Growing Together: AFS-USA Host Sibling Experiences

AFS students bring a lot to their new families and homes. But what about when they also bring the sibling experience for the first time?

In this episode, we delve into the stories of only children who suddenly found themselves with siblings overnight! Parker from Massachusetts and Reese from New York grew up as only children, but in recent years, their families have embraced hosting AFS students, adding brothers and sisters from around the globe to their lives.

By welcoming AFS students, families not only offer their child a glimpse of life beyond the United States but also introduce them to the joys and challenges of siblinghood.

Join us as we hear from Parker and two of his host siblings, followed by Reese, his mother, and two of his host siblings. What impact has welcoming a new family member had on their lives?

Interested in hosting a student with AFS? Or perhaps you're an only child yourself... and think it'd be cool to have a sibling from a different country? Head to afsusa.org/host to learn more.

Guests:
Parker Santerre
Noah
Mariana
Taryn Bunn
Reese Day
Ilona
Saki

Study Abroad with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/study-abroad
Volunteer with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/volunteer
Host with AFS-USA: www.afsusa.org/host
Educator Resources: www.afsusa.org/educators
Contact us: podcast@afsusa.org

Chapters

• 2:05 Santerre Family
• 18:20 Bunn Family

Transcript

Kate M.
Hello and welcome to The AFS Exchange. I'm your host, Kate Mulvihill. On this show, we delve into unique perspectives from members of our AFS family, providing insights that only international exchange experiences can offer.

In every episode, we open the door wide to welcome the voices of those whose lives have been profoundly impacted by AFS. This is a place to have conversations, or exchanges, with AFS host families, students, volunteers, and educators.

Kate M.
In this episode, we’re chatting with two host families and their AFS students. What do these families have in common? They’re both households with just one child, looking to expand their horizons through cultural exchange. By inviting AFS students into their lives, they not only offer their child a glimpse of life beyond the United States but also introduce them to the joys and challenges of having a sibling.

First up, the Santerre Family from Massachusetts. I chat with 15-year-old Parker, his host sister Mariana from Portugal and his former host brother Noah from Germany, who's visiting at the moment.
Then we will move a little bit west to hear from a slightly older host brother, 21-year-old Reese Day, and his mother, Taryn Bunn, from New York State. They'll share their experiences hosting students over the years, joined later in the interview by  Ilona from Finland and Saki from Japan.

Both of these families have welcomed numerous AFS students into their homes over the years. More than just adding another member to their family for 9 months, they've learned about different traditions, cuisines, games, and so much more… they’ve gained a deeper understanding of the world, and fostered an interest in travel in their children.

So, what happens when an only child suddenly gains a sibling from the other side of the planet? Keep listening to hear these stories and discover how intercultural exchange has shaped their lives and created lasting bonds.

Kate M.
To start, the Santerre family, who live in a small town northwest of Boston.

Noah H.   
Hi, I'm Noah. I'm 17 years old. And I was hosted by the Santerre family last year. So I'm currently visiting. I'm from Germany.

Mariana C.    
I'm Mariana. I am 16. And I'm their current exchange student from Portugal.

Parker S.    
I'm Parker. I'm their host sibling.

Kate M.    
It’s nice to meet you all. So, why did you decide to study abroad in the United States?

Mariana C.    
So my brother did an exchange two years ago. He was hosted by this family too. I think his experience kind of inspired me and gave me the courage to do an exchange year. Because then I was like, it's an experience. Like it's a once in a lifetime experience. And so I just wanted to try.

Noah H.   
Yeah, for me, it was. It started off with me talking to one of my really good friends, actually, who was talking about him going into the UK for half of the year doing an exchange year. And I thought about it too. And then it kind of came to my mind that I was always really, really fascinated by the U.S. and I always wanted to visit and I heard stories from my grandpa, who was an English teacher. He went to the USA a lot of times. Yeah, so I was always kind of fascinated. And my uncle, his son, did an exchange year as well. And so it kind of just came all together. It was a great decision.

Kate M.    
And Parker, what did you know about Germany and Portugal, before these two showed up?

Parker S.    
I'm really good with geography. So I know exactly where these places are. I'm partially Portuguese. So I've been to Portugal before. So I know a lot about food and culture. I didn't know much about Germany before Noah came.

