Thursday, August 11, 2011

Our exchange begins

Johan arrived tonight from Odense, Denmark. I have wanted to host an exchange student since I was one in high school. We finally have a home large enough to accommodate, and when Jen called from Rotary in May to see if we would be interested, I was so excited. It was no problem convincing Tye, but John and Bodie were a different story. John was worried about problems that might come up, like behavior issues and getting along with our kids. Bodie just doesn't like strangers so he was pretty opposed to having someone stay with up for 4 whole months. I reassured him that after a few days, Johan will feel like a part of the family and that after 4 months, Bodie will be begging him not to go.
Finally, with everyone on board we were about to be first time host parents.
We went to the airport with Johan's club officer, Jen, as well as his second host mom, Ann and her sons, Zach and Nick. Johan walked right through the doors and up to Tye and Bodie before I even saw he was with us. Ann leaned in and said, " He is gonna have girl problems." He is adorable and much taller in person than we thought he would be. I knew he was cute from his Facebook page, but now I can see he is very handsome and much older looking than his photos. He is very polite and speaks English well. The boys warmed up to him right away.
We drove down I-35 and Johan couldn't believe the size of the semi trucks o the road. We also passed some large farm equipment and he had to do a double take. I forgot thing in Denmark are so much smaller, and they do not have the large vehicles we do.
We ate at Harry's in Lakeville and Johan's counselor David joined us. Johan ate well but I can tell he is very tired. He has such an exciting year ahead of him! I hope he likes staying with us.
Johan with Johanne, another student from Denmark

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