The
Chance of a Lifetime
The story of two 17-year-old Poland 4-H exchange
students' visit with a Spruce, Michigan family with three sons
English may be an international language, but “American” is definitely associated with people from the United States. At least, that's the view of one young man from Poland who spent several weeks in Michigan in summer 1995 as part of the Michigan/Poland 4-H Exchange Program.
Marcin Rurys, 17, found the accents, slang and unusual expressions of his American hosts, Toni and Les Thomas and their sons, Leslie, Christopher and Matthew, entertaining. Marcin was one of two Polish teens who lived with the Thomases for four weeks at their farm in Spruce. Marcin was from a small town called Morag. Pawel Szymanski, 17, was from a farm in Lapuszno.
Although Pawel understood English, he did not speak it very well. Marcin not only spoke fluent English but also German and Russian. He bridged the communication gap for everyone.
The Thomases took their sons and Polish guests on trips to Tahquamenon Falls and Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and spent a couple of days at Mackinac Bridge.
“We had a ball,” Toni says. “At one point when we were at the bridge, Marcin was talking to a Chinese fellow. When I got close, I discovered they were both speaking Russian. A Polish boy and a Chinese man speaking Russian in Michigan. How much more international can you get?” she laughs.
Matt was fascinated by the Polish language and culture.
“I had envisioned Poland to be a lower tech country that didn't have much culture and was still in communist reform,” he explains. “But they haven't been a communist country since '91 and have a whole new economic system. I learned a lot from Pawel and Marcin.”
Chris laughingly remembers when Michigan and Polish youth convened at Kettunen Center for an environmental conference.
“We had a really good time, especially when 600 girls came for a cheerleader camp. The Polish youth had never seen cheerleaders, so the boys were going nuts. They loved it! I learned how to say 'She's really cute' in Polish!”
Would the Thomases host Polish 4-H'ers again?
“Without a doubt,” Les says. “Kids are the same, no matter where they're from. It's the chance of a lifetime to learn about one another's culture. We wish they could have stayed longer.”