Kate M.
Okay, so for Noah, Mariana. What were your first impressions? You already kind of knew a bit about the United States and Mariana and you talk to your brother. But what were some of your first impressions first arriving in Massachusetts.

Mariana C.   
So yeah, and some stuff. I mean, like it's always I always feel like some cultural shocks like even though I knew stuff. It was a cultural shock for me like this school, like how school works. Like, it's very different. Like you have classes with different people. Like other classes, you have them with different people. In Portugal, I always have the same classes with the same people like there's no like choosing subjects before you're in high school.
And like it's very different because I live in the city to say that because I like public transportation and like, it's fairly easy to get where you want to be. So like, yeah, the fact that I'm living in this smaller town is very different, but it's good because I get to know different cultures and like how other people live in the, on the other side of the world. So yeah, it was cool.

Noah H.    
Yeah. I was overwhelmed by impressions. I I tried for the first couple of weeks, I just spent trying to just comprehend what was going on, because it was a different country so far away from home, different family, right. But it was, I was so happy to see all the things that I did. They always say, right, don't have any expectations, or that you were open to everything. And I mean, that's great to have this attitude, right. There's still like, those little things that I was hoping for, for example, like they're in the movies, right? And they will be silly little things that were so funny to me, just like, for example, the way the houses are built, that's so American, right, or the yellow stripes in the middle of the road. And those are like silly little things that yeah, just made me happy to see.

Kate M.
So that comment sent me down a little rabbit hole looking up “road markings in Germany.” Yeah, so apparently they don’t use yellow for the stripes in the middle of the road over in Germany, unless it’s in a construction zone. I also learned a lot of other things about driving in Germany, but we don’t need to get into that right now, so we’re just going to continue on with the interview.
So, Noah and Mariana both grew up with siblings.

Noah H.   
So I live with two siblings. I have an older sister. She's 19. And the younger brother, who's 11. Yeah, I live with my parents in Stuttgart. And with my family. My sister finished school last year. She's doing a gap year in Sweden right now. All my relatives live pretty close. So we love to have a big family and big get-togethers. And yeah, I'd say I'm a family person.

Mariana C.   
Yeah. I live with two siblings. I have another brother. He's 18. He's in his first year of college now studying mechanical engineering. I have another sister. She's 12. So I live with both my siblings and my parents. And I live pretty close to my whole family. My mom's side. Like we all live in the same building. So I see them every day. And my dad's side. They don't leave. I mean, they live further from my mom's side. But they still live pretty close. Like the furthest one is like my aunt. She was like 20 minutes from my house.

Kate M.    
Yeah, no, that sounds I mean, that all sounds very close to the same building. Yeah, you're just like going up and down the stairs and like running into your aunts and uncles and cousins. Parker, what has it been like, with all the AFS students your family has hosted, going from being an only child to having a different sibling every year?

Parker S.   
For me, a lot of my best friends all have siblings. And sometimes when it's just me at home, it's always fun to have the extra company. So sometimes in the summer when I don't have anyone I always constantly have people over. So it's a really good experience to always have someone else in the house that I can talk to, especially around my age.

Kate M.    
Yeah, so what sorts of activities do you all do together?

Parker S.   
So all of our students all know how to ski. skiing is my favorite thing to do. So we always get season passes. The students like it, I like it. We all do it together.

Noah H.   
Yeah. And also just sports activities, right? We love just to like, shoot some hoops, play baseball in the backyard. Yeah, yeah. Shoot some hoops. Basketball, yeah?

Parker S.
Yeah.

Noah H.
Just play games together and hang out.

Mariana C.   
I have, for example, Ashlee does horseback riding too. Like I had a horseback riding lesson and then we went horseback riding together, like in Maine. So that was really cool.

Noah H.   
Yeah. And they love to travel. So they always take our students to go to a lot of places, which is awesome. We do hikes, go out for dinner, things like this. We play a lot of games. A lot of card games, especially so yeah, it's a pretty active family. So it fits well.

Mariana C.   
So me and Ashlee, we went to DC like, I think three weeks ago. We spent the weekend there. It was really cool. The weather was very nice. And we worked a lot. So we saw a lot of different places. It was very nice. Nice.

Noah H.   
One of my biggest dreams was to go to Colorado ski in the Rocky Mountains. So that was our Christmas present right back and I got them for Christmas last year, a trip during February vacation to go to Colorado and to Steamboat Springs whiskey there. And then we did a lot of the northeastern places. Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine. And for my birthday, I got a trip to New York City with Ashlee and then another friend, which was awesome.

