Exchange students experience Valley life

Friedrich von Samson-Himmelstjerna may not have been able to see his favorite American football team, the Indianapolis Colts, play live, but the 17-year-old boy from Germany was able to play football for Sharyland High School this fall.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Friedrich, who was a second-string kicker on the team.

The teen is one of several students from abroad who have come to the Rio Grande Valley to learn about American culture through a program run by the Rotary Club.

The teenagers arrived in August and will spend about a year living with different families to get a sense of the diversity among U.S. families. The youths live with a family for about three months and then move into another home.

The Rotary Club resumed its program in 2001 after taking a brief hiatus, said Jim Teeter, the program’s chairman.
Students coming to the United States under the program are paired up with a host family, Teeter said. The students are treated as another member of the family, which means they participate in chores and family activities.
They and the families are responsible for going over 50 questions that lay out what is expected of everyone before the youth move in, Teeter said. The students also learn what behavior is and is not acceptable in the homes in which they’re staying.

Since they’re living in the Valley, the students are also learning a little bit of Hispanic and Mexican culture.
The mother of the first family Friedrich stayed with only spoke Spanish, so the teen started to learn a fourth language, he said. Friedrich, who already speaks German, English and French, is studying Spanish in school.
He also went to Reynosa with his first host family.

“I like the mix of the cultures, Mexican and Anglo,” he said. He also likes Mexican food.
With his current family, the Heflins, the teen has gotten to do some target shooting and learned how to hunt — activities he had never been exposed to in his home country.
“In Germany, hunting is not big,” he said. “I had a lot of fun shooting at the targets.”

He also saw the Thanksgiving football game between Texas A&M University and the University of Texas in person.
His current host parents, David and Laura Heflin of Mission, said they hosted a boy from Brazil years ago and thought it was a great experience for their three daughters.

Now that their two older daughters are in college, their youngest one suggested they host another foreign exchange student.

The Heflins said they enjoy having a boy in the house.

“He’s adorable. We love him already,” said Laura Heflin. “He just fits right in.”

David and Laura Heflin said they have participated in student exchange programs because they wanted their daughters to grow up being more open-minded and aware of other cultures.

Their oldest daughter recently spent time in Denmark as part of a study abroad program and stayed with a family there.

The Heflins, meanwhile, are hosting a reunion of sorts this Christmas. Their former student from Brazil and their daughter’s host mother from Denmark are joining them in Texas. From here, they all plan to travel to Angel Fire, N.M. for skiing.

Like Friedrich, Elise Meignan said she is learning two languages during her stay. The 17-year-old from France is learning English and Spanish simultaneously as the family she is staying with speaks Spanish at home.

Elise said the French generally do not have a positive view of Americans, but she has been delightfully surprised with her life in the Valley.

“I arrived four months ago (and), oh wow, it’s pretty, pretty cool,” she said. “I think it is the best place. … All the people are really, really nice.”

She and Friedrich said they like that American public schools allow students to participate in extracurricular activities within the school and choose elective classes in addition to their core classes. Schools in their countries don’t offer electives or extracurricular activities like athletics. Such activities take place within various clubs.

Elise, who is attending McAllen Memorial High School, said she also enjoys experiencing the diverse culture in the Valley but admits she gets a little lost when her family speaks Spanish because she is just starting to pick up the language. She has visited Reynosa and Tampico with her host family and plans to spend Christmas in Monterrey with them.

“My (host) sister speaks really good English and Spanish,” Elise said. “She’ll translate (for me) in Mexico.”
Elise and her mother initially were concerned about her going to Mexico after hearing news stories about the violence south of the border. But having visited the country already with her host family, the teen said she and her mother are more at ease.

“I know with my (host) family I am safe,” she said.
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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.