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YFU Host Family Story
Ellen Eastham ♦ Host Mom ♦ Texas
Hosted five exchange students from 1987 to 2009
Ellen Eastham ♦ Host Mom ♦ Texas
Hosted five exchange students from 1987 to 2009
Reflections of a Host Mom and the Journey of the Host Daughter
Host Mom Ellen Eastham and her daughter Jessica Bush are avid YFU supporters. Over the years, Ellen has hosted five exchange students from Europe, and it has had a pronounced affect on her family and how she sees her community with a global perspective. Jessica, having grown up with international ‘sisters’ for many years, recently traveled to Europe and visited all five of her adopted siblings.
WHY HOST?
When people find out I have hosted exchanged students, they always ask, “why?” The answer is simple: it’s a wonderful thing to bring a student into our home, allow him/her to be part of our family, with all the ups and downs that life offers, and end the period of their visit with a forever friend and family member. In addition, the family members all gain experience and great memories as well.
WHAT DO EXCHANGE STUDENTS LIKE?
Through my experience, they loved everything about living in America! The “Gals” enjoyed American traditions at holidays, school events (such as football games, Homecoming, and Prom), and their classes. They thrived learning English, shopping at malls, and enjoyed watching American TV and movies. Furthermore, they participated in high school sports and loved eating a wide variety of American cuisine.
WHAT DID THEY DISLIKE?
Exchange students miss speaking their native language at times, and after several months in the U.S., they often stumble for words in their mother-tongue!
HOST FAMILY TRADITION
We hosted Constanze from Germany when we were a young couple with no children. We hosted Jenny from Sweden when we had two young children, followed by Mette from Norway. After I became a single parent, my kids wanted an exchange student their own age. They chose Anne from Germany for the 2006/7 school year. She was my daughter Jessica’s age (17) at the time. Her two other host sisters were Jennifer (15) and Mackenzie (11) — so it was a nice mix. In August of 2008, Jessica left for college, and Jennifer chose to have a student her age for the upcoming school year, and so we welcomed our newest exchange student Corina from Switzerland. I expect that our family will continue to host a student every couple of years. It is now a valued family tradition.
Coming Full Circle: Visiting My Five Exchange Sisters in Europe
Written by Jessica Bush
I was traveling alone, such a long way from home, and flying across the Atlantic. This was my first trip without my family and first time to travel to Europe. I was scared, nervous, and excited about this long-anticipated trip. On June 13, the first day of travel, I was exhausted from all the preparation. From leaving my home in Houston to arriving in Jenny’s home in Sweden, I traveled about twenty hours.
SWEDEN
My first adventure was in Stockholm. Jenny visited us the summer of 2005, when I was 15 years old. Jenny had initially lived with our family and was our second exchange student during 1993-1994. During the nine days with Jenny, I met many of her family members, celebrated Midsummer’s Day (the longest day of the year), and had fun exploring Stockholm and other cities in Sweden.
NORWAY
I then traveled to Bergen, Norway to meet Mette, our family’s third exchange student from 1994-1995. Mette’s family took me on a Fjord boat tour where I saw huge waterfalls plummeting off the sides of mountain
s into the sea. I enjoyed seeing the city of Bergen, its mountainous terrain, the fish market, and riding the Floybanen funicular on Mount Floyen.
GERMANY
Moving on to Hamburg, I met Constanze, my parent’s first exchange student from 1987. Constanze, her husband Marcel and her children Ava Mae and Kian took me to Lübeck to visit her parents. We explored the town and went to the beach (the shoreline of the North Sea). The water was extremely cold – so different compared to the Gulf of Mexico which I am used to swimming in. I enjoyed touring Hamburg, shopping, and a boat ride on the Elbe River.
I then boarded a train to Braunschweig, Germany. I was eager to visit Anne as we attended Pearland High School together my junior year. Anne was my family’s fourth exchange student from 2006-2007. She had been back in Germany for just one year. I enjoyed attending classes at Anne’s school, her high school prom, traveling to Berlin, and meeting all her friends and family members.
SWITZERLAND
Having been traveling for four weeks, I flew to Zurich, Switzerland, where I w
as greeted by Corina and her family. Corina would be leaving from this same airport in a few weeks and coming to America to live with my family for the 2008-2009 school year. Corina, her sister Mirjam and her parents showed me around Bremgarten, the city zoo, and Zurich. Corina’s family spoke Swiss German, which was far different from the German I heard for the past two weeks. By this time, I was quick to compute currency changes among the Swiss Franc, the Euro, and the Dollar.
FRANCE
Now a seasoned traveler, I took the train from Zurich to Paris. I was anxious to hear the French language as I had taken four years of French. I thought this was one city I might be able to understand the language, but when I arrived in Paris at the train station, I was amazed that I could only understand a few words! I visited Melanie, a former exchange student in Kerrville, Texas. She invited me to Montmorency, France, a suburb of Paris. We visited the “tourist places”, such as the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and Versailles!
NETHERLANDS
While on the train headed from Paris to Amsterdam, I had four hours to think about what I had seen already. I had no problems or issues, no lost or stolen items, like everyone had warned me. The most difficult task was cashing U.S. travelers’ cheques. I realized how easy travel had become. I was not afraid to travel alone, ask for directions, and read my Europe Guide book as a reference to help prepare myself for the next country on my journey.
In Amsterdam I met up with Rafke, a friend of our first exchange student, Constanze. My mother kept in touch with her after all these years, and she encouraged me to visit Anne Frank’s home, the canals, and local museums.
UNITED KINGDOM AND DEPARTURE
My final destination was the UK, where I visited Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Tower Bridge, Piccadilly Circus, and so much more during my ten day stay in London. When I boarded the plane after fifty days on the road, I was anxious to see my family and friends again but saddened that my European adventure had ended. I met so many nice people and made many new friends. My trip was made possible as a result of my family’s tradition of hosting exchange students from Europe. Without my exchange-sisters help and guidance, my trip would not nearly have been the same.
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