Brandon Twp.- Till Bedau’s cute smile landed him a home for a year with the Kluesner family.
The German exchange student’s picture and a five- or six-line blurb about him was all Gwen Kluesner had to go on, but she took a chance, and like the other two exchange students she and her family have hosted, it worked.
‘It’s a leap of faith,? said Kluesner. ‘Some little thing catches your eye and you decide to take that student… We have had three students, and all have been wonderful kids. It’s not always the case, but with us it has been. We’re pretty easy-going, and they come and fit in and it’s like having your own kid around.?
Bedau will join the other three exchange students at Brandon this year? Marie Balke, Shari Bortfeld, and Claudia Wenta, all from Germany? at Go Global!, a program to educate area residents on the Youth For Understanding foreign exchange program and how they can be a volunteer or host an exchange student. Go Global! is planned for 7-8:30 p.m., March 25, at the library, 304 South St. and in addition to the students, host families, YFU volunteers and alumni will be present.
‘It’s weird to think about hosting a generic student, you have to meet them and see what they are like,? said Barb Kilkka, YFU field director. ‘It’s an opportunity to talk to the kids and hear their stories and experiences. We’re looking for host families for the next host cycle. It’s rare for someone to say they have a hole in their life and are missing a teenager. It’s not something they do unless they’re asked or meet the kids.?
Kluesner and her husband, Ernest, hosted their first exchange student, a German girl named Claudia, in 2000, at the urging of their youngest son, then a high school senior. Gwen Kluesner’s brother had hosted a girl from Ecuador in the past and her oldest sister had also hosted students.
‘I always wanted to go to Europe and this was one way to go while not actually going,? Kluesner said. ‘You bring it here.?
They chose Claudia based on the fact that both of the girl’s parents were teachers and Gwen and Ernest are also teachers. It worked. The student they chose two years ago had seemingly little in common with them, however? Julia was a vegetarian, Catholic and a circus performer, none of which they could relate to, but she was perfect for their family, and is planning to return to the township this summer to visit with her former hosts.
Jane and Dave Olney, also township residents, hosted their first exchange student, Angelina Hoeck, last year and had their second, Bortfeld, for two trimesters this school year. ‘I have found they’re just like us, they laugh about the same things,? Jane Olney said. ‘They talk about the same things any 16-year-old girl in America would talk about. They have the same struggles with friends, making friends, school work and whether to be on a team at school.?
Olney said she couldn’t imagine sending one of her three children to another country and trusting someone else to take care of them, but felt she was capable of taking care of someone else’s child for them and keeping that child safe.
‘It’s another part of being a mother, that you want to take someone in,? she said. ‘These kids are special because they want to come over and learn… It’s fun to show someone else your country and how we are different than maybe what they expected.?
YFU placed 93 exchange students in Oakland County this school year, the most of any county nationally.
Host families are required to provide food for the student and a place to live, but the student brings their own spending money and extraordinary travel experiences are not necessary. Host families can be couples whose own children are grown, couples who don’t have children, or who have children not yet of school-age.
‘The most important things are love, encouragement and guidance,? Kilkka said. ‘If they want to play sports, they pay. They order their own yearbooks. We want families who set limits for the kids. It’s pretty much common sense parenting.?
Kilkka, who has hosted 18 exchange students herself from countries including Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Serbia, Thailand, Japan and Switzerland, said the experience had done wonders for her own children.
‘They see things through the eyes of brothers and sisters from other places,? she said. ‘We like to see their wonderment at things in our life, as you teach them how to make vegetable soup; or the boy we had this year, when we had snow, went out and made 10 snowmen. You don’t need to knock yourself out, it’s the little moments and the talks in the car or helping them with their history homework. You really do help the world become a better place.?
For more information on Go Global!, hosting an exchange student or YFU, call 1-800-872-0200 or visit www.yfu-usa.org or call the library at 248-627-1460.