FOGHORN: A PLACE TO SOUND OFF
Jul 01 2008
Saying goodbye to our Brazilian son
July is the month we say goodbye to our Brazilian son, Gustavo. Gustavo has been living with us since last August, and from day one he fit right into our family.
For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Gustavo, he is a 16-year-old exchange student from Sao Paulo, Brazil. What you should know about Sao Paulo, his native town, is that it is the size of New York City. There he lives with his family in a high-rise condo, walking distance from the largest shopping mall in South America! Here he lived with us on five acres in Eglon, surrounded by cow pastures, and four miles to the nearest grocery store!
To say it was an adjustment is an understatement. But when asked how he was doing, Gustavo would always smile and say, “Uh, but it is good.”
Despite the extreme differences he loves Kingston! He tells me his year at Kingston High School was the best! And I believe him. He was always coming home from school and telling us he had the best day ever. Kingston and its new high school have stolen his heart. So much so that he is hoping on returning here for college.
I feel truly blessed that we were able to be a part of the exchange student program. I have had a lot of people ask me, “Why?” when I told them I was hosting an exchange student. My answer has always been “Why not?” I never gave it a second thought. It was something I just always wanted to do.
But what I didn’t expect was the way hosting was going to make me look at where I live and what I do in a totally new exciting way! I was seeing everything in my world through new exciting eyes. My favorite was watching Gustavo see snow for the first time: he ran outside first thing in the morning in his pjs and robe and was rolling in it! And I never laughed so much as I did the first time we took him skiing. He even enjoyed going to see the Mariners when they were losing badly!
I could go on describing all the times we enjoyed watching him discover new and different places and things in our world. It’s been very entertaining, to say the least. And if you know Gustavo, you understand what I mean.
Hosting an exchange student has been rich and rewarding and I would recommend it. I hope more exchange students get to experience Kingston.
As for Gustavo, I’m not sure if Kingston was ready for him, but I know he will never forget Kingston!
Goodbye Gustavo, You have touched our hearts and we will miss you!
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Readers are welcome to contribute thoughts and perspectives, rants or raves, to the Foghorn column. Send submissions of no more than 500 words to Editor Rebecca Pirtle at editorial@kingstoncommunitynews.com; KCN, P.O. Box 1504, Kingston, WA, 98346; or call (360) 297-2875.)
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