Kate M.
So I guess, Noah, you kind of look back after having spent some time back in Germany, in what ways do you think that you grew during your time in the U.S.?

Noah H.   
Um, I think in a lot of ways. First of all, it's just so eye opening and mind opening to see another culture and experience it for a year, right. I think that makes your mindset grow a lot to just always have in mind how things are in different places, and that your opinion, and your view of things is not the only one that exists, right?
And yeah, making new friends going up to people and introducing myself. Those are things that are just daily life when you go on exchange, right? I mean, there's a lot of things right, that you profit from.

Kate M.   
Were there a bunch of other AFS students in your area while you were here?

Noah H.   
Yeah, I had a group of… was it like six, seven, maybe? Yeah, from all over the world. I mean, that's what exchange is about. Really cool to exchange cultures with these people.

Kate M.   
Nice. And then Mariana, how about you? I mean, you're kind of still in the middle of it. But if you look back to when you first got here in October, are there any ways that you feel more comfortable, more confident, or ways that your mind has changed a little bit?

Mariana C.   
I think it's pretty much the same thing as Noah. I think exchange students have to be very open minded. So I feel like I got more confident, like in myself, because when I got to the school, I had to introduce myself to the teachers. I didn't know anyone. So like, it was a big challenge. And I think I grew a lot, regarding to like, making friends and like, being more confident.

Kate M.
So for this interview, I was joined by Nina Gaulin, a Content Creator with AFS-USA’s Marketing Department. She had a couple of questions for Noah, Mariana, and Parker.

Nina G.    
Noah, what was it like seeing your host family again, after going back home? Like, did you guy s talk in between when you were planning your trip and like, kind of what was that like for you?

Noah H.   
I think I talked to Ashlee almost every day, at least through text while I was back in Germany, so we kept in touch a lot. We called every once in a while. So I told them, it was a little bit like coming home, coming back here and visiting.
So I wanted to surprise Parker and some of my friends actually. So I didn't tell him when I was going to come and my friends, either, but so they turned it around. And when I came to the airport, and in Boston, I only saw Jeff, Ashlee, and Mariana, which I was expecting, right? And then we were walking to the escalator. And suddenly, I turned around, and there's Parker and all of my friends at the airport. So they all surprised me instead of me surprising them, which was really nice. And it was awesome to see them all. Yeah, it just felt so great to come back.

Nina G.   
Did you guys like to do anything fun while you've been visiting? Or have you had time to spend with your friends?

Noah H.   
So I spent time with my friends. They stayed the night I arrived. We were talking, we were playing basketball. And then the weekend, the following weekend, we went up to Maine, with my host family. And yet we spend a lot of time, especially me and Ashlee, in the morning, when they are in school, we go shopping or all sorts of things. So I spent a lot of time with them.

Nina G.   
That's great. That sounds like so much fun. Parker, I did also have a question for you. Um, with having so many exchange siblings over the years. Have you been inspired at all to study abroad? Or are you planning to, you know, like to travel maybe to Germany or Portugal someday?

Parker S.    
Um, I would love to travel to all these countries. I love traveling. I think it would be very cool to go to Germany very close to Austria, good skiing in both countries. Maybe with Noah. I think it'd be very cool off to go to Portugal. I mean, Lisbon. It's right near the water. That’s very pretty.

Nina G.    
Mariana is kind of the same to you, after this exchange year. Is it inspiring you to want to come back to the U.S.? Are you hoping to travel more when you finish high school or anything like that?

Mariana C.   
I definitely want to come back here, like, see my whole family again, see, like, the town again, because I really liked this town. It's like, it's a small town, but it's very, like I really like it. So I definitely want to come back here. Something that I want to do is do at least two weeks in some country like Africa to do volunteering. I don't know if I would do it like children or if I would do it with animals. That's also very nice. So that's something that I probably will do after high school.

Nina G.
Cool, well you’ve got plenty of time to go on lots of trips. So that’s exciting.

Kate M.
I ended the interview by asking these three why intercultural exchange is important. Making connections, understanding another way of life, and also just pushing yourself to grow in ways that you wouldn’t if you just stayed home.

