Bringing
the World Closer to Home
The story of a family-to-family exchange in America
and in Poland.
Communicating with young people can be a challenge, especially when there are four in one house who speak different languages! That's how it is sometimes in the Paul and Debbie Gelderblom household in Charlevoix, where young people from France, Finland, Mexico, Spain, Russia and Poland have lived as exchange students in the past three years. Eight of the 10 have been 4-H'ers.
The Gelderbloms' interest in hosting foreign students began when daughter Allison, 13, read in the Charlevoix County 4-H newsletter in 1993 that host families were needed for Polish 4-H'ers.
Julia Marciniak, 12, and Jarek Krukowski, 11, from the Leszno province, were the first to live with the Gelderbloms, arriving in July and staying into August 1993. They spoke no English; the Gelderbloms spoke no Polish. The following summer, Allison traveled to Poland and stayed with Julia on her family's farm as part of the 4-H Exchange Program. When the Gelderbloms learned that financial aid would be available through the Michigan 4-H Foundation for students to come to the States in 1995, they helped Julia secure support to come back again.
"It was amazing the amount of English she'd picked up since she was here the first time," Debbie recalled. "She had a purpose for wanting to learn." Also living with the Gelderbloms that year was 19-year-old Pawel Krekora from Radon, south of Warsaw.
Allison was impressed by how polite the Polish people are, a trait she was especially aware of when she traveled to Poland with the 4-H Exchange Program.
Amy observes that young people all over the world share the same concerns about growing up and about addressing social issues, even if the issues are different.
"We all care about our world. We all want to make a difference," she says.
The Gelderbloms will continue to be part of the Michigan/Poland 4-H Exchange Program and exchanges with other countries. Letters flow between them and the teens they have hosted.
"You don't have to have a Hollywood home," Debbie says. "It's the people, rather than the amenities. These wonderful young people make it possible for us to travel without ever leaving home. They bring the world closer to home."