Pacific Intercultural Exchange's USA homestay programs

Freeport, Ill. —

Foreign high school students are scheduled to arrive soon for academic semester homestay programs, and the sponsoring organization needs a few more local host families. The students are anxiously awaiting news of their new families. This is the last chance for these young ambassadors to fulfill their life-long dreams.

According to Pacific Intercultural Exchange (P.I.E.) President, John Doty, the students are all between the ages of 15 and 18 years, are English-speaking, have their own spending money, carry accident and health insurance, and are anxious to share their cultural experiences with their new American families. P.I.E. currently has programs to match almost every family's needs, ranging in length from one semester to a full academic year, where the students attend local public and private high schools.

P.I.E. area representatives match students with host families by finding common interests and lifestyles through an informal in-home meeting. Prospective host families are able to review student applications and select the perfect match. As there are no "typical" host families, P.I.E. can fit a student into just about any situation, whether it is a single parent, a childless couple, a retired couple or a large family.

Families who host for P.I.E. are also eligible to claim a monthly charitable contribution deduction on their itemized tax returns for each month they host a sponsored student.

For the upcoming programs, P.I.E. has students from Germany, the Former Soviet Union, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Korea, Mexico, Thailand, Ghana, China, and many other countries. P.I.E. is also participating in two special government-funded programs to bring scholarship students from the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union as well as predominantly Islamic countries such as Yemen, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar to the United States.

P.I.E. is a non-profit educational organization that has sponsored more than 25,000 students from 45 countries since its founding in 1975. The organization is designated by the United States Department of State and is listed by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel (CSIET), certifying that the organization complies with the standards set forth in CSIET's Standards for International Educational Travel Programs.

Doty encourages families to contact the program immediately, as it will allow the proper time for the students and hosts to get to know one another before they actually meet for the first time.

Families interested in learning more about student exchange or arranging for a meeting with a community representative may call P.I.E., toll-free, at 1-866-546-1402. The agency also has opportunities for community volunteers to assist and work with area host families, students and schools.

Thai native already a graduate back home, now student in U.S.

She’s technically already finished with school back in Thailand, but Krissana Lao-Amornphunkul will be a student for several more months as she studies at Blue Earth Area High School.

The 18-year-old enrolled in the foreign exchange program for a chance to learn how to live in the United States and improve her English.

She is an only child at home, but since Richard and Margaret Sunderlin decided to host two students at once, she has a “sister,” from Hong Kong, while staying in the U.S.

Twelve exchange students in 10 years have called the Sunderlins’ house in Elmore their home, and it wasn’t even their idea to begin with.

“My daughter was trying to talk us into it,” Richard explains.

She succeeded, and the family became host to a boy from Venezuela. From that point, the Sunderlins were anxious to continue the experience.

“He was a fine young man,” Richard says. “He left a good taste in our mouth after he left.”

Since then, the couple has hosted children from Germany, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, and this year welcomes a girl from Hong Kong, as well as Krissana.

Krissana was born and raised in Bangkok, the largest city in Thailand, where her parents are also from. Her family owns a business selling fish, primarily to hotels.

“I think my mom very proud,” Krissana explains about her parents’ thoughts on her leaving home. “She would tell her friend, ‘My daughter go to America.’”

Since she doesn’t yet have a job, Krissana uses her free time back home to go to the cinema with friends or go out to eat. And, of course, go shopping, something she’s been able to do a lot of since being in America.

“Mention shopping and they’ll drop whatever they’re doing,” Richard jokes about the two girls.

Krissana has noticed it’s more expensive to shop in the U.S. than in Thailand, but says one of her favorite things about being in Minnesota is there’s no tax on clothing.

She even decided to brave Black Friday crowds following Thanksgiving in order to experience the crazy shopping holiday found only in America.

But even with how much she likes to shop, Krissana has never had to become too familiar with sweaters, snow boots or winter coats, since the climate in Bangkok is not at all similar to that of Blue Earth.

“We’ll make sure she wears warm clothes,” Margaret says.

Before winter had even hit, Krissana says everyone was warning her how cold the weather would get, but since she’d never touched snow, she was already making plans for the day it came.

“I think if we have snow I will do snow angel,” she says.

Although she was visiting New York City during the first winter storm of the season, Krissana returned to Elmore to find the outdoors a very different color than when she left. And with chilly temperatures lingering, she’ll no doubt get a chance to make plenty of snow angels.

Between being a senior at Blue Earth Area High School and participating in extracurriculars, Krissana finds down time at home with the Sunderlins, helping cook supper, watching television and doing homework.

She says the most difficult part about being at school in America is understanding what people are saying, but the actual classes have their upside.

“They’re easier — except American history,” she laughs.

Krissana attended a Catholic school in Thailand, starting at 7:45 a.m. and sitting through seven class periods that mainly taught skills needed to become an administrative assistant.

She hasn’t made a lot of decisions about what comes after school, but says she’s considering something in business. And since she’d like to return for college, being a foreign exchange student is helping her adjust to living in the United States.