

Do you realize how many questions that opens up.

Yeah. She REALLY was a she

 

[Little Joe]

My wife and I recently took in an exchange student from Berlin, Germany. It was a spur of the moment deal where a decision had to be made quickly due to the circumstances. She was placed in a home with another exchange student, a young lady from Italy. We found out about 2 weeks ago that these 2 students were needing a new host home asap due to circumstances in the home that was currently hosting them, to say they were treated badly would be an understatement. My wife and I offered to take both students but the one from Italy got placed elsewhere and the one from Germany with us. They were not being physically abused but more emotionally and verbally and the home they came from was nasty according to my wife( she went in to help her get her things out), I'm very embarassed for our country to be represented the way it was being represented to them and we plan to make up for it while she is with us. They were basically being treated as indentured servants, more so the German because the host family told them that they really didn't want a German. They weren't really doing anything illegal to them but it was morally wrong and speaks to the kind of people they are. I would really like to beat the s--t out of them over it. She will be with us until end of May. She is a very beautiful young lady and has the sweetest personality and is very grateful for everything and is quick to let us know that she is. We can already tell that we are going to be very attached to her and will hate for her to leave. She is very smart and mature for her age, it amazes me the things she knows. She knows more about how our country works than Americans her age do.

Thought I would give an update on this thread. The young lady had to go back home at the end of May and as I thought we had gotten very attached to her and she got very attached to us as well and many tears were shed by all 3 of us when she had to go. We hear from her at least weekly and sometimes daily depending on how bad she is missing us. It was an amazing experience and we are glad we got to be a part of her life. We took her to Beale St. in Memphis, New Orleans, and a week at the beach in Gulf Shores, AL. There were a lot of good memories made with us playing games and just hanging out together. We plan to go to Berlin very soon to visit her and she wants to come back and stay with us as well, she really wants to come back and stay with us for good she says. She texted me on Father's Day and told me how much she loves me and how I'm just like her own dad to her. Kinda makes my heart swell with pride knowing what an impact we got to make on her life.

 

[cfpinz]

That's awesome, good on you!

 

[greybeard]

Evidently Beale St Memphis really changed a LOT since I was there late 60s early 70s.
It was so dangerous (drugs, prostitution, associated crime) that it was strictly OFF LIMITS to all military from Millington Naval Air Station.
Even the locals avoided it like one would an Ebola village today.

 

[jltrent]

Wonderful on you as I remember an exchange student here the family had a dope head son, and I was hoping it did not turn out bad. There is a school in our district that seems to have exchange students attend every year. It seems the male kids are 6'7" on up and good athletes. It kinda seems unfair or at least a lot of people feel that way when it comes to sports. My son is a HS coach and he recently toured Europe and I told him to do some recruiting while there.

 

[Little Joe]

Evidently Beale St Memphis really changed a LOT since I was there late 60s early 70s.
It was so dangerous (drugs, prostitution, associated crime) that it was strictly OFF LIMITS to all military from Millington Naval Air Station.
Even the locals avoided it like one would an Ebola village today.

It's probably one of the safest places in Memphis now, lots of cops to keep it civil. With Memphis's reputation they want the tourists coming to Beale street to feel safe so they'll come back and spend their money

 

[TCRanch]

Thanks for the update!!! We have a couple friends/families that are hosting exchange students this year. One is part of my cattle working crew (along with his 15-year-old twins), so I'll get to meet their exchange student when we wean in a few weeks. From what I understand, this kid had never been on a horse and in a short amount of time, he's practically mastered his riding skills.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Great to hear!! We have a friend that moved here from Scotland, and he had his 2nd exchange intern here. We got to know both of them, showing cattle together. Such a great experience so get to sit and talk to them.
Glad yours worked out so well.

 

[Little Joe]

The wife and I have booked a trip to Berlin,Germany for a week in March to go see this young lady and meet her parents in person. Neither of us have ever even been on a plane much less out of the country. I look forward to the trip but am a little anxious at the same time. It will be nice to see her again and meet her family. I look forward to sight seeing while we are there with our own private tour guides. If you've ever watched National Lampoons European vacation I would imagine it will be much more comical with us Arkansas rednecks in the big city of Berlin trying to figure things out, luckily they will figure most of it out for us.

 

[CowboyRam]

Hamburg has the largest model train layout in the world. I have only seen videos, but it looks pretty cool.

 

[Little Joe]

The wife and I have booked a trip to Berlin,Germany for a week in March to go see this young lady and meet her parents in person. Neither of us have ever even been on a plane much less out of the country. I look forward to the trip but am a little anxious at the same time. It will be nice to see her again and meet her family. I look forward to sight seeing while we are there with our own private tour guides. If you've ever watched National Lampoons European vacation I would imagine it will be much more comical with us Arkansas rednecks in the big city of Berlin trying to figure things out, luckily they will figure most of it out for us.

