Welcome 2014-15 Students!!!

What a great year this will be!!

I am excited to have so many students near my own home again with all of those host families hosting for the first time!

I also have 3 families hosting again.

This is the Browns 5th time & the Bangerters and Diamonds 2nd time hosting.  I love working with families again and again!

This year also has 2 students who chose their own families.
*David spent 2 summers with his host family and decided to come for an entire year.
*Jimena came to the same host family that her sister was with 2 years ago. The host family spent a few weeks with Jimena and Paula's family in Spain after Paula was in their home.

I love the work I do and the connections across the globe I help make happen.

The kids that come are brave and smart and an inspiration to me and all they come in contact with.

So with that welcome my 2014-15 group! (some of them I do not have their airport pictures)

CETUSA Trips

Each year more and more students are going on the trips.  They have added new trips every year.

The trips are a great way for students to interact with each other and learn of the experiences they are having in other places in the country.

I always encourage the students to take advantage of the trips.

You can see how much fun they have!

Welcome Spring!!!

Utah is an amazing place to experience the birth of Spring.

Spanish Fork, UT is the home to the Krishna Temple of the Hindu faith.  The Indian culture welcomes Spring with the Holi Festival.   Exchange students have loved going to the festival and learning of how many cultures are celebrated in America.

(I will now copy the info from the festival web page http://www.colorfestival.com/about)

In India, the Festival of Colors (Holi) announces the arrival of spring and the passing of winter. The festival breathes an atmosphere of joy and love. People embrace each other in a spirit of reconciliation, forgiveness, and gratitude. Every nook and corner presents a colorful sight: young and old alike covered in color, singing, dancing, laughing together.

Exchange students have loved going to the festival and learning that many cultures are celebrated in America.

Welcome Dinner Miracle!

Trying to find a venue for 12 families was harder then I thought it would be.   I thought I had a building secured away and then I got bumped out for another even that was discovered had already been booked for that same night.

It took 3 months to find a new venue and it was only a week before the event!  My families were so amazing and so patient to find out where they would be going.  My thanks to Murray Library!

It turned out perfect!

This year is going to be amazing!!!

Welcome to Utah!!!

This year is going to be unbelievable!!  I have been fortunate enough to have placed 14 amazing kids with 12 equally amazing families!!

I have never placed this many before and I hope I can meet all their needs.

Already this has proved to be quite the task as trying to get photos at the airport of each family and student eluded me time and again.  One time the camera didn't actually take the pictures, another my camera died, another time I forgot it all together and then my phone died.  So until I can get pictures from those families I will wait to do my collage.

But here is who Utah welcomed this year!

BRAZIL

Thomas - Tonge Family - Roy,UT

CHINA

Yanwei (Amanda) - Lucas Family - Roy, UT

DENMARK

Sandra - Pedersen Family - West Jordan, UT
Simone - Biggers Family - Lehi, UT
Andreas - Lowry Family - Murray, UT

FINLAND

Ida - Miller-Owen Family - Cottonwood Heights, UT
Hanna - Simon Family - Saratoga Springs, UT
Inka - Our Family - Riverton, UT

GERMANY

Jesper - Smith Family - Riverton, UT
Eli - Tandiman Family - West Jordan, UT

NORWAY

Elise - Miller Family - Alpoine, UT

S. KOREA 

Sumin(Chloe) - Lucas Family - Roy, UT

SWEDEN

Beata - Wilcox Family - Spanish Fork ,UT

THAILAND

Natjeera(Lulu) - Miller Family - Alpine, UT
Boonyisa(Ploy) - Smith Family - West Valley, UT

Family Game Day

Fongo Bongo Games is a new store that opened near my home.  The owners have become good friends and I asked them if they would host a family game day for my host families.  They excitedly agreed.  It was a HUGE hit!!  I think I will do this every year!!

Education for Africa!!!

CETUSA is proud to be working with Explorius who has partnered with AiDucatius.

AiDucatius is involved in providing formal education to children in Ghana and Tanzania.

For each student from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland a child from Ghana or Tanzania will receive an education.

Please join us in this effort!

First Time for Everything!

For the first time since I became a coordinator I will be working with a semester student!  I am SOOOO thrilled!!!  Karen from Germany will be joining the Pedersen Family.  What makes this so wonderful is the Pedersens had chosen a student to come for the fall and due to limited space at Jordan SD they got bumped from having their student.

I am so excited that they will get to have Karen. It was meant to be!


Welcome Karen!

Welcome Dinner

Every year I have a huge welcome dinner in conjunction with the host family/student orientation.

Host families and students come to have a refresher on the rules and regulations as well as learn more about the cultures that are being represented by the kids. We also learn some great communication skills related to  hosting situations.

I also ask each student to bring items with them that represent them so the host families and other students as well as myself can get to know them.  This year I actually remembered to take pictures of the tables!

Welcome 2012 Students!!!

What a great group of kids this year!   What is the most exciting thing for me I think is that 5 of my families are families that have hosted before!  It is so great to know that these families enjoyed the experience so much that they want to do it again and again!

The 2 new families are equally as amazing in their excitement to host.

This is going to be a great year!

