WELCOME TO OUR FIFTH
EDUCATION TRAVEL & CULTURE
NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2021
www.edutrav.org
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STUDENTS’
ARRIVALS Our favorite time of year – When new ETC students are arriving to start an amazing year/semester in the USA.
Paula from Germany with her host family in Washington We welcomed Johanna from Germany to Albuquerque, New Mexico. She had a great flight and now is excited to get to know her host family.
2 This season, we have found more than 35 homes for our exchange students
Lilien from Germany with her host family in Tennessee Jihyun arriving in New Mexico
Daniel from S. Korea with his host family
Laura from France with her host family in Georgia
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EVENTS & HOLIDAYS PUMPKIN SEASON
Pumpkin Carving Fun
Pumpkin Season Corn Maze
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Charlotte (from Germany) and Salome (from Freance) with their host family.
Eva (from France) and Marta (from Spain) with their host family.
VANESSA, EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM GERMANY
“One of my favorite to-do’s in fall is to go to a pumpkin patch! This year, my hostfamily and I visited Greens Bridge Gardens in Jefferson, Oregon. We went through a hay and a corn maze, went on a hayride and of course picked our perfect pumpkins!”
Pumpkin Carving in Arizona
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HALLOWEEN Our students ďŹ rst Halloween was so much fun!
Hector from Spain & Nora from Germany with their friends in Arizona
Eva, our student from Spain, and her host family at Halloween
Lotte with her host family
ETC students and their American host siblings in Alabama
HOMECOMING 2020 Some of our students were able to join their school’s homecoming.
Eric, our student from Spain
Our ETC students in Alabama Our ETC students in Arkansas
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HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES
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Students were able to celebrate their holiday festivities with their friends and family.
Gaspard, our student from France, with his American host family in AZ.
“This brightened up my day”. -Annie (ETC exchange student)
CHARLOTTE , EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM GERMANY “Christmas, one of the biggest reasons I wanted to come to the USA. We’ve started decorating in November, even before thanksgiving and I love it!”
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We never stop falling in love with all of the Christmas photos from our host families and students!
Lara, our student from Germany, with her host family.
STEPH, ETC HOST MOM “We went to the mountains on Sunday and cut down a Christmas tree, and tonight we decorated it! A first for Seoyeon!�
Every December, our students bake and eat a variety of sweet treats. They owned the mess and the giggles.
GENERAL STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES
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Students were able to celebrate their holiday festivities with their friends and family.
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
FAMILY TIME
Amelie, our student from Germany, first day of school in Tennessee.
“Some updates with Eva. Beginning of December we went to Natchitoches, LA for the Christmas Festival. Then went to Disney! Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. For Christmas, Eva requested matching pajamas, so matching pajamas she got!” – Susan (ETC host mom)
COOKING PAELLA Father/Spanish daughter bonding time. Chopping up a baby rabbit to make Paella.
SNOW DAY Our students from Vietnam and Germany enjoyed a snow day in Michigan.
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SIBLING TIME FAMILY DINNER FUN “We always love trying new things (especially if they involve melted cheese).Talisha brought us raclette grills and special cheese from Switzerland, which we finally broke out tonight for a traditional Swiss winter meal with potatoes, bread, vegetables, and pickles (we added some ham and sausages to round it out). Now we have to find a source for raclette cheese in Dallas, Texas so we can do it again!” – Jennifer (ETC host mom)
FAMILY TRIP Seohyeon, from S. Korea, and Han, from Vietnam, making memories with their American host family!
Thinh, our student from Vietnam, is fixing up an old jeep with his American siblings.
HOST MOM STORY “I took the big boys (Jannik and Ethan) to Silver Dollar City yesterday. We had a freaking blast! We rode every single roller coaster, multiple times. I used to refuse to ride ones that go upside down, but they dragged me on them anyways and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.” “They made many friends in the wait lines and had the people around us rolling in laughter Especially when they were telling people they were twins and were trying to figure out who was the better looking twin.” -Kayla (ETC host mom
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STUDENT VIDEOS MY FIRST MONTH IN THE USA
https://vimeo.com/472301393/72f2e330fe
https://vimeo.com/472679526/bf14d4f4e4
https://vimeo.com/472322082/c168bbee77
https://vimeo.com/472321676/79d3a0275f
https://vimeo.com/472322349/a259c7f5ad
https://vimeo.com/472321259/d7b5c7e964
MY FIRST HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES IN THE USA
https://vimeo.com/496984504/1c7a0dc517
https://vimeo.com/496982916/a1871f4c20
https://vimeo.com/496989036/e1fe6fdbab
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https://vimeo.com/497319540/0b881e9f5b
https://vimeo.com/497316853/f5819782e8
https://vimeo.com/497047227/b164d04434
https://vimeo.com/497019462/645bad4e8d
https://vimeo.com/496985154/ef55d204e8
https://vimeo.com/497021051/631c330380
ETC VIRTUAL ACTIVITIES
https://vimeo.com/476369886/33aafaf1cc
https://vimeo.com/469872688/fcef8b0610
https://vimeo.com/480029087/a5ad71134a
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STUDENT
STORIES
BIEL, EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM SPAIN “My relationship with my host family is very good. I am very grateful for giving me this opportunity and treat me so well from the first day I got here”.
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NAYEONG, EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM S. KOREA VANESSA, EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM GERMANY “One year ago today what I thought would only be a 3 weeks "school immersion program" started. On this day, I met my wonderful host family for the very first time and if someone would've told me that this day would change my life so drastically, I would've probably called them crazy. I would've never guessed that a year later, I'd sit on the same couch I sat on that day, I would've never thought that coming back to the family I found within those three weeks would've gotten as important to me as it did. Without them, without all that they gave, taught and showed me, I wouldn't be who I am today. I wouldn't be where I am today. I'm home. Home in the USA. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm home in Germany, too. But this place right here, this family, this is just as much "home" to me as Germany is. And I'm incredibly grateful for that. So thank you, to my American parents and my amazing sisters, you'll forever be home to me and I love you so so much!”
"My exchange student year is completely DONE!! This experience changed my life and I will remember everything. I'm so thankful that I was able to have so many good friends, school and people. I'm going to miss y'all".
SEO, EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM S. KOREA “Today is already two months of America high school life. It seems like yesterday I started to go the school! Many friends and teachers helped me a lot. Thank you so much”.
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FAMILY
STORIES
THE ORONA FAMILY
"Hosting Johanna was a blessing to our family. Our boys had a great experience having an older sister that was loving and caring. We all loved exchanging and learning about our cultures and enjoyed learning a new language as well. It was some of the best months of our lives!"
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THE VAN HOY FAMILY
THE WELLHAM FAMILY "This was our first time hosting a student, we were paired with an outstanding young lady from Germany who easily blended into our family. I felt like our local coordinator Christina Cruz took extra time to find the right student for us. I love the way Christina the local coordinator hosted parties, organized events for students and their American families. She really kept a close bond with all the families. The communication was good and everyone at ETC was supportive and helpful. Our family is truly blessed to say we have family in Germany. We highly recommend ETC for anyone considering hosting an exchange student”.
"I get asked often why we chose to host foreign exchange students. My usual answer is because I like learning about their culture and sharing American culture with them. Those things are true but sharing opportunities like this means as much to us as it does to them. Meet Mar from Spain and Emily from Germany..."
HEATHER , ETC HOST MOM “Having young children, we were a bit skeptical with hosting, but we couldn’t have made a better decision. Annie fits in perfectly into our family and the kids love their German sister! It’s exciting and fun introducing her to our culture as well as learning the differences from hers”.
THANK YOU JANUARY 2021
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