Host and Hostee
Australians hosted by choir students
Welcome to class: Three Australian exchange students are brought to the attention of Mr. Flanders’ second period class. Madilyn Ridgeway, Reece Ryan and Konnor Furber were given the assignment of telling the American students about their ‘lifestyle’. In the back of the classroom, hosts Mitchell Hoffman and Sydney Peterson are chuckling watching their newfound friends struggle under the pressure. “I have students who still are good friends and keep in contact with their Aussie, even three to four years ago,” Choir teacher Heidi Forslund said. “Some have even gone to Australia to visit and stay with their Aussie.”
Sometimes from a high school student’s perspective, everything seems very localized. We hear about what goes on in Lake Stevens and occasionally get a snippet of information about something halfway across the country. However, once a year Lake Stevens has the opportunity to bring a different part of the world to us! On Friday the 12th, a group of 39 Australian high school students toured our school and learned about our country, hosted through a group of volunteering choir students whom the Aussies shadowed.
“Since this was the 4th year my family has hosted, I now have 4 friends from Australia,” junior Emily Grieser said. “It’s really really awesome having a friend that you could go visit someday in a different country.”
Many students and staff enjoy meeting the Australians and its mutual. The Hosts and Aussies even bring gifts for one another sometimes. Although it’s the main part of the trip, the Australians only spend one day at the high school, and spend another whole nine days in Washington before they leave.
“The Aussies themselves went skiing, to the MoPOP, they went to the underground tour of Seattle, they went to Pike Place and they went to an outlet mall in Bellevue I think it was,” Grieser said.
Not all of the Australians were hosted by choir students, but choir students graciously volunteer to host them while they go on adventures in Lake Stevens.
“The choir started hosting Australians students as a fundraiser for our group and have been doing it for the last 3-4 years,” Heidi Forslund, choir instructor said. The choir students don’t just get funds though, they a wonderful experience and valuable connections.
“The highlight was definitely the bond Jordy and I created,” junior Scarlett Hicks said. “We spent almost every moment of free time together, this opportunity left me with a best friend.”
It’s most definitely an amazing experience to meet someone from an entirely new culture. Imagine if this was you, getting to visit a strange place with different people and ways of life. We usually imagine ourselves as isolated from the rest of the world in our town of Lake Stevens, yet it is far from true.
