People-to-People MD06

At last! News from the field!

Jul 25, 2006

As the home stay period was ending, a number of the delegates contacted parents to share news about the trip and their recent experiences.

Several parents reported their delegates were not able to use the phone cards they took with them, among them "the MCI card"; others seem to work (not sure which ones). One delegate managed to send an email, although no news on how that was done (perhaps a wireless text message being forwarded?). The fax-to-the-hotel gambit worked for a few parents, eliciting from the delegate either a return fax or a phone call. A few delegates have phones which are working, and have been gracious enough to share them so that others (including my son!) have been able to call home with them. A number of parents report (sadly) that the calls are brief. Perhaps for the "borrowers," we can try to settle up the charges at the reunion picnic?!

One delegate said they are kept so busy, departing early in the morning, and arriving at their hotel late at night, that there is very little time to communicate, and in fact all they really want to do is get some sleep! But the excitement and constant stimulation of new sights and experiences seems to keep them going!

The reports reinforce previous comments that the food in Spain was not very agreeable (OK, some say "horrible"), but the food at the Hard Rock Cafe in Barcelona was good -- maybe all the hard rock sound waves help digestion?

In one home stay report, the delegate enjoyed a stay with a family with two girls ages 19 and 11. They went to see fireworks and did some shopping. There was a bull in the village. She said that it is beautiful there at night, she can see all the stars. She said everyone is great and is having an amazing time.

Another delegate reported that he was very happy with his French host -- the family was very nice, and he enjoyed the opportunity to have a full French meal.

Another delegate is having a good time but "misses home." She said the home stay was OK, but her home stay family spoke very little English. She said the girls didn't seem to like them at first, but when they were leaving they were sad to see them go. She went to a public pool with them, and thought the experience was "a little weird." On the other hand, the home stay provided "the best meal she had so far." But now they have Italian food to look forward to!

The best home stay story reported is the following:

Four delegates stayed with a "very nice" family consisting of the father (the mayor of a town whose name she couldn't remember!), the mother, and an adult daughter (a psychiatrist) who did not live at home with her parents.

During their stay, the group attended a ceremony called the "Holiday of the Horse and the Bull," where a bull ran loose as people teased it and the horses blocked it in (doesn't sound too animal friendly). They also attended a rodeo, had a picnic by a river, and the mayor gave them tickets to a carnival, where they rode bumper cars and danced. As if that wasn't enough, they also went shopping (of course) and went bowling. Sounds like your typical lazy summer weekend, eh?

Meals with the family were described as "delicious!" One night they ate freshly picked eggs (the girls picked them) mixed with cream. Cheese (from goat or lamb or cow) was eaten at every meal, as was ice cream for dessert. A great tidbit of local flavor was bread topped with butter and crushed olives (appetizers for the reunion??).

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So it appears that the home stay 1) varied quite a bit among home stay families, and 2) did its part to introduce our delegates to different things. One of the things about experiencing a different culture is that people do and view things differently, and one of the lessons we hope our delegates learn is that "different" may seem "weird" (to us), but may be perfectly normal to those in that culture, and it's often our own perspective (and not the local culture) that needs adjustment. One would hope it would begin to breed a greater sense of tolerance in the minds of our delegates!