THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607110156
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GREG BURT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 84 lines
Eighteen-year-old exchange student Ieltxu Garde, on his visit to the United States, wanted to make a good first impression on his host family.
He got his chance shortly after his arrival from Spain when his Virginia Beach family took him to sample an American delicacy: hot chicken wings. With all eyes on him, Garde did his best to hide his dislike for spicy food, but he didn't do very well. Louisa Orr, Garde's host mother, said she knew something was wrong when tears welled up in his eyes and he drank a big glass of water after only one bite.
``I think I almost cried,'' laughed Garde about the hot and spicy wings. ``I didn't want them to think bad of me,'' he said, explaining why he did his best to swallow three of them.
Garde, who speaks broken English, is just one of 19 other 17- and 18-year-old honor students who are experiencing a month of American food and family life in Virginia Beach this summer.
Arriving June 28, this group of teenagers from the northern Spanish province of Navarra is part of an all-expense-paid exchange program funded by their government known as the Technical Institute of European and American Studies. These teens, who are among the best students in their province, hope to increase their English-speaking skills as well as gain a greater understanding of the American culture
Local program coordinator Sherrie Weaver is responsible for organizing weekend field trips and three hours of English training at Larkspur Middle School weekdays. So far the group has visited Busch Gardens and has plans for a Washington trip, a Tides game and a tour of Oceana Naval Air Station.
The rest is left up to the host families. They provide exchange students with food and shelter, a chance to practice their English and local trips to the mall and to the movies and area sights. Although host families usually do spend some money on the visitors, Weaver said they also benefit from the ``equal exchange of cultures.''
Asuncion Gilbert, a soft-spoken 17-year-old from Estella, Spain, impressed her host family by making dinner one evening: a Spanish omelet filled with potatoes and eaten with mayonnaise and ketchup. ``It was a nice experience without going to Spain,'' said Bob Spadiccini, host dad.
When describing her first impressions of America, the freckled teen responded, ``very big.'' Gilbert's parents and two brothers live in an apartment like most of the middle class of Spain. Only the very rich have houses like those in the suburbs of Virginia Beach, she said.
This was Weaver's first year as program coordinator and one problem she didn't expect was the difficulty in finding willing host families.
Fear, she found out, holds many families back. ``People are afraid to open their home to someone they don't know,'' Weaver explained. Others fear they will do something wrong or won't be able to communicate. As a middle school Spanish teacher in Virginia Beach, Weaver found her most eager host families among Spanish students.
One willing family was that of eighth-grader Christopher Orr. Louisa Orr was a little apprehensive at first. ``You have a strange person in your house. You wonder if you are going to be boring.'' But she said after two weeks with Garde, ``It's really worked out well.''
What really surprised her was how Garde and her youngest son Nicholas, 9, were getting along. ``It's as though they have been brothers for life,'' she said. They spend hours together swimming in the pool and playing pingpong and table soccer in the garage. Garde has even become a major attraction with the neighborhood kids, she said.
Louisa Orr recalled one humorous cultural mishap during breakfast. The Orr family had been serving Garde cereal each morning, something he is not used to, but he seemed to enjoy. One morning Garde got up early and thought he would pour himself a bowl of cereal. But not being familiar with American cereal box labels he ended up pouring himself a bowl of cheese crackers. And like the polite kid that he is, Garde finished the whole bowl. ``My husband didn't say anything,'' laughed Orr. ``I guess he didn't want to embarrass him.''
A second group of Spanish students arrived Wednesday via Weaver's program, and at last check Weaver was still looking for five host families. Those interested in hosting an exchange student can call Sherrie Weaver at 427-9160 for more information. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA
Asuncion Gilbert, a soft-spoken 17-year-old from Estella, Spain,
enjoys a laugh with a member of her host family, Charlene
Spadaccini, 13.
Maria Asuncion Gilbert, a soft-spoken 17-year-old from Estella,
Spain, enjoys a laugh with a member of her host family, Charlene
Spadaccini, 13. by CNB