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Kara and Family hosted Poppy from Wales

Can a family raising three young children in the middle of the US be globally-minded? With the help of IFYE, the answer is a resounding “yes”! Our family lived in Asia for the last five years and one of the goals for our family upon returning to the US was to keep our children connected to the global community. We were excited when we learned about the need for host families for the IFYE program. Poppy, a young woman from Wales, joined our family for a month. We enjoyed showing her what a suburban family summer is like. There were trips to the library (and discussions about famous Welsh authors), the pool, local museums, walks around the neighborhood, and family vacations. We spent a weekend visiting our rural hometown for a 4th of July celebration straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Poppy was dressed for the holiday appropriately in a USA t-shirt from Target, which is an important part of the suburban family experience. We cooked together and treated Poppy to the Midwestern delicacy of Tater Tot Casserole. We learned together...did you know that you can toast sweet potatoes in the toaster?! And, we laughed together, which helped Poppy survive her first Illinois "Heat Advisory!" Our family looks forward to staying in contact with our “Welsh daughter.”

Kara, Illinois Host Family

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