I was just thinking about the time that we agreed to welcome a foreign exchange student into our home when we were living in Gilroy, California. My wife and I will never forget this kid. He had the best personality, and it was quite a treat for our kids, and to my wife and I to have someone stay with us, that was from a different part of the world. His name was Chris, and I think that we will forever remember him because of his ability to make us laugh. He was a pleasant kid, around my son's age, and my son was in Junior High School at the time, and so was Chris.
We were really excited when Chris arrived, and we were there to pick him up at the airport because were were anxious to have him here, to share his culture, as well as some of the customs of France. I had always heard that the French hated the Americans, and were very rude. Well, I'm not sure if that is true, because it sure didn't show in Chris. He was funny, sincere, and very honest to the point of being a fault!! I remember the evening that he arrived, and we picked up his luggage, and we were all introducing ourselves at the airport, with handshakes and hugs that were abundant. When we came home, we showed him around our home, and he was absolutely excited about his new digs.
We all went to bed, and of course the boys, Chris and Jason, were busy talking in my sons room until the wee hours, and you could occasionally hear laughter, then silence, the more laughter. The next morning, my wife and I decided to take Chris and the kids, out to breakfast to as a treat, to get to know Chris even better. So there we all were, setting in the pancake house, and Chris was amazed as to how big the restaurant was, and how many people were there, and he had this charming accent, and sounded somewhat "The Pink Panther Dude" Peter Sellers. His accent was pretty thick. So when the waitress came over, after we had all studied the menu, she took our order, and Chris placed his order, and was very courteous.
While we were waiting for our breakfast, we were all talking, not noticing what was going on, but when my wife and I had finally got our morning coffee, we had noticed that all the half and half creamers were empty. A whole bowl of them on ice, was empty!! There were little cartons all around Chris's plate, and he had them stacked all over the place, and he had a tiny little milk mustache over his lip, so we had no doubt that he had drank each and every one of these little creamers, then we asked, "Chris, why are you drinking the creamers"? He looked at us, as if he had his hand in the cookie jar, and said "I taut dis vas de milk, dat I vuz drinking, is it not so"? "No Chris, that is not so, those are creamers for the coffee" said Jason, you can order a glass of milk! We all got a good laugh out of this that morning, and he would do things like that, sometimes I think just to make us laugh. He swears to this day, that he thought that this is how they served milk in this country, and he couldn't figure out why, although they do serve things in France where it is about quality, no quantity. He said that dishes there were all about presentation, and nutrition, but very very rich in content. Who are we to argue with that?
Then, the following weekend, we decided to show Chris the countryside, and take him skiing at a lake about 4 hours away. As we were traveling to "Hogan" Lake, he could not believe that we were still in the same state, (California), he said that if they drove that far, they would be in a different country in Europe!! He was amazed at how much space the Americans enjoyed. Well, we set up our campsite, all the tents were put up, and we started to enjoy the day, we went swimming in the lake, and really had a great time, my wife, fixed us lunch, and it was wonderful having an extended "member of the family" with us to enjoy the camping experience. Well, that night, my wife and I had just finished cooking supper, and of course, we had hamburgers and hot dogs, complete with potato salad and tons of chili beans, and Chris just loved the food...he ate and ate, and so did my son Jason. Just to give you a visual of my son, he is 6'4", a big guy, and Chris was very small next to him.
It was time to turn in, and when all was quiet, and everybody was sleeping in the campsite, all you heard was the crickets. You could imagine, a guy with Jason's size, he had a choice of salad or beans, and of course, he ate a lot of chili beans, and we all know what happens when you eat allot of beans, yes, you guessed it, Jason broke wind. You could hear it because it was loud, and Jason was sound to sleep, and didn't even realize that he did it, and Chris of course was sharing the same tent, and all of a sudden, you heard Chris yelling to the top of his lungs, "Oh my God Jason, YOU BOOFED, and I felt zee air". The whole campsite erupted in laughter as you could hear the zippers unzip on the tent, and Chris came stumbling out. I was so funny, he was holding his nose, standing there in his boxers, it was one of the funniest things that we ever heard or seen. After that, we had to get a separate tent for Chris, as he would not tent with Jason again ever again.
There was a host of events that went on throughout his stay, and I must say, that when Chris had left us to go back home, we missed him as though her were our own, but was glad that we were able to share the experience with Chris. We sent him home with some souvenir's from America, and something for his folks, along with a letter thanking them for letting him come. Needless to say, we became fans of the foreign exchange program, and the next year, invited another guest to share our home. It was great. I would advise that anyone whomever has this opportunity to do this for someone, it is well worth it, to both them, and you, as a family. I miss Chris to this very day, and we are in hopes that he is now a scholar amongst scholar's, and wish him the best....We love you Chris...
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