Karen and Carina from Germany.

by Karen Minor of Little Rock

When we were first approached about being a host family for an AFS student, I thought perhaps my husband might be less than thrilled. Surprisingly, we were both open to the idea. Of course, we wanted all the information we could get our hands on. We read up on the organization and talked to several people about their experiences with the program. Soon enough we found ourselves filling out paperwork and getting more excited about the prospect of having Carina in our home for a year.

Most of the time when we told people we were going to have an exchange student live with us for a year, their response was as if I had just told them I’d been diagnosed with some disease whose name is too hard to pronounce. What did they know that I didn’t? Scott and I figured we could deal with anything for a year. And we knew that if the match wasn’t right, the local AFS chapter would find another family for her. Those fears didn’t last long.

For about two months before she arrived, I was able to email Carina and her family. We wrote about things like school, our family and our vacations, and we exchanged pictures. As the arrival date approached, we put it into high gear to get our house suitable for a yearlong housemate. Our bland guest room suddenly transformed into a cute teenager’s room with a decorated bulletin board and all. The guest bath got a makeover as well. Of course those are things I chose to do. It wasn’t as if Carina wouldn’t have stayed here if we hadn’t redecorated some.

The day of her arrival our house was in order, dogs bathed, beds made, welcome sign hung and I only had one dilemma. What should I cook for her first night? Or do we take her out? I decided she probably would be very tired and taking her out might be too much. My decision: Pot roast. Yep, pot roast, veggies and for dessert….homemade apple pie. Surely it would better than what she’d had the previous 24 hours with airports and hotels.

Finally, 4:00 PM rolls around. We were scheduled to pick her up between 4:00 and 5:00. Admittedly we were a little nervous. How well will she speak English? Will she like us? Will we like her? We walked into the lobby of the hotel and before I could scan all the young faces of the other AFS exchange students, Carina was right there giving Scott a hug. That’s all it took. All was right with the world.

Our trip home was good. We tried to speak slowly, yet found ourselves getting carried away and we’d have to pull back. We asked her if she was nervous. She was. We admitted we were as well. “Are you hungry?” I asked. “Yes.” Okay, pot roast it is. “Are you very tired?” “Oh, Yes.” Okay, the bed is ready! After dinner, she went to bed and proceeded to sleep for 14 hours.

The next day we had an appointment to visit with her advisor at Central High and tour the school. Thankfully, I had planned in advance to bring along my friend, Claudia. Claudia is from Germany and has been in the U.S. for many years. She was invaluable to us that day. Carina’s schedule was solidified and we set out to tour the school. Now, I’m not from Little Rock and hadn’t ever toured the school. It was huge and imposing for me and I imagine it seemed twice that for Carina, who is from a small village in Germany. She had classes in the tower and in the basement….but getting to them was interesting. It reminded me of Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series with all the secret passageways.

Carina is already making American friends at school. This is a great thing!….and scary. When she got her first call from new friends to go out, I was thrilled for her, but I was freaked out too. What do I do? My kids are 9 & 12. I know their friends and their parents. And they don’t get to go to the mall without an adult! I decided to put on my big girl pants and play the heavy. I got on the phone with the unsuspecting new friend and quizzed her about the evening plans. Who’s going? Where are you going? How are you getting there? I asked for her dad’s number and called him to introduce myself. Dad was delightful and we had a good conversation about our kids. Whew! Carina got to go out and she had a great time.

School is going okay. I don’t think she loves it, but I do think she is going to learn a lot. If nothing else, she will learn about the culture of Central High! We are also learning a lot. For example, did you know that George Washington was not our first President? It’s true…look it up. Carina has a great attitude and comes home each day with a smile on her face. Scott is helping her with homework, thankfully.

With each passing day, Carina seems to become more comfortable with us and the language she was desperately trying to regurgitate those first few days. She has written her parents and we’ve posted some pictures to our Flickr account so her friends and family can view them. She is eager to try any food we put in front of her and likes most things we give her. I’m sure our isolated little family will be hugely impacted from this yearlong experience. I hope it brings us closer together and opens our eyes to the world at large.

Each night I give Carina a hug and tell her I’m glad she’s here. I make a point each day to rub her back or give her a love tickle on her back like I do my kids. I’m her mom for the next 11 months, so I don’t need to waste any time getting into the role.