Noah H.   
I think it's important to experience other cultures and see what living in other countries is like. I think it contributes to a lot of things that you're not so focused on yourself, and what's going on in your country, that you make connections that last forever. You make connections that are beyond your borders, the borders of your country. And I think this is great to understand each other's way of living.

Parker S.   
I would agree with Noah. I've learned so much about hosting so many exchange students, I've learned about all these different cultures, people who live in different countries all around the world. I think it's important that people understand other people's way of living.

Mariana C.   
It's cool. Yeah, I agree with both Noah and Parker. I think it's very important. Like, just like the connections that you make, the culture, the cultural things that you learn, and like, the way you grow, you grow a lot while you're here. Maybe like people that are in college now, like, we grow more than them. And they're in college, like, mentally and everything. Like, because you experience different stuff. Like it's so different from your countries, see how people live on the other side of the world. So it's definitely a good experience, and then you meet the other exchange students who also come from like, I don't know, like Asia or like Africa. So like, as Noah said, like, we exchanged cultures. So it's very nice to learn a lot while you’re here and you grow a lot.

Kate M.
That was Parker from Massachusetts, and his current host sister Mariana from Portugal, and former host brother Noah from Germany.

Also, if you follow AFS-USA on Facebook, perhaps you remember a post we made last Mother’s Day about Noah and Ashlee. We didn’t touch on this in the interview, but it is a moving story and I wanted to share a quote from Ashlee here. This was posted for Mother’s Day 2023, so towards the end of Noah’s year in the US.

[Music]

“I was diagnosed with cancer just ten days after Noah’s arrival [to the U.S.] I had to be true to him, as this is a once in a lifetime dream, and I didn’t want him to lose out on this amazing experience. We sat down as a family and spoke about my diagnosis. I asked Noah if he wanted to consider moving to another family or if he wanted to continue on and see how things go. He instantly responded with wanting to stay with us. It’s what I really wanted, even though this diagnosis came unexpectedly. From that moment on we all immediately bonded as a family. 
We grew together and made the best of a completely devastating situation. While I was undergoing treatment, Noah broke his knee in high school soccer while playing on the varsity team as a sophomore. We were hit with the hardest curveballs of any exchange, and we all managed to see the good in all of it. In the end, my husband, my son Parker, and Noah came to my very last radiation appointment to ring the bell, which signifies the end of treatment.
Having hosted Noah as our 7th student, he was a breath of fresh air. He was exactly what we needed in our family. He is sweet, kind, and most of all an amazing exchange brother to our son, Parker. Noah will always have a very special place in our hearts.”

[Music]

I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to interview Parker and Mariana, and to catch up with Noah during his visit from Germany. It's evident that AFS students have been incredibly positive additions to the Santerre Family.

Kate M.
Next up, I will be speaking with Taryn, Reese, Ilona and Saki. It will be kind of a… tiered? interview. Reese, Ilona, and Saki were running a little late coming back from Tim Hortons when the interview started, so first you will hear me and Taryn chat, then Reese will join in, then the two girls.
So, Taryn. Throughout her adolescence, her family hosted exchange students from Italy and Australia. She really valued learning more about the world through these siblings, and this encouraged her to study abroad after high school.
She then wanted her son Reese, who is an only child, to have similar opportunities. And Reese has certainly benefited! He has been a host brother many times over at this point, to AFS students from three continents. He is currently studying Political Science and International Relations in college, and spent a semester abroad himself. He greatly values his relationships with his younger siblings, and has kept in touch with them over the years.
Later in the interview, we hear a bit from Ilona from Finland and Saki from Japan about their year so far in the U.S.

Kate M.   
Okay. Well, thank you for taking the time to chat with me this afternoon. Taryn, could you please introduce yourself?

Taryn B.    
Hi, I'm Taryn Bunn. I live in Buffalo, New York. We have been hosting since 2020. But then prior to that, I went abroad for a year after high school and then I also hosted while in high school.

Kate M.    
Okay, where did you go abroad after high school?

Taryn B.   
I went to Italy for a year.

Kate M.   
When your family was hosting, what impact did those experiences have on you growing up?

Taryn B.   
They are what made me want to go abroad. I loved it. Like I loved having... I have two older birth brothers, but they're 10 and 12 years older than me. So I was kind of brought up like an only child. So it was nice, having siblings my own my own age. And I still keep in touch with them today. I mean, we still are very close. And then it also made me want to go abroad and learn Italian. And then it made me also want to do it as an adult. I always wanted to, and I wanted my son to have that opportunity.

