For more than 40 years, CIH volunteers have been welcoming international students to join in their Christmas celebrations while college dorms are closed for winter break. This year, Market Square Presbyterian Church friends and families will open their homes and their hearts to one or more students. Most are single, but some are couples or families. Some are in the U.S. for a one-year English immersion program. Some have been here for a year or more but hope to visit a different part of our country. Some speak several languages. Others need a patient host who will help to practice their conversational English.
This year, we have agreed to host about two dozen students – Tuesday, December 18 to Wednesday, January 2. Over the years, students have come from Germany, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Columbia, China, Malaysia, Namibia, Russia and other corners of the world. Each one is looking for a place to call home for two weeks.
Like the students, CIH hosts vary: singles, couples, families or friends. Some can host for the full two weeks. Others will “share” a student for one week only. Still others provide transportation, chaperone a bus trip to DC or NYC, lead a tour of Harrisburg or Gettysburg, or cook for the International Dinner. There are many ways to get involved.
Of all the college students who come to the U.S. each year, more than 90 percent leave our country without ever stepping into an American home. That’s a lost opportunity for food, fun and fellowship, hospitality and peacemaking – even learning a bit about far-away places.
To learn more about this year’s program, please feel free to send me an email. I’ll be happy to share some basic information about the students who already have asked to be “adopted” so they can plan their travel to Harrisburg. Or, if you would like to apply to become a host, click here.
Our CIH students truly have blessed our family festivities. We hope you will consider adding an international student (or two) to your holiday “wish list.”
Wishing you good health and hope, this year and always –
Bonnie J. McCarthy
“CIH Mom” – Harrisburg Program