We have been in Berlin since Friday, we flew out of Dallas Thursday morning to Newark, NJ then from there to Berlin. We fly back this Thursday. It's been an exciting trip and we have seen many new things and have learned to use the public transportation on our own. We have seen the Berlin Wall, a concentration camp, many old churches and structures, Brandenburg gate, victory tower. We also attended a church service and took communion in Berliner Dom, communion was with real wine not grape juice. Service here was very different than what we're used to, it is very organized, traditional. It's been a great trip and it has been great to see this young lady again and meet her family but we will be glad to return to the quiet country life. The beer and breads are very good here and cheap, food is good as well. For the most part, most speak English to some degree so communicating has not been a major problem. One thing very different is we have to pay to drink water no matter what and no refills and using the restroom usually costs money. the first restroom I paid to use is I couldn't figure out how to get back out and someone had to show me.

 

[CowboyRam]

We have been in Berlin since Friday, we flew out of Dallas Thursday morning to Newark, NJ then from there to Berlin. We fly back this Thursday. It's been an exciting trip and we have seen many new things and have learned to use the public transportation on our own. We have seen the Berlin Wall, a concentration camp, many old churches and structures, Brandenburg gate, victory tower. We also attended a church service and took communion in Berliner Dom, communion was with real wine not grape juice. Service here was very different than what we're used to, it is very organized, traditional. It's been a great trip and it has been great to see this young lady again and meet her family but we will be glad to return to the quiet country life. The beer and breads are very good here and cheap, food is good as well. For the most part, most speak English to some degree so communicating has not been a major problem. One thing very different is we have to pay to drink water no matter what and no refills and using the restroom usually costs money. the first restroom I paid to use is I couldn't figure out how to get back out and someone had to show me.

The worlds largest model trainset is in Hamburg. I believe that the building is four stories tall.

 

[cowman82]

We have been in Berlin since Friday, we flew out of Dallas Thursday morning to Newark, NJ then from there to Berlin. We fly back this Thursday. It's been an exciting trip and we have seen many new things and have learned to use the public transportation on our own. We have seen the Berlin Wall, a concentration camp, many old churches and structures, Brandenburg gate, victory tower. We also attended a church service and took communion in Berliner Dom, communion was with real wine not grape juice. Service here was very different than what we're used to, it is very organized, traditional. It's been a great trip and it has been great to see this young lady again and meet her family but we will be glad to return to the quiet country life. The beer and breads are very good here and cheap, food is good as well. For the most part, most speak English to some degree so communicating has not been a major problem. One thing very different is we have to pay to drink water no matter what and no refills and using the restroom usually costs money. the first restroom I paid to use is I couldn't figure out how to get back out and someone had to show me.

See a lot of illegals?

 

[4hfarms]

My wife of 23years is from Cottbus. Just 45 minutes SE of Berlin. Yes behind the wall for the first 18 years. Been there many times. We met while I was stationed in Baumholder, she lived outside Trier, near the Luxemburg boarder.

Life, It's been a wonderful journey so far.
Wasn't always this way.
Wouldn't want any other....

 

[Warren Allison]

We have been in Berlin since Friday, we flew out of Dallas Thursday morning to Newark, NJ then from there to Berlin. We fly back this Thursday. It's been an exciting trip and we have seen many new things and have learned to use the public transportation on our own. We have seen the Berlin Wall, a concentration camp, many old churches and structures, Brandenburg gate, victory tower. We also attended a church service and took communion in Berliner Dom, communion was with real wine not grape juice. Service here was very different than what we're used to, it is very organized, traditional. It's been a great trip and it has been great to see this young lady again and meet her family but we will be glad to return to the quiet country life. The beer and breads are very good here and cheap, food is good as well. For the most part, most speak English to some degree so communicating has not been a major problem. One thing very different is we have to pay to drink water no matter what and no refills and using the restroom usually costs money. the first restroom I paid to use is I couldn't figure out how to get back out and someone had to show me.

I am glad you got to go, and had a great time? Is she coming back to see y'all anytime soon?

 

[Little Joe]

I am glad you got to go, and had a great time? Is she coming back to see y'all anytime soon?

She graduates next year and plans to come back and visit right after. She wants to live in the US after she finishes college, probably in or near a big city since that is what she's used to. It was a great time, her mom cooked us many traditional German meals and her dad supplied us with some good German beer while she acted as our tour guide when she wasn't in school. She and her family are very grateful for us taking her in while she was here and showed it while we were there, we made a great relationship with her parents while there as well.

 

[Little Joe]

See a lot of illegals?

No, traveling like that you see many ethnic groups but I would say hispanics were very few.

 

[cowman82]

No, traveling like that you see many ethnic groups but I would say hispanics were very few.

I meant more like the africans and muslims. I've been seeing a lot of them flooding places like Sweden, France, Spain, England, Ireland etc.

 

[Little Joe]

I meant more like the africans and muslims. I've been seeing a lot of them flooding places like Sweden, France, Spain, England, Ireland etc.

Berlin is a melting pot of culture, there are a lot of Turkish. There were many muslims there as well, but of course they come from many different countries. They have gotten a lot of Ukranian refugees since the war.

 

[cowman82]

Berlin is a melting pot of culture, there are a lot of Turkish. There were many muslims there as well, but of course they come from many different countries. They have gotten a lot of Ukranian refugees since the war.

I just looked it up and it said over 1.2 million Ukranians migrated to Germany sine '22.. Thats a lot!