AFS San Diego

The activity was tamale making, organized by Grace, and hosted by Aurora, sister of Grace, and husband Jesus at their home in Perris, about 20 miles north of Temecula. Attendees were Christian , CB from Germany and host mom Darla from Menifee; Ksenia, FLEX student from Russia, hosted in La Verne, Tohari, YES from Indonesia, hosted in Apple Valley; and Nur, YES from Philippines, hosted in San Marcos.

All kids were involved...

Xueqian (April) Huang, 17, of China, joined Scripps Ranch High School student body last fall to learn about the culture of the United States so she decided to participate in as many extracurricular activities as possible. She wanted others to understand her culture as well. “We talked about how we would bring the Chinese culture during orientation (for AFS exchange students) in China,” April recalled.

April has accomplished her goals having immersed herself in the high school culture and introducing many SRHS students to China. Before she left her home in Changzhou, she went to the SRHS website to see what was offered. At the bottom of the clubs list, she said, was a statement that students with interests not met by existing clubs could start their own. That’s what April did by starting the Chinese Club. With Advisor Julia Knoff, a teacher, and about 15 Scripps students the club has met every Friday throughout the year. The students have studied various aspects of Chinese culture. They have practiced paper cutting, making lanterns and learned how to use chopsticks via fun games, to name a few activities. “For Halloween, we had painting Chinese makeup,” April said of the club’s efforts to incorporate Chinese culture with American observances. In January, they celebrated the Chinese New Year, by cooking traditional New Year fare. “We made dumplings and ate them,” April said. They also had speakers such as a Kung Fu master.

San Diego AFS Area Team held their Mid-Year Orientation at a Sierra Club lodge on Mt. Laguna in east San Diego County the weekend of Feb. 7-8. Snow hardly ever occurs in the population centers here, and is uncommon in the mountains. So when we booked the lodge a couple of months ago it was with the thought that snow was unlikely. Our good fortune was that the snow did not accumulate on the roads, but we did have a few inches everywhere else. We had 24 AFS students there. Those from Northern Europe were relatively unimpressed. But for those from places like Thailand, including two who had never seen snow, it was a real treat. An unidentified student or students built this miniature AFS snowman as a greeting to all of us as we exited the lodge.

Doug Deane and Dana Goodrich of Alpine have found becoming “parents” to a 15-year-old Muslim girl from Thailand, a life changing experience. The same is true for their “daughter,” Mareenah (pronounced Marina) Useng.

“It rocked my world,” said Doug of the time Mareenah was missing. “I found out what being a parent is really all about.” He received a call from Dana that the bus had “come and gone and Mareenah wasn’t on it. I was panicked.” Actually it turned out that the bus was just late. Mareenah was fine, a new bus driver had apparently got lost.

“In the mornings, Mom takes me,” Mareenah said of Dana. Partly because she’s carrying a lot of books, Doug explains, “but also for security. She wears a scarf outside the house. She hasn’t had any problems with it, but she does stick out.”

Mareenah is living with the couple and attending Granite Hills High School as part of the AFS Intercultural Programs student exchange. She is one of 20 students in San Diego County brought over by the group, and the only Muslim girl they’ve ever had.

Photo used with permission from JoshBooX.

I could see the excited faces waiting for the day to start. I was impatient too. I was tired of imagining the fear running through my veins while flying in air. And soon, our wait was over; my wait was over. We reached magic mountain! Although the sun was burning hot, showing no mercy on us, our excitement and will never gave up. It was an incredible experience for all of us, especially for me because I had never imagined that I'll be flying on the world's largest and tallest roller coaster rides. Yes, roller coaster rides! Be it the Tatsu or the Goliath, the most amazing rides; we were never afraid of taking the challenge; or maybe it was not a challenge but just mere fun and excitement. Being with a group of exchange students from all around the world, I didn't even come to know when the time passed by. We, as a group, did all the possible rides, roamed around the park, ate a lot and most importantly, drank loads of water and lemonades to fight the dehydration. And in the end, we all were tired; even I was. Everyday has its twilight, its end. Sitting in the van and hearing all the excited voices commenting upon the the day's experience, I sat back thinking. I knew it was over. But then, I questioned myself: What did I get at the end of the day? I knew it was fun going on rides, but then, that excitement was temporary and had died already. But I knew there was something more to it that I couldn't understand. And then I realized, it was the smiles, the laughter, the jokes, all the things that we did as a group. Those were the moments that kept me alive. And now when I look back, I am afraid that these moments will never come back again. Jose's determination, Italo's food hunt, Lada's crazyness, Bijan's injured leg, Monica's tired face, Camille's jumping out of excitement; those are the things I take back. Just memories. But this wouldn't have been possible without the cooperation and support of the host parents and most importantly, without Becky. I just have two words to say " Thank You". Although these words are used thousands of times by all of us in a day, they mean a lot to me. It would have been impossible to make this happen without you all!

- Jay K.