Kate M.   
That's great. And the host siblings that you had when you were a teenager, were they from Italy?

Taryn B.   
They were, actually, three of them were. And then I keep in touch, very close touch with two of them from Italy. One of them came to my wedding. The other one. We talk all the time. And actually, we really wanted to host his daughter. But she ended up going to France instead. And we're hoping within the next couple of years to get his son.

Kate M.
Taryn had been interested in hosting students for a while, and was pretty familiar with the process.

Taryn B.    
I think I kind of already knew what to expect, being a host sibling. So it was more kind of educating my husband about it. And he's very open minded. I love hosting. I think, you know, the very first after having our first student, Klara from Austria, he got so close with her. And after that, he was like, I don't know if I can do this again. Like, I can't do this again. I'm like, but you don't understand what it's like. You're always going to be part of your life. So now he realizes that and he realizes they're all our kids for life. I've always kind of just known it. So I guess I because I already have that connection with my siblings from high school.

Kate M.    
The Tim Hortons has arrived?

Taryn B.
The Tim Hortons has arrived.

Kate M.    
Let's see.  So what have you learned about cultures and people after hosting exchange students? I guess you could speak for you, Taryn. But also, perhaps your husband as he is, he has had maybe a little bit of a learning curve.

Taryn B.    
Yeah, growing up, I traveled the world. I was fortunate enough as a kid, basically, from the age of nine years old, just every summer, traveling the world. So I already knew a lot about different cultures. I didn't know much about Austria, because I've never been there. But, now Finland, Finland, Finland has been interesting to learn about. And my husband was born and raised here and never left, really. So he has definitely learned a lot about how big the world is, and all the different cultures and, and everything.
Like I said, I really wanted Reese to be able to do all of this because I knew I had the opportunity. And I was never ever able to bring him abroad and do all of these things. So I really wanted this opportunity for him.

Kate M.   
So you mentioned that Finland, Taryn, was something new for you. Was there anything about Finland that kind of surprised you?

Taryn B.   
Yeah, it is the fact that they are just not very social. They're very sweet, and ranked the number one happiest place in the world. But they don't talk to each other. Like it was a shock for Ilona for us to be talking with our neighbors and going to walk our dogs with our neighbors. And, you know, she was telling us that too, if their neighbors are outside, they don't leave their house.

Kate M. 
Okay.

Taryn B.
Just a little bit of a shock. It's like they're supposed to be the happiest, like, maybe they're happy because they don't communicate with others. I don't know.

Kate M.   
Maybe they're happy because they are very selective about who they talk to and who they don’t. And that was probably a big change from, you know, hosting Italian students in your experience in Italy as well. It's a lot more social, everyone is family.

Taryn B.   
We went from the social butterfly, from Argentina, to Ilona from Finland not talking at all. And yeah, it was a huge shock. But it was nice. It was nice.

Kate M.   
Did you find that hosting… it looks like you hosted a student from Norway.

Taryn B.
Mmhmm

Kate M.
Was it a similar mentality? I don't know.

Taryn B.   
Not really. No, she was social. Just very kind, kind hearted, and thoughtful. And her family as well. I mean, her family came here for graduation. They were so wonderful. And that's one thing that I've really enjoyed as well, for every single one of our exchange students, even the ones that I hosted when I was a kid. Their families have become our families. So our family just keeps growing. It's huge.

Kate M.
Since first becoming a host mom in 2020, Taryn has gotten even more involved with AFS and has become a volunteer in her local team, the Western New York Area Team.

Taryn B.   
Everyone here on the Western New York team is actually really awesome. I've become really good friends with everybody. I'm a volunteer. Now, I'm also one of the Support Coordinators. And I do a lot with our community. I love the fact that in Western New York, we do so many trips with our kids. We go to Disney World, we go to New York City, go to Washington, DC. We went whitewater rafting. Last weekend, we got a whole bunch of families and kids together and went, you know, to a maple syrup farm. So we do a lot together as a group. And I think that helps.

Kate M.    
So, Taryn, how has this experience affected your personal development, your experiences hosting AFS students as an adult?

