Watching her "Firsts" in America!

As the two week mark of Laura's arrival in the U.S. nears, we are settling in and returning to life as normal--well, at least as normal as possible when your last name is Pratt :)

We find ourselves smiling when we see Laura experience "firsts" in America. Her expression when she first saw a golf cart waiting in our driveway was priceless. This was her ticket to exploring the neighborhood  in something other than a car!

It's been fun to watch her try American foods. So far, she seems to like most everything we cook and most restaurants we try. She loves Taco Bell, so we've discovered. We haven't initiated her into the world of Zaxby's but I'm sure that won't elude us much longer!!

Tonight, she will experience American Football as our high school has a scrimmage game. It will be interesting to see what she thinks about the hoopla that Americans love so much.

School seems to be getting better each day. We continue to encourage her and reassure her that her mastery of the English language will come. As you can imagine, her Language Arts class is by far the most difficult because of her developing understanding of our language. She's getting there! Math seems to come easily but as my husband tells me often, numbers are universal!

We are steadily but surely settling in to a routine. There are still new events but home life is just that...home life. Much different than a short vacation or even a two or three month-long exchange, these ten months will give Laura a taste of life in an American home. There are fun days and then there are days in which - well - we get down and dirty with a sponge and a broom. All in all, we are taking life one moment at a time and are rejoicing in the opportunity to give her a loving, yet temporary home. After all, it's rewarding and fun to watch all of her "firsts"!!!

Today marks one week since Laura arrived in America for her 10 month stay! It's been a great week getting to know one another.  In just a short seven days, she has eaten at five or six restaurants, visited the World of Coke, explored our local supermarket, watched an American dance class at Jill's dance studio, shopped in a mall and met many, many new friends! Wow! That's a lot of activity on top of conquering jet lag, learning to converse in English and attending a brand new school.

Tonight Laura attended her first American party. A friend of Austin's is celebrating her 16th birthday with dancing, food and cake. She invited Laura to come along. I hope she has lots of fun partying with some great kids.

We are in love with this sweet girl. She is so kind, helpful and determined to try everything and experience America to it's fullest. We know there will be days when it's hard to be so far away from home and for so long, but, for now, all is well! Can't wait for many more adventures!!

Today, August 6, marked the first day of school in America for Laura! An American teenager, yay!

She was a bit nervous but very excited to see our high school, meet her teachers, eat in our cafeteria and make new friends. Laura will be studying English/Language Arts, Math, a special English class and dance. I am happy for her as I know that she will love her teachers. We were able to find some girls we know who are in her classes, so they will show her around.

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend taking her shopping, eating at restaurants, showing her our town, taking her to an American cookout, visiting the World of Coca-Cola, and just  getting to know one another. Her English is getting better and, in turn, our Italian is beginning to grow!! Her personality is wonderful and she gets along with everyone!

I think she will love our school and our town. I know that she will love going to parties, football games, Waffle House and all the other wonderful things that teenagers like to do! We are so excited for Laura!

Welcome to America!

A few months back, our family of five decided to open our home to a foreign exchange student. Truly, we knew very little about the hows and whens but we knew that this could be one of life's most rewarding and exciting events. Our three children, ages 20, 18 and 13, were immediately excited at the thought of welcoming a teenager from another country into our home.

A friend of ours who works as a representative for an exchange student agency paved the way and in days we were faced with the difficult task of choosing a student from literally hundreds of applicants. As we filed through the biographies and pictures, we were drawn to a beautiful girl from Italy named Laura. My mother is Italian and I had grown up with all the wonderful traditions of Italy so the decision was easy. In no time at all, the paperwork was complete and all that was left was to count the days until her arrival!

On August 3, we waited with anticipation at the airport for Laura's arrival. A bit tired and unsure of her English, Laura hugged us warmly and we were off to begin our next year of learning languages and exchanging customs!

My hope, through this blog, is to share our experiences and document Laura's year in America! It's going to be fun and exciting! Ciao!!!