By Chamise Jones and Sherron Simpson
MASC 686
RICHMOND, Va. — As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) allows students to experience other countries through an educational exchange program.
More than 1,300 students participate in the program annually in the United States. Students come from 40 countries around the world including South Korea, Brazil and Germany.
CIEE team manager Becky Bell, says the goal of the program is to help build bridges of global understanding. Bell’s job is to place hopeful students with the most suitable host family.
“We are looking to place students anywhere in the United States, as long as we can find good families and schools that will accept them,” said Bell. “We try to match students with families that have the same interests.”
Bell finds families by networking with people around the city. Once she finds an interested family, she then completes a background check on the family. Once approved, references are checked and Bell interviews the family. She says a family must have two main qualities.
“They have to want to learn about other cultures and have a big heart,” said Bell.
Melissa Mitchem received an e-mail at work about students wanting to study in America for the 2008-2009 school year. Prior to the e-mail, Mitchem’s oldest daughter had expressed her desire to be an exchange student in another country. Mitchem however, was apprehensive about her daughter leaving for an extended period of time.
“I thought that it would be good to have someone come to our house and stay with us,” said Mitchem. “Maybe that person would be really upset and cry and be homesick and my daughter would see that it is not a good idea to be away from your family for a year.”
Surprisingly, the Mitchem’s exchange student from Germany was the perfect fit for her family.
Hannah Prehn, 17, is from Berlin, Germany. She received a scholarship from a German organization to study in the U. S. through the CIEE program. Prehn wanted to experience a different culture, and she says the CIEE program presented the perfect opportunity for her.
“I want to make new experiences,” said Prehn. “I want to know what it is like to be in another country, so I don’t have to see what it is like through other people’s eyes.”
Bell says that students participate in the program for a variety of reasons from linguistic opportunties to educational benefits.
“We get students who want to learn English better and would like to have an opportunity to learn other cultures,” said Bell. “The program could also be a stepping stone for students to go to college or work in the United States .”
Students are responsible for their tuition, health insurance and spending money during their stay. However, since the CIEE is a non-profit organization, the organization also works closely with other agencies to supply funds for the students.
Each year between 40 to 50 students are placed in Virginia. Bell says that Chesterfield County, Hanover County and Richmond have all been accommodating in allowing students to enroll in their schools. Students stay for the entire school year, arriving in August and leaving in June.
Prehn says the biggest difference between Germany and the United States is the school system. She’s a junior at Richmond Community High School, in the city of Richmond.
“In Germany, we don’t have electives,” said Prehn. “Suddenly you can choose your class. We can’t do that.”
Bell says that the biggest obstacle for students in the program is transportation. CIEE students are not allowed to drive during their stay. In places such as Europe and Brazil, public transportation is more accessible for student use.
Students are not allowed to visit their home country during their stay in the U.S, and Bell says that most students start to become home sick around Christmas. Parents are allowed to visit after their child has been in the U.S. for at least five months.
“Students stay in contact with their families through Skype, e-mails and texting,” said Bell.
Bell, who has also been a host parent in the past, stays in close contact with each host family. She maintains weekly communication with all CIEE families in the Richmond area.
“We are able to overcome problems pretty quickly,” said Bell.
Mitchem, Prehn’s host mom, teaches in Chesterfield County and has three daughters. Last summer, the Mitchem family went on special outings to show Prehn as much of the U.S. possible.
“In the beginning we went to Virginia Beach and spent a night in a hotel,” said Mitchem. “We drove to visit some friends in Chicago just to a give Hannah a sense that you can drive 12 hours and still be in the same country.”
Host families are not compensated for housing exchange students, nor are they required to entertain the students. However, most families do welcome and encourage students to participate in family activities.
Families are responsible for providing a safe haven, bed and two meals a day.
“That could be an expense to some families,” said Bell. “But most find that it is not a big deal to feed one more mouth.”
Host families are provided with biographies of exchange students so that they may select which student would fit best into their family. Mitchem chose Prehn because Prehn and her daughters shared similar characteristics. Mitchem says Hannah was a perfect match for their family.
“I told people that I would not do it again,” said Mitchem. “Anyone else that we got would be a disappointment. It’s like she has always been a part of our family.”
The Holocaust in Germany
Arguably one of the biggest genocides in world history, is Adolf Hitler’s annihilation of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. The Holocaust began in 1938 in Germany, where more than 6 million Jews were killed. Germans arrived in Virginia in 1714 in, what is present day, Orange County. The German population is relatively small in Richmond. The Virginia Holocaust Museum located at 2000 E. Cary St. helps to continues to tell the story of the innocent lives lost during the Holocaust.
The sign above says "Jews Forbidden" in the Virginia Holocaust Museum. Executive assistant of the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Matt Simpson talks about the importance of the museum. Holocaust survivor Alexander Lebenstein tells his survival story from the Holocaust. Click the picture to view an audio slideshow about the Holocaust genocide.
Below is an audio clip of Alexander Lebenstein discussing his feelings after his liberation from the perils of the Holocaust.
Tags: Becky Bell, Chamise Jones, CIEE, Hannah Prehn, Holocaust, Melissa Mitchem, multimedia, Sherron Simpson, VCU, Virginia Holocaust Museum