Taryn B.   
Hmm, I think I would have to say, I just, it helps me as an educator, because I am seeing the cultural differences. So it helps me educate the American kids, which is nice, because they really don't understand what the rest of the world is like. And then, personally, it helps me stay connected to the rest of the world. I've always been connected to the rest of the world traveling the world since I was young. And I've always loved it, and I haven't had the opportunity to travel again lately. So it helps me stay connected.

Kate M.   
So Taryn works at North Tonawanda High School, which was honored for being an AFS Top 75 Hosting School for AFS’s 75th Anniversary in 2022-23. Ilona and Saki attend a nearby school, West Seneca High School.

Taryn B.   
It is! And actually, our administration loves hosting exchange students. So we are constantly promoting hosting there. Right now, we have three AFS students in the school and one EF student. And they're, they're fantastic. They do a ton in the school, they love it. All the teachers love having them and having them talk about their countries and do things after school and on the morning announcements, because it's like a TV show, and we've had the students on the TV show asking for host siblings.

Kate M.
Then Taryn was joined by her son, Reese.

Reese D.   
Yeah. So my name is Reese Day. I live here in Buffalo with my mom and my stepdad, Greg. I'm studying at the University of Buffalo, studying International Relations and Political Science. And I went abroad to the Netherlands last semester. And I'm also a host brother for all the kids that we hosted. So that's me.

Kate M.
When Taryn first told Reese that they would be welcoming in a host student during his senior year of high school, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Reese D.   
I really didn't know. I'm an only child. So I never really had experiences with siblings before. I think I was kind of begrudgingly going along with it at first. But no, I ended up, you know, finding out that it's an awesome experience. And, you know, I've got along great with all the kids that we've hosted. At the end of the day, they're all just kids and people.

Taryn B.   
I think his favorite part is all the food.

Reese D.   
The food that's my favorite part. Definitely. Yeah. The cultural food they bring is the best.

Kate M.    
Are there any dishes or snacks that stand out to you?

Reese D.   
Well, Klara would always make it. She made this, like, what was it? Well, she made the chocolate cake things, Austrian chocolate cakes. And she made this like pasta salad for a few orientations? Oh, Teresa always made like shrimp and rice, which is really, really good and really good pasta and lasagna at some point.

Taryn B.   
When we had Song from Thailand, she brought all this spicy stuff.

Reese D.   
Yeah that’s true. We would go to Thai restaurants together and kind of experience that.
And then Lu from Argentina loved to cook and loved her culture and was very patriotic. And so she always was making tons of things like she made way more meals than I could count of like her culture and desserts and pastries and everything. And now Ilona is very similar. She's very patriotic, and loves cooking Finnish foods. Sometimes she'll just be like, “Oh, I'm gonna make a Finnish snack, we have the stuff for it” And she’ll let me try it and everything. And I'm, I'm not picky at all. I'll eat anything. So I've always loved that experience and having those foods so

Kate M.   
That's great. That's a plus. And also, you know, next time you go to a Thai restaurant, even if you're with your friends who are American or whatever, you kind of know that there's more than just Pad Thai and spring rolls. There's different types of food.

Reese D.
Right, right.

Kate M.
Okay. Great. So let's see. What activities do you enjoy doing with your host siblings?

Reese D.   
It’s a plus is that when we first started hosting, I've always been able to drive. So the fact that I can drive us around and go do things and we're not reliant on parents or people for rides is a huge bonus. So like I love taking them around and doing things with them in the city and like you know. I take them out to eat sometimes. Me and Klara went on a ghost tour at some point. To the mall or the arcade or a candy shop or somewhere to get, you know, milk shakes or something.
But they just like, usually like going out and seeing things. And I usually take them on tours of the city and stuff like that, and they're interested and things like that. But yeah, nice.

Taryn B.    
I think a lot of our students, not all of them, but the majority of them are, once they go home, they actually are also going into international relations or political science. So I think that's also something else that you have in common with many of the students.

Kate M.
Something else Reese has in common with many of his host siblings? A love of soccer. And the World Cup.
So, normally the World Cup is held during the summer, with the final being in mid-July. So, not when AFS students are on program.
But in 2022, it was held in the winter, with the final being in December. Why? Because it was hosted by Qatar, and Qatar is very hot in the summer. Like, close to 100 degrees every day, hot. Makes sense.
Anyway, this off-season World Cup really brought together Reese and his Argentinian sister Lu.

