Our Family of Six

I sent two of my four daughters to South America this week.  I’m so proud of both of these young ladies.  Both are unofficial ambassadors for their countries.

Lisa went to Paraguay for two months, volunteering with the program Amigos de las Américas.  (You can read more about Amigos in an earlier post: http://our-family-of-six.tumblr.com/post/826085613/the-seeds-of-our-hosting-experience )  Sisi returned to her family and life in Brazil.

Coincidentally, of all the countries that Lisa could have been sent to, she was sent to Paraguay.  The headquarters city for her program is only 500 miles away from Sisi’s hometown!  Both girls flew into Sao Paulo, Brazil to make their connecting flights.  Lisa left a few days before Sisi, and the girls teased each other about which of them was “stalking” the other.

Liliana Ayalde, the U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay, told the Amigos volunteers, “Thank you for helping me in my role as Ambassador, you all are Ambassadors of the United States. Make your country proud.”

Sisi and I had a number of conversations this year about what it means to be an exchange student.  AFS Brazil told the students in their training to remember that they are representatives of their country.  Everyone they meet, their host families, friends, the school administration, will think of them when they hear about Brazil.

Of course one teenager does not really represent an entire country.  But it is human nature to make these connections.  From now on, whenever I hear “Brazil”, I will think about Sisi.  And it will give me positive feelings.  In the future, when Lisa’s host family thinks about the United States, they will think about Lisa.  Knowing my daughter, I am sure they will have a positive reference.

It was difficult to send my daughters off into the world.  I know Lisa will be coming back to me. But I won’t have any direct communication with her, except for mail.  Assuming she takes the time to write, a letter might not even get here before she returns.  The project staff will send program updates twice this summer, so I’ll have more news of her than my parents had of me.

I hope to see Sisi in person again in the future.  I suspect that I won’t hear much from her for a while as she settles back into her life at home.  But with the wonders of the internet, we’ll be able to stay in touch via email, Facebook, and Skype.

John F. Kennedy, one of the United States’ most popular presidents, said, “Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.” 

I know that both Lisa, at age 16, and Sisi, at age 17, are absolutely among the world’s most valuable resources.