Twenty-one international guests arrived in Morrison, IL, Wednesday evening, November 23, 2016, after their departure from the International House, at the University of Chicago. Thirteen families hosted this year: Chad and Lisa Abell; Jim and Heather Coyle; Jim and Janet Fisher; Steve and Carol Hollister; Kent and Spring Klima; Kenneth and Sidonna Mahaffey; Stanley Steines and Deb Milder; Jeff and Karen Miles; Andrew and Lori Ploenzke; Wolfgang and Kathy Schmidt; Todd and Cindy Slock; Scott and Danielle Vance; Luke and Joan Vander Bleek.
The guests were students from the following Chicago area colleges: Columbia, Moraine Valley, Loyola, University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Chicago. They were native to the following countries: China, Columbia, India, Jordan, Korea, and Thailand.
Some of the activities over the weekend were bowling at Hilltop Lanes; visiting the Dale Sterenberg farm; touring the Mississippi River, Lock and Dam 13, Fulton Cultural Center, Eagle Point Park, and Morrison Rockwood State Park; shopping; attending church.
A potluck dinner Friday night, November 25, at St. Peter Lutheran Church, 601 N. Jackson Street, shown below, featured dishes prepared by both host families and guests. After dinner, a candle lighting ceremony was held, and the students introduced their host families. Students explained what they were studying at college, what country they were from, and how much they enjoyed being with their host family.
Entertainment was provided by several guests. Jacob Hollister and a female Chinese guest each played a piano piece. Kaitlyn Mahaffey performed a song and dance routine. A student from Columbia made the group laugh with his impromptu joke. Two Chinese friends sang a duet.
Dancing was enjoyed by everyone, as they learned the Hokey Pokey, Chicken Dance, YMCA, and the Electric Slide line dance.
Planning for the holiday weekend began in the spring, with a meeting organized by the Morrison committee for the International Thanksgiving Fellowship Weekend and the International House from the University of Chicago. There are also representatives from Sterling, Geneseo, and Paris., IL. At this meeting the Morrison committee lets the International House know how many students will be able to come to Morrison. In October the committee searches for families who might be able to host a student, family, or couple in their home. Each host family submits an application with questions that will help the organizers match up students with hosts; the students also submit an application. A final meeting is arranged in Chicago in mid-November to match up host families with their prospective guests.
Each year on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, over 150 students arrive at the International House. They are introduced to their community representatives who lead them to the charter bus that takes them to the community they are visiting.
Learning another culture is a gift experienced by both host and guest. Many people who can not commit to a whole year to host a foreign exchange student love this opportunity to get to know another culture over a holiday weekend. Students have commented on how they are surprised to see that American families are not how they understood them to be, since they had received their perceptions from television.
Students are so grateful and happy to be with an American family and thank them over and over.
The weekend visit creates a memory that will last for their lifetime. They go back to their Country with stories about how American families treated them and how wonderful it was for them to be a part of a family.
The Thanksgiving home stay program has been an opportunity for local residents since the 1960’s. Church Women United sponsored the program for many years. In recent years other sponsors helped keep the program active. This year Church Women United disbanded, and the traditional Thanksgiving program was almost cancelled. Committee members Janet Fisher and Carol Hollister appealed to the Morrison Rotary Club, and they graciously decided to sponsor the program. Several Morrison Rotarians experienced this opportunity first-hand, as they became hosts for the holiday visitors.
Anyone wishing to participate in next year’s Thanksgiving weekend is invited to call Carol Hollister at 815-499-1954 or Janet Fisher at 563-249-1414.
To find out more about the program go to http://ihouse.uchicago.edu/living/community_building and click on Thanksgiving Homestay Program or http://www.morrisonrotary.org/SitePage/international-programs.