Reese D.
So we would go all the time to watch the games together. And you know, we always bought Messi jerseys and everything here and would go with the flag and watch and everything with the maté and everything, all the cultural stuff for Argentina, super support, whatever. And then they ended up winning.
And when I was coming back from my study abroad, I arranged with her family to visit her in Argentina without her knowing. And for her birthday I bought her the Argentina jersey national kit with three stars with her name on the back. So it was kind of tied into having the experience of watching- we watched every single World Cup game together.

Kate M.
In case some of those words didn’t make sense… Messi as in, Lionel Messi, the Argentinian soccer player. Not messy as in disorganized. And maté? It’s a caffeinated, herbal drink that is very popular in the Southern Cone of South America, including Argentina.
Anyway, Reese mentioned stopping by Argentina on the way back from his own study abroad program…

Kate M.
So I guess to talk a little bit about your own international experiences Reese, why did you decide to go to the Netherlands?

Reese D.   
So my options, going abroad through my major, like the best universities for international relations were kind of limited. And ultimately, I decided that I didn't want to go to an English speaking country. And I wanted to go to a place that afforded me the greatest opportunity to travel to different places. It worked out perfectly because it was such a central location to travel across Europe and everything. So that was great. Such

Kate M.   
Such a great train system to the Netherlands. Yeah.

Reese D.   
Yeah and bikes everywhere and stuff. So nice.

Kate M.    
So during your time in the Netherlands, were you in a college dorm? Were you with a host family?

Reese D.   
I lived in an apartment dorm with other international students as well. So all from the Americas. And then one girl from Hong Kong. So, it was my roommate from Vancouver, my roommate from Hong Kong, Mexico, Brazil, and Peru.

Kate M.   
So really the past, you know, what, four years of your life, you've always had host siblings or roommates or international roommates and in some way, shape or form.

Reese D.   
And such a short amount of time. Yeah, yeah.

Kate M.   
That’s great. I mean, keeps every day interesting. Right?

Reese D.
Yeah. Right.

Kate M.
And so why did you decide to study international relations?

Reese D.   
I was always like, in high school, I was interested in Model UN and debate and other, you know, international stuff. I love geography and history, just as a passion, like, I studied geography and maps and stuff like that. So it's always something that has appealed to me. And I've always wanted to do something where I'm working in a diplomatic setting. So I really thought that international relations would translate well, and to, you know, my strengths and my interests.

Kate M.   
That all makes a lot of sense. Yes. And I mean, as I just said, you know, you're constantly surrounded by folks from different parts of the world. So that checks out. Well, great. I think that's it for you, Reese. I would love to have you guys continue to hang out while I talked to the girls. Are they like right there? Okay.

Kate M.
Ilona has been with the family since the beginning of the school year. Saki joined the family in February, after having spent the fall semester with a different family. Even though she is more of a recent arrival, she has clearly become part of the family. I definitely think you will be able to tell that these two and Reese already have a great rapport. Even though Ilona and Saki seem a little quiet talking to me, they spent much of the interview cracking up in response to Reese and Taryn. 

Ilona T.   
I'm Ilona, and I'm from Finland.

Saki H.
I'm Saki, and I'm from Japan.

Kate M.   
And why did you decide to study abroad in the United States?

Saki H.   
I wanted to study abroad in the U.S. because I wanted to enhance my English. And I also wanted to build relationships with my family and friends from school.

Kate M.   
Those are great reasons.

Saki H.   
I wanted to improve my English to experience high school. Okay.

Kate M.
Ilona and Saki were surprised by the, uh, volume of voices and the volume of precipitation in the U.S.

Ilona T.   
Yeah. And I've heard from people… many of my friends who have been exchange students in the U.S. and they always think how people in the U.S. are loud. So I was expecting it before I came here, but it was still a shock.

Saki H.   
I feel like snow really surprised me. I mean I've been to a place where it snows a lot, but I've never actually played in the snow. So sledding and playing in the snow it's really fun and a new experience for me.

Kate M.
In asking them about their family structure back home versus here, there were a lot of laughs.

Ilona T.   
Back home I have three sisters. I switched from three sisters to one brother. So it's been kind of different. When I was little I always wanted a brother. Now I’m not sure.

Kate M.   
You've since changed your mind. Okay. How about you? About you, Saki? Do you have siblings back home? Yeah,

Saki H.    
I have an older sister. So getting Reese is a lot different. Yeah, because I only had one sister and I have two.

