Exchange Students

Here you will find the names and photos of my nine foreign exchange students. Well, there are only seven pictures. But seven out of nine success stories isn't bad.

Sebastian is the one who got it all started. I really had no idea of what keeping an exchange student would be like. But it turned out to be a wonderful experience; enough so that it has become a way of life for me now. Sebastian is from Gottingen, Germany, and he will probably be the one that I will measure each of my exchange students by in the future. He will soon graduate from the university as an architect.

This is Stephen, my second foreign exchange student. Stephen came to the U.S.A. from Hong Kong. He stayed in this country and graduated from the University of Kansas in May of 1999 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Stephen lived with me during the 1994-95 school year.

Oliver is from Balingen, Germany, and he lived with me during the 1996-97 school year. After I had selected him, we learned, as a happy coincidence, that we both have the same birthday. I celebrated by birthday with him in 1998, and then we took off for a two week trip around Europe. It was great.

This is Frank, or Frankie Boy, as I like to call him. He is from Parey, Germany. If ever two people were suited for each other, it has to be Frank and me. It was a joy to share my home with him during the 1997-98 school year. When I finally retire, I would like nothing better than to spend my days bumming around Berlin with Frank as my guide.

Robert is the student who shared my home during the 1998-99 school year. He is another of the students who will be "my kid" for years to come. We shared many of the same interests, and our year together will be a memorable experience. Robert comes from a town in Germany called Sprockhoevel. He say he wants to be a plumber when he graduates from high school, but I suspect he will be something a little more sophisticated than that.

Sebastian, or Sebastian II as he must be known now, was my exchange student during the 1999-2000 school year.He is my fifth German student. I doubt if one could find five people who are more different from each other---but all of whom are very special to me. Does this mean that I like Germans? Probably so. He came from a small town in northern Germany called Preetz, not very far from the Baltic Sea to spend ten months on the Kansas prairie with me.

Here is Matthias, from Berlin, Germany, my exchange student for the 2000-2001 school year. He is my sixth German student, but probably not my last. We survived a lot of things during the year he was here: a “normal” winter with a new wood stove that didn’t want to work well, a not-so-good KU basketball season, and a two mile walk home in pitch darkness after a tire blew out. But through it all, Matthias and I had a lot of fun together and shared a memorable and rewarding year. However, someday, I am going to have to give him a tour of Berlin!

This is Fayez. He is from Saudi Arabia. Fayez was not one of my exchange students, however. He showed up at my house on Saturday, December 15, 2012…..intending only to spend the winter break from his classes at Wichita State University. But, he just seems to keep coming back. My home is his “ home away from home ”. In other words, he more or less lives here. At least, when he has breaks or vacations from college. And, just like my other former exchange students, he has become an important part of my life.

Here is Sultan... He is the funny looking guy on the left. Oh...excuse me. Did I say "funny looking"? I mean the "happy looking" guy on the left. Sultan is rarely without a smile on his face....and rarely fails to put a smile on the faces of the people he is around. Here he is with his younger brother and his dad. He is the younger brother of Faye....featured in the profile above this one. Saudi Arabians have a different attitude toward family pictures than we Westerners do....so there are no photos of his entire family available. But, he has three brothers and three sisters....plus, of course, his mom and dad.