In 1984, I traveled to Japan with the IU Wind Ensemble and did home stays in several Japanese cities. Terri and I dated for nine years before we were married in 1989, so I talked about her a lot during my Japanese home stays. One of my Japanese home stay families sent Terri a wedding gift of a beautiful necklace without ever having met her. I have amazing memories of traveling with the IU Marching Hundred to East Lansing and Columbus. The stories unite me with my colleagues from the Marching Hundred across time and distance in a singularly unique manner. The relationships that are developed during home stays are strong, and frequently, life-changing in a positive way.
I had the distinct advantage of watching a home stay relationship develop as a parent over the course of two trips, one Germany to Downers Grove, and one Downers Grove to Germany. I was able to meet and converse on several occasions with the family that hosted Josiah and Danny. They are fabulous people in so many ways. I offer this observation to every parent right now that is wondering what the host family was like for their student. While I can't offer specific insight into each instance, I can tell you through personal observation that your student was treated as a family member for just over a week. I don't know about you, but this makes me want to work even HARDER to be a great host when our German friends begin to visit us again in two years. This program began as an exchange of music and developed into an exchange of music and culture, but,the roots of this program are the relationships that occur in the homes in both Beitigheim-Bissingen and in Downers Grove. I can say with extreme confidence that, because of an unusually strong root system, this exchange program grows robustly in both countries.
As a concluding aside, my daughter Allison is traveling Europe this summer with the Blue Lake International Symphony Orchestra. Her intensive week was June 8th-16th, and her tour is from June 17th to July 12th. No cell phones, no computers (except for random host family use by a student.) Quite literally, virtually no contact for just over a month. During the tour, Allison will stay with 5 host families. I literally have no worries about this because I believe so strongly in the host family process, and, the growth that occurs in student musicians through participating in a program of this nature. Like each of you are experiencing currently with your District 99 student musician , I can't wait until Alliison's arrival in Detroit on July 12th to hear the stories of connections and growth, through music and relationships, that she is currently experiencing.
This home stay thing works. I can't exactly tell you why, but, in both of my children, and in all of yours, I have the chance to observe the growth that occurs. Across cultures and across countries, we are all more similar than we are different. The home stay experience allows our students to gain insight into that mystery in a unique manner. It is the seed of that insight that will continue to produce growth for your student for many years to come.
