Christmas Crafting

My mom knows the owner of Heartfelt Wall Hangings.  I took all the students, who could go, to the workshop to make Christmas gifts for their host families. It was AWESOME!!!!

At first they were not so sure about making a gift but by the end they loved it! They each got to pre-order what they would make not knowing what anyone else was making. When they saw that they had all chosen different things they really had a good time watching each others progress and creativity.

When it was time to go they were so excited to give them to their host families. I love that it will be a treasured keepsake forever.

Halloween!

I planned a Halloween party for all of the Northern Utah students. They had a really fun time. Some brought their host siblings and other brought friends.

We did a photo scavenger hunt. We had 2 teams with identical lists (in different order) of places, things and actions that needed to be photographed.  They were required to wear a costume. The lists took them with in a 15 square mile area. I drove 1 suburban of kids and Jody, another coordinator, took the other.

Jody's team won!!!

We came back to my house to watch each others pictures on the tv and have treats.

We made the CETUSA newsletter with our adventure!

THE LIST

• Everyone on a bed
• With a stranger eating ice cream
• With a horse
• With 3 witches
• With someone else dressed up
• In an elevator
• Decorating a Christmas tree
• Playing Dance Dance Revolution
• With workers at Wal-mart

New Students!!!

Welcome students of 2010-2011!!!!!!!

This year we actually get to host!!!!  We have a girl coming from Hong Kong!

I have 7 students this year that I'm managing. I can't wait to get to know them!  This year is going to be even more rewarding I think... I can now place in the high school hear my home so I can be more involved with them!  I am also super excited that all but 2 families are already friends of mine!  I hope that means plenty of good contact and comfort in coming to me if needed.

The airport was awesome!!!  I again was able to get security passes and greet them as they came off the plane.

I then gave them to their families and thanks to Facebook the contact before they arrived helped them to feel happy and excepted right away.

What happens during the summer?

Placing students in Utah is different than most of the other states.  We begin our placement season in Feb or March and only have until June 15 to complete them per the state law.

In the summer time we search all over the Western US for more host families. We want to make sure every last student who applied gets a home.

It can become discouraging when people are hesitant to open their homes and hearts to these amazing kids, but every year every student gets placed.

We usually have a 2 weeks break or so before kids start to arrive. Then it begins all over again!!!

I LOVE my job!

Saying goodbye......

This is the hardest time of the year.  Everyone has grown to love and appreciate each other only to be parted.

It is bittersweet. The students are so excited to go home and tell of their adventure and see their families and friends again but sad to leave all they gained behind. Some are also nervous of the changes that have occurred to them and back home - will things be like they were, will my friends and family think I am different now, will school be harder, will I wish I was still in the US?

The families are excited for the students to go and continue on their life path and have new adventures but heartbroken to let them go. Young children sometimes don't understand and wonder when they will came back home.

It is my job to prepare everyone for this. Its not easy...

International Dinner

Every year we have an international dinner.  All the families and students are invited.  The students are asked to make a dish from their country to share with everyone. The food is ALWAYS amazing.

The students are also asked to bring a showcase of their talent. It could be one they already had or one they discovered while here on exchange.

A slide show of pictures from the year is shown while we eat and family pictures are taken and printed and framed after.

It is my favorite event of the year so you would think I would remember my camera.... nope.
I will post pictures as soon as I get them from the other coordinators

Lasertag

There was a Utah activity for the students and host siblings to go do laser tag.

I was out of town and could not go and my kids all had made other plans so they didn't go either but the rest of them had a blast!

Moving Students

Sometimes it becomes necessary to move a student. A number of things could cause this i.e.: job loss, job transfer, personality clash between the student and someone in the family are just a few.

When there are family conflicts we first address the problem and try to find ways to resolve it. Most of the time it is just a miscommunication and the placement continues to be successful but sometimes it can't be resolved and for the happiness of everyone involved the student is found a new host family.

We do our best to try and foresee possible issues before placing but sometimes they are unavoidable.


Most often it happens at the halfway point in the stay. It is at that point when the "honeymoon" is over and sometimes true colors are revealed. Unfortunately I did need to move 2 students because of circumstances beyond their control. But no matter the reasons it is ALWAYS difficult....

Tubing

Tracy the State Manager arranged for the students and their families to go up to the Midway area of Utah to go tubing!

Due to a shoulder injury I am forever prohibited from activities such as this so I became the official photographer.

We had tons of families come. Those that had little ones stayed in the lodge and played games.

It was a fun time for all!!

We had hot chocolate and  donuts after in the parking lot

 

On the way some some of us stopped to walk ON the reservoir.  Some of them slipped rather than walked...