Lots of long faces around the Amsler household today.  Agathe was more than a guest to us, she had become a member of our family...and now she's gone!

My daughter, Emily, enrolled in the Junior Diplomat Int'l Homestays program while taking French classes in High School.  The program was founded by Michael C. Vandeplanque in 1986 wanting to promote awareness and goodwill between the two countries. 

So for three weeks, we learned to converse with Agathe(mostly in English) while learning about her country, culture and customs.  She is from Grenoble, France site of the 1968 Winter Olympics.  The coffee table book she gave us, displays majestic scenery of the city, lakes and the French Alps in the background.  The tall buildings of Atlanta and the gerneral size of most homes seemed to impress our young friend.  We discovered that teenagers aren't all that different the world over as she has an eye for corvettes and enjoyed rollercoasters at Six Flags over Georgia.  By the third day, I found myself wishing I took more of an interest in language classes while in school, so I could speak a little French.

It was a wonderful experience for the whole family and we would do it again in a minute.  Emily is looking forward to next summer when she can visit France and continue the friendship that started just a few weeks ago. 

 The World really is getting smaller, and perhaps more interesting as well.

For more infomation: jrdiplomat@mindspring.com