Our students

My husband and I have hosted many students over the years.  Now I work as a Regional Mgr with PIE.  If you ever just think ‘Do I want to do this?  All we can say is DO IT!   You won’t regret hosting not for one day.   These wonderful teenagers come into your home and for maybe the first day you are strangers, but soon you are a family.  The ties you make carry on even when they return home. There is always room in your heart for more love. Showing them your family customs and sharing your life with them is such a fun thing to do. You see your world through another’s eyes. This year we are host Ana from the country of Georgia and Juno from Brazil. We are four very happy people. It is almost Christmas and I am like a kid decorating and sharing our Christmas with them.

We make our home in Dallas, GA

Teresa

My P.I.E. Family

I just wanted to say I love, love, love, having these kids in my home and being their Area Rep.  I just can’t say how much I love spending time with each and every student and learning from them.  They are a treasure and joy to have and I wouldn’t want to change anything with my P.I.E. family.  I have children all over the world and I love them all and I enjoy the little jokes, private talks, and one-on-one time I have with them.  I have been an Area Rep for three years and I will keep doing it to show these kids the love of America and my children love having new brothers and sisters each year.

Thank you!

Terri J.

Area Representative in Indiana

My Regional Manager Experience

Representative:  Patty G.

Joined P.I.E. in:  2003

Every year, we as regional managers spend a great deal of time reading profiles and learning about our incoming kids. We meet them, begin to put faces to names from paperwork and we start getting to know them. Lucky for us, they arrive eager to form bonds and become loyal friends. Every year we spend time with the kids, listen to them, counsel them, yell at them, teach them and enjoy them and before we know it, it’s time to say good-bye.

It’s hard to believe we can love each new group when we cared so much for the last one, but we do. This year I have had the privilege of being a FLEX/YES cluster leader for around 18 kids. We just completed our pre-departure orientation and final enhancement weekend and it was time, once again, to say good-bye. I spent some time really watching the students and listening to them and I reflected on how each of them has touched my life. Some of the kids came here ready to take on the world, others were so painfully homesick it broke my heart. Some got overwhelmed by school and homework, others seemed made for student exchange and excelled in everything. They are funny, they are annoying, they ask endless questions and they give endless hugs.

It doesn’t seem possible to keep all those names straight and yet by the end, they have very distinct personalities and it’s easy to tell Mamed from Eldar and Ira from Anya. We add memories. We do the same things in the same places but each group, each child, makes it different and special. Soon we have “inside jokes” and silly quotes and things that will be remembered about this bunch. Remember when the bird sat on that Tajik boy’s head at the aquarium? Remember when all the girls decided to put their hair up the same way? Remember when we all tried that Ethiopian food together and nobody knew what it was? Remember when we stayed up all night and just talked about nothing in particular?

It’s why we do what we do. When a tearful, grateful student hands me a personal note about how much she appreciates all I did for her, that is all the payment in the world for my time and effort. And lucky for me, I get to do it all again in a few short months!

Best Wishes, Patty G.