Monthly Archives: September 2005

Floodlit Bike Race

Walk in the morning, watched a flood lit bike race, then a film at home.

Scuba Diving

Host sisters started scuba diving training

The second day

Walking Up at 7am, a quick breakfast and into the car off to Julia’s. Julia and Peter and their daughter (all of whom, I should mention, are unusually tall – not that we had warned Mutty of this) live in an old house on the edges of a typically English village in the middle of

School Starts. Gukp!

Getting up Host Father had gone off to the airport to fly off to his current client assignment. (Other than holidays and a small amount of sick leave, he has been out of the country every week this year.) Host Mother was left to round up the kids for school. Older Host Sister is always

Big Breakfast and Karate

We went out for a traditional cooked breakfast, walked the dog and then went for karate training.

The first day

Exercise Host Father was recently persuaded by a friend, Julia, that he needed to exercise more (actually, Host Father already knew this but was very reluctant to do anything about it) and proposed that, as she also needed to take more exercise, every Saturday and Sunday morning commencing at 8am he and she should meet

Home for the first time

The car journey in the dark from the airport to home was uneventful. Mutty, understandably, dozed for most of the trip. She tried her best to be sociable but it was not easy for her.

The first meeting

AFS “handed” Mutty over in the evening and Host Mother and Younger Host Sister took Mutty away for refreshments and to start to get to know her. It is hard to know who was the more nervous. Whilst Mutty is certainly more brave to travel to the other side of the world into a completely different culture, Host Mother was also taking on a lot.

Introduction

In September 2005 we took on the hosting of a Japanese girl (aged around 17) for an academic year. We did this through AFS. They provides intercultural learning and volunteer opportunities for students, young adults, teachers and families through international exchange.