Cultural Exchange

Lisa visited the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995, while visiting the family of an exchange student who lived with her family years earlier. The young man became like family to Lisa and her family, and he came back for visits many times. Lisa attended his graduation from university and while in Japan, even learned a bit of Japanese.

When my children were young, we hosted lots of exchange students, too. Many were Japanese, but we also hosted students from Slovakia and Spain. I got to travel to Slovakia to visit with the families of two of our students. My first trip was a gift from one of the students. His parents treated me to such a whirlwind trip around Slovakia and the surrounding countries. I learned a bit of Slovak, but some of it can't be used in polite company.