This year the countries represented are small but It will be fun to really get to know the cultures in greater depth.

Italy - 1
Germany - 1
Norway - 2
Spain  - 3

Placement time!!!

Placement time is in full swing!!!  It has been more difficult this year than any other year ever to place in Utah!!  There has been a HUGE increase of families wanting to host and organizations hiring coordinators and still there are only 328 spots in the whole state.  If you are one of the lucky students to come then shout for joy!

I am excited for all the new students to arrive!

Spring Blues

Spring means the time to go home is ever closer.  This year we never really had winter so the students and families started feeling this early on.

Sometimes this can come with negative feelings. We call these feelings Pre-Departure Anxiety.  Everyone feels them and just as everyone is unique they show these feelings in many different ways.

Some will pull away from the family or the family from the student, some will use anger to make it easier to separate when the time comes, some will all of a sudden not want anyone out of their sight... the list continues on  and on of how one can show these feelings.

Sometimes if these feelings come and there is no communication about them then the outcome is very sad.  It happens every year somewhere in the US when a host family and student don't talk about what they are feeling and why. They pretend as if all is well and it grows to a point where it can't be fixed anymore and the student must be relocated.  I have had such an instance this year and it makes my heart very sad.

Situations like this can be very easily avoided by talking first to each other and then to me as the coordinator.  I have received training to help in this capacity. I love it when I can help a family through a difficult time and we come out victorious.

Snow Fun!!

Every year we try to make it up to the tubing hill.  Some years are more successful than others. This year was almost a no go. THERE WAS NO SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The resort had to make snow just so the hill could open!  I have never before in my life seen that area with so little snow in the dead of winter.

We still had a great time and can't wait to take the kids next year!

December gift making

I began this tradition with the students last year. My mom has a friend who opened her own Do it Yourself craft workshop called Heartfelt Wall Hangings.  She supplies all the materials, you pay for them and make your craft. She has become so successful that she now has her own workshop space in a building instead of her garage! It is beautiful and perfect!

The kids had a great time talking with one another about their host families and school. They also felt accomplished as they finished the gifts they had chosen for their host families.

After we were all STARVING so we headed to Cafe Rio near the first students home on our route to drop everyone off.

It was a great night and one where I began to feel a better connection with my students.

Happy Halloween!!!

Only a few students could make it to this event but it still turned out to be really fun!

First we had a scavenger hunt. The kids had to go door to door collecting Halloween themed items or pictures on their camera.  It was really fun and they got the neighbors to do some crazy things!

We then all met back to carve pumpkins. 

- I didn't have my camera so I don't have pics of this activity. Waiting to receive some. -

Pool Party!!!!

What a great night! One of the last few warm nights I think we will get before fall sets in.

The Martinez family kindly welcomed us to their home and backyard with a pool!  It was a great night complete with food and fun and even a fire pit when we got chilly.

The students enjoyed meeting each other for the first time and learning about where they were from and what school they are going to ect...  

The host families had a great time discussing how their new family member was fitting in and new host families were asking experienced families great questions. 

The night ended with the only boy who showed up being the center of attention.

New Year... New Kids... So FUN!

Welcome students 2011 - 2012!!




What an exciting year this is going to be!  All the arrivals went off without a hitch. Everyone is here safe and sound.  Our Vivian from Hong Kong has returned. She has changed her VISA and will be attending a private high school. We are excited to have her back in our home!

One of my favorite host families is hosting again this year and I am so happy to be able to meet with them every month.

I have 3 from Denmark this year. I am curious to see how they are similar as well as different from each other.

The welcome dinner was wonderful and informative. All the families came and every student remembered to bring their stuff about them and their country to display on the table.  Sadly it was not how I had envisioned it but it worked out quite nicely!  I wish I had thought to take a picture of each one.  I was so excited to look at all of them I forgot to think about pictures!

Busy Summer!

Usually summer consists of tying up loose ends for students who need paperwork taken care of, helping the surrounding Western states finish filling spots and spending family time with my family.

This summer was different and I hope a gateway to an exciting beginning for Utah.  We placed summer immersion students!

We have Iris from Spain in our home for 5 weeks and I placed a German and a Russian with families for a short summer program also.

I would LOVE to see this become a groups program where we have many students come for the summer and for a short time take them on an incredible journey through all the amazing sites Utah has to offer!

It's so hard to say goodbye....

Every year saying goodbye is difficult. This year has been especially hard to say good bye... 5 of my 7 kids this year I had the opportunity to be closer to in distance and that changed the dynamic of the student/coordinator relationship more than I ever though it would.

Also this year many close friends of ours hosted and it has made it more emotional for me to see them feel the loss sending their new family member back to their home country.

I have loved getting to know these amazing families who have opened their hearts and these remarkable kids who I have watched grow and mature.

My heart will always have a place for them!

Safe travels and see you soon!!

International Dinner 2011

What an amazing night!

I was asked to do the slideshow kind of last minute but I pulled it off and everyone loved it!

We had half of the Utah students come to the dinner with their families. All but 1 brought a dish from their country to share and all of them shared unique and fun talents!

The feeling that it was all coming to an end became real for many families and students. There were tears and grateful hearts.