Lënster LycéeStrangers bring cultures together

What simultaneously frightened and excited the student the most was the prospect of staying in a house with strangers. Raffaela Acone had worried about interactions being awkward or not being able to connect with her host family, but these worries soon evaporated after multiple Zoom calls and were fully gone once she finally met her host parents in person at the train station in La Crosse – the small college town in Wisconsin, which was to become her home for the next few weeks. Not only does she get to meet new people and experience the daily life and culture of her host family, but she also manages to create a deep bond by sharing her culture and broadening both her and their horizon.

Hudson Schamberger, a financial advisor and one of Raffaella’s host brothers, is thrilled to „get to know a different part of the world through the eyes of someone who lives there“. On top of that, he was pleasantly surprised after the first meeting since it was nothing like he had expected it to be. He had been slightly worried about not being able to converse or to connect with their guests due to the difference in age, upbringing and culture. But he was proven wrong by the lack of awkwardness and the easy flow of conversation. This feeling of excitement and zest, however, was not always present since the first question he asked his parents after finding out what they wanted to do was „why would you do that?”.

Hudson was not the only one whose initial reaction was not joy. Sydney Schamberger, a nurse and the only daughter of her family, was a bit surprised upon hearing the news but the feeling soon turned into excitement. Like Hudson, she had some worries, but they did not apply to the two exchange students her parents were about to host – instead, they were more centered around what kind of hosts her parents were going to be. She hoped that the exchange students would feel comfortable, nurtured and welcome. The worries did not run too deep though since she was aware of the semi-joking talks they had about helping kids through services like foster care for example.

Bobbi and Larry Schamberger, Raffaella’s host parents, were getting numerous messages from the high school their four kids had attended and the university Bobbi works for as a nursing teacher. And this was about opening their homes to one or more exchange students from Luxembourg. After signing up, they had to go through a background check and answer a variety of questions such as „have you ever committed a felony?”. It took a couple of weeks to hear anything back and the Schambergers started to worry and wonder whether they were „good enough“ to be accepted. Fortunately enough, they ended up receiving an e-mail and a handbook about their host students’ itinerary and the rules and regulations the students had to adhere to, which among other things prohibited them from making „life-altering decisions“ such as getting tattoos. Lastly, the family received instructions on how to prepare their home, which included things like providing a bed for each individual student they decided to host.

They were not only worried about not being accepted but also about the opinions of the people they would end up sharing their most sacred place with. Were they going to like them? Will they be happy with their home and their bedroom? Those questions were going through their minds but surprisingly the Schambergers were not too worried about the personalities and flaws of the students since they trusted that the latter were tied to conditions, such as getting good grades, and the duration of their stay was limited to four weeks. „It is only a small portion of our lives we can’t get back“, is what Bobbi Schamberger said. Upon being asked whether they would consider doing something like this again, they said: „If it was a positive experience for the students we hosted, we would likely do it again.”