Kate M.   
Reese you can, you can hop on screen if you have anything that you need to contribute. I mean, I welcome any contribution that you have, hey, do you have a comeback? Or any sort of retort here?

Reese D.    
I just take it?

Taryn B.   
He pays them back with going to get the water gun.

Kate M.
Ilona and Saki, Have you introduced your family to any games from Finland or Japan that we don't have here in the U.S.?

Ilona T.   
I feel like I have made my host family closer to hockey.

Reese D.    
We've gone before and Ilona before Sakis hasn't had the experience because she hasn't been here as long but we and Ilona have been to multiple Bills games together and Sabres games together.

Taryn B.    
Tomorrow, actually we're going to the Sabres game as a whole family.

Kate M.   
Do you play hockey back home, Ilona?

Ilona T.   
No, but hockey is a really big thing in Finland. And the Sabres, they have two Finnish players.

Kate M.
Oh, okay. Okay, cool.

Ilona T.
Yeah. We’re their biggest fans.

Taryn B.   
For Christmas, Santa got her a jersey of one of the Finnish players.

Kate M.   
Well, what, what are their names?

Ilona T.
Henri Jokiharju and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Kate M.    
When I do the transcript later, I will Google that. Instead of trying to transcribe it myself. I'll google “Finnish Buffalo Hockey Players.” But thank you.

Kate M.
I asked Taryn and Reese what they’ve noticed change in Saki and Ilona during their time with their family.

Reese D.   
I think Saki, I think when she first came here was a little uncertain because no new environment and everything midway through the year, but I think the two of them together have kind of become much more social. Even when Ilona first came she brought us a bunch of these books about Finnish culture. It was like a joke book about Finnish culture. And it was always like how shy Finnish people are and how it's not common to really talk to strangers or anything like that. But I feel like now they're both much more social and that aspect is all right.

Taryn B.
Ilona, I've noticed from the beginning of the year to now, she's definitely gained more social skills in the sense of, she really is like, breaking out and socializing more, I see that. Um, Saki hasn't been with us that very long. So I mean, from the first week that she was here, she was very quiet. And now she definitely feels like she's part of the family. So I love the fact that the girls are getting along. So wonderful. Together. I call them Thing One and Thing Two.

Kate M.   
And so it is late March, so you guys have about three months left. Is there anything that you're looking forward to doing before you go back to Finland and Japan?

Ilona T.
Trips, so DC, New York City, prom and graduation and stuff like that.

Saki H.
I think I want to learn more about Buffalo.

Reese D.  
You can go on my tour again.

Kate M.
Concluding our conversation, that was Taryn Bunn and Reese Day from Buffalo, New York, joined by Ilona from Finland and Saki from Japan. Having been a host sibling herself during her teenage years and studying abroad in Italy, Taryn was determined to provide her son Reese with similar enriching experiences. Their multiple hosting experiences over the years have forged lasting bonds, evident in Reese's strong relationships with his former host siblings. Taryn's efforts have undeniably been a success.

So we’ve done a couple of episodes over the years focusing on host student/host sibling relationships. In Season 2, there’s the episode “Celebrating 75 Years of Exchange: Dana Rutson & Family.” There, I chat with Dana, her host brother from Brazil named Ricardo, and her mother. Also included in the conversation is Yasemin, whose family Dana lived with when she studied abroad in Turkey.

In Season 3, “Host Sibling Stories,” we hear from Erika from Norway and her host sister Jessica. When we spoke, Erika was in the middle of her exchange year in Ohio. Also in that episode is a conversation with former host sister Janne Debes, who is still close with her Japanese host sister after more than 50 years.

Are you interested in hosting a student with AFS? Or perhaps you’re even an only child yourself and you think it’d be cool to have a sibling from a different country? Head to afsusa.org/host to learn more.

[Music]

Kate M.
Thank you for listening to The AFS Exchange! I’m Kate Mulvihill. Let us know what you thought of this episode by sending a message to podcast@afsusa.org. You can also rate and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe there as well so you don’t miss any episodes in this 4th season.

This podcast was created by Kate Mulvihill. Social media by Julie Ball and Nina Gaulin. Special thanks to Hamza Awaisi, Patricia Chery, and Jill Woerner.