Sister Cities recently had their annual International Leadership Academy for High Schoolers. It lasts for two weeks, and has students and their leaders from Hungary, Italy, China, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico and Swaziland. They have an intensive program at TCU and stay in the dorms. On the weekend between, they stay with Host Families and get further acquainted with life in an American family. This year, Italy and Swaziland elected to stay an additional week.
The last two years, we have kept the leaders from Hungary and Italy. We love them!! This year, we only had Anna Maria from Italy. Timi, from Hungary, was staying with another family. Anna Maria was in charge of 16 kids, and they did well, for the most part. A few cultural differences arose. We taught Anna Maria some new words and acronyms, such as PDA, potty, potty-training, boobs, etc.. (OK…I had a Grandma day while she was there.) It was so fun to spend time with Anna Maria and Timi, together. I know them well by now. Add in Marsha and we have a party!!!
One of the activities that Marsha sets up, each year, is having the teacher/leaders make up a menu, go to a grocery store and have a scavenger hunt to pick out ingredients, and then they go to a house and the leaders fix the lunch. The last two years, the lunch has been at my house. This year it was primarily a Mexican feast, with a Japanese dish also being featured. I made three kinds of cookies to go with the meal. It’s so fun having all of these people at my house. It was their relaxation day. Some of the Host Mothers also joined us. They cooked, served and cleaned up….all I had to do was have the house ready and enjoy!!! There was a lot of laughter and talking.
On the weekend, we took Anna Maria to Salado. It was a good day to shop, and different kinds of shops than we have around here. On the way, we stopped at Schlotzky’s for lunch, in Hillsboro. That was a new experience for her.
One of the days, the Italian and Swaziland students took the train to Dallas to spend the day. They ate at Spaghetti Warehouse. It did not get a good review from the Italian students…..they thought all of the pasta was way over cooked. Funny!!! I did make my lasagne for Anna Maria, and she liked that. So glad to know I can cook better than Spaghetti Warehouse!!! LOL
Another day, the kids had a swimming party at one of the Host Mom’s house. It was so relaxing and so fun. They swam, played tennis, ate lots of food, and hung out for awhile. After two weeks of learning situations, it was just what those kids needed. Thank you, Becky Haskins!
Looking forward to next year’s events. By now, I know a lot of the teachers. We’ve all enlarged our vision of the world and the students have learned to work together as a team. Thanks, Sister Cities!
Did you know that Fort Worth Sister Cities, International just won the award for Best Overall Program in the Nation???? Wow!! They deserve it. And…it’s the ninth time they have won this award. Congratulations, Sister Cities!
Grandma Sherry
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