The world in their living room

Other families in the area have hosted exchange students, but it’s not likely that any have hosted more than the Kennedy family. In fact, daughter Erin, 24, has hardly known a time when an exchange student was not sharing their Dodge City home. Their first student arrived 24 years ago, when their oldest daughter, now 28, was only 4-years-old.

"We had friends who hosted a Swedish girl and had a good year," Debby said. "We saw what they went through, and decided we wanted to give it a try."

The couple hosts the students through ERDT/SHARE!, a California company with an office in Wichita. ERDT places foreign exchange students ages 15-18 with local families for a period of one year. The families must go through a screening process, including a background check with the KBI.

The only cost for the family is room and board … and perhaps a Christmas and birthday present or two. Students must be aged 15-18 when they arrive here. The family receives a visit from local representatives every month, who check to make sure there are no concerns. Although rare, if there is a problem that cannot be ironed out, the student can be placed with another family.

The Kennedys more recent student, Tobias, who is from Germany, recently paid a return visit to the family (and shared some of his thoughts in an article on Page 1). In August, the couple will host Simon of Germany, and Mike of the Czech Republic. Families can host two students, but their common language has to be English.

"Both boys that are coming this year will play soccer," Debby said. "Simon is an active Catholic. We encourage them to be involved with whatever church they belong."

When asked to share some memories of past students, Debby is drawn to tears. A year is more than enough time to get attached to the students.

"We had a Dutch boy who played soccer here, and the kids taught him the rules for football. He is now playing on a football league in Holland. Over there you have to find your own league, and try out for the team. Then you have to buy your own equipment. Frank, also from Holland, was a ballroom dancer.

"We’ve had Peter and Cristoph, both from Germany, who both went to the state tennis tournament here. Peter placed 11th in state in singles, and Cristoph was 8th. One of my boys, Niklas, holds the scoring record at the high school for soccer — 22 goals in one season. He was the second leading scorer in state.

"One girl said she learned she could love two families at the same time," Debby added.

Some of the students have found themselves not only learning, but teaching valuable lessons to uninformed peers about their country.

"It’s hard to have our German kids walk down the halls of Dodge City High School without someone referring to Hitler," Debby said. "They’re not being mean, they just don’t know. One asked [one of our German students] if Hitler was still alive. They’re teaching our kids, while our kids are teaching them."

As for her own family, she said that her daughters had learned "tolerance for other races and nationalities. They seem to be very open to meeting new people, and to new experiences."

As local representatives for ERDT, Ben and Debby will sit down with prospective host parents and help them select a child, and to go through the registration process. For information, call 1-800-296-ERDT or check out the website at www.erdtcentral .org.

Host families are needed immediately for the new school year.

SOUTHWEST KANSAS REGISTER: Where do you live in Germany?

TOBIAS KORNRUMPF: I live in Unna, a city close to Dortmund in the western region of Germany. It is one-and-a-half hour drive to Cologne.

SKR: Why did you choose to take part in the exchange program?

TK: My sister was an exchange student in Missouri. She liked her stay and told me a lot about it. I thought it would be a great adventure and huge experience. There are not many chances in life to take a year off, and of course, I wanted to improve my English.

SKR: Was America different than you thought it would be?

TK: Because of my sister’s experience and my two former visits in the USA, my expectations did not differ much from the image I got.

SKR: What did you enjoy most about your stay here?

TK: I had a blast. It was a wonderful time in Dodge City thanks to my great host family and many friends I made. It is just nice to experience a country as a member of a family and not just as a guest. I also enjoyed church and the youth group as well as participating in school sports.

SKR: How does life in the United States, and life in Germany differ?

TK: It differs in many ways. It is just a totally different culture and life-style. Church for instance. I liked it in the USA because the service was more contemporary and fun. In Germany I hardly ever go.

Life in Germany is much closer to life in a big city like New York or Chicago than it is to life in the Midwest.

SKR: What was most different about life here, compared to Germany?

TK: Everything is bigger in the USA. The country, food, stores, streets, simply everything. It takes a while to get used to it. Germany is also not as patriotic as the USA.

SKR: How are the youth similar and different?

TK: The youth are pretty much the same. Church youth groups are not as big in Germany and less popular. There are also some differences depending on the laws. You can’t drive until you are 18 for instance.

SKR: How did you like your host family?

TK: I had a wonderful host family. They made it very easy for me to be part of the daily life and treated me just like their own son. It is nice to be part of the family and experience the USA from that point of view. They made it possible for me to say that I am coming home, every time I visit Dodge City.

SKR: What are some of the things that you did together?

TK: We went to New York with the exchange program and on a ski trip with the church youth group. As a coordinator, my host dad took part in both trips.

We also did several small trips with the whole family to Wichita, Hutchinson or Kansas City. But being part of the family in the daily life was the best experience for me.

SKR: What did you learn from your stay here?

TK: I learned a lot about American life-style in culture. I think I became more tolerant towards other people, other opinions and different countries, and of course I also improved my English.