|
 Brandon Kretzinger, a sophomore at MPHS said, “It was
a great experience and I cannot wait to go to Costa Rica and
experience all of their culture and everything they do there.”
Kretzinger’s family hosted Gerardo and Brandon said, “He made it
like there was another family member that we had for a week. There
was a connection and he was like family.”
Teagan Wyss’ family hosted
Andrés and
it was evident the experience changed the sophomore’s life. “Ahh, it
was amazing. First of all, getting to encounter with someone who
speaks another language as their native language let alone one that
I am learning at the moment - it was amazing. It was a great
learning experience. I got very close with Andres through texting
and calls beforehand and so there was already a great connection
there. We were already really close friends and it definitely helped
with the awkwardness that usually comes with the exchange, like when
you first meet them. I know it was a great experience for him to be
able to speak to me, a native English speaker, and it worked both
ways. It was great going back and forth with languages.”
Wyss continued, "I think getting to learn more about him personally
was awesome. I love talking to people and getting to broaden my
horizons by speaking to people from other countries and getting to
know them. It was great. I’m definitely looking forward to Costa
Rica. I got my passport picture today.”
Wyss also mentioned how Costa Ricans do not get to drive until they
are 18 years old and offered, "Everything is so close they don’t
really need personal cars like we do. They mostly use public
transportation.”
Mount Pulaski students will get to use that public transportation
this summer and they will probably really like it.
Kaylee Wilham, a sophomore at MPHS, was fortunate to host Michelle
and continues to FaceTime and text message with her new friend. Of
the experience, Wilham was quick to say, “It was amazing. I really
enjoyed it. I am excited to go to Costa Rica in June. I miss them so
much already even though they just left. I just can’t wait.”
Wilham noted how a connection was made with her Tico.
“It impacted us greatly because not only were we getting friends in
the experience but we were getting family. So now I have another
family member that’s not biological,” Kaylee said with a big smile.
Skylar Hayes is a veteran of the Spanish and Costa Rican exchanges,
however the junior did not travel to Costa Rico the first time back
in 2016.
Of this particular experience, Hayes said eagerly, “It was so much
fun. What an experience. I’ve been through three of these exchanges
and I don’t like to compare but like this was definitely the most
fun I’ve ever been in. We had a very small group so we got to know
each other. Everyone got to know each other. The other groups were
always big groups so we didn’t get to really know each other. We all
connected really well. We learned a lot about each others’ cultures
and a lot about our language. It was really cool.”
The Hayes family hosted Nathalie, and Hayes believes another long
term relationship will develop. She still talks to her exchange
student from Spain everyday and she says, “I’m pretty sure me and
Nathalie are going to do the same thing. We had a really close bond
when she was here and we learned a lot about each other. It was
fun.”
Even though Hayes hosted a Tico in the very first exchange, she did
not make that trip to Costa Rica due to basketball commitments. This
time around Hayes made adjustments and will be joining the group to
the island country for two weeks in June.
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Hayes also gave kudos to Grunder for putting in all
the hard work to make this happen for the students. "It’s so
cool.....they are from a totally different country and not everyone
gets to do this, “ said Hayes. "Props to Rachel Grunder. She set
this up three years ago."
Abby Howard, a senior at MPHS, hosted a Tico named Angie but she
is not going to visit her in Costa Rico this summer. Nonetheless the experience
was positive and Howard especially got a kick out of the Ticos having “super
English names.” Howard also said Angie liked the restaurant Chi in Lincoln a
lot. "She loved Chi and she also loved By the Bean in Lincoln,” said a smiling
Howard.
“I think it was very beneficial for my family to have a
non-English speaker in our house because it really caused them to try to be more
relational with her knowing they couldn’t communicate with words,” said Howard.
"I feel like we all made a new friend even though they couldn’t communicate as
well.”
Since Howard does not know when she will see Angie again, she said, “That made
the goodbyes a lot harder.” When asked if she will visit the country someday she
was quick to say, "I hope so. I hope I do. Yes, I think we will. We were really
close and she was a really fun person to have around. So I think we will see
each other again."
Zac Hinds and his dad, Craig, hosted Vincent while mom Julie, owner of Country
Junction in Clinton, was away at Market for much of Vincent’s stay.
“Vincent was also a decent English speaker so he could communicate with my
parents better,” said Zac. "He still helped me with some Spanish that I didn’t
know yet. Then all together it was just a fun experience to be around everybody
in the group and to get closer with everyone.”
Julie noted when she got home from Market how Vincent wanted to go to Ulta and
buy makeup to take back home for his mom.
Claire Coogan, a sophomore at MPHS and a first-time host, also enjoyed the Tico
experience. “I hosted Pamela and she was really cool. She’s a little bit older
than me so she was kind of like a mom to me. She’d look through all my school
notebooks and organize them for me. I felt kinda bad but it was really cute. One
of my favorite memories was when we went sledding out at the farm. We were
sledding around on a car hood and it’s the most redneck Illinois thing that I
can think of and I definitely think it was something they took back with them.”
Coogan added that the Ticos loved the snow. “They couldn’t get enough of it,”
she said, but added, "I am sure when they were ready to leave they were over
it.”
The language barrier might have been a bit of a challenge for the Coogan family,
but they made adjustments. "She wasn’t really the best English speaker so it
really taught my family how to maneuver around just speaking,” said Coogan.
"Like my dad learned Google Translate and he loves Google Translate now. There
were lots of hand signals. She taught me a lot of Spanish and I taught her a lot
of English. We just learned how to get along very well. We connected very well.”
The story goes on this June
The students will get reconnected in June when MPHS students make the journey to
Costa Rica and stay for approximately two weeks. Grunder will make the trip,
too, and she’s eagerly anticipating another eye-opening experience for her
Toppers.
"We are all very much looking forward to meeting up with them again in
June...when we will marvel at their volcanoes, jungles, and exhaustive heat!
¡Pura Vida!---hats off to another successful MPHS hosting experience!”
[Teena Lowery] |
