This weekend we said goodbye to Ariane. After spending three months with us she returned home to Quebec and her family. She was here on an exchange program that focused on giving youth an opportunity to learn English (or French) and experience life in another province! Our daughter will head to Quebec in February to live with Ariane's family for three months.
This exchange program is one in a series of experiences that we as a family have engaged in over the past 20 years. We have hosted well over thirty people (mostly youth) and our children have had several opportunities to travel and experience other cultures that they otherwise would not likely have experienced.
As I've written about previously, we have hosted so many folks from around the world in the interest of learning, growing and expanding our world without necessarily leaving the farm. And while I agree wholeheartedly with this and will continue to host... the goodbyes that are inevitable with any exchange program are challenging.....
The packing up, the airport drive, the hugs and tears, do not get easier with repetition. The commitment to return, to visit, to write are always there. Some do, some don't.... but all become part of our families collective heart, our history, our memories. Each one has taught us something....
Yuka taught us our first Japanese words....
Carwyn showed us how to judge sheep...
Haruka reminded us not to take ourselves to seriously....
Ricardo taught us to listen to the purr of every car engine differently...
..... and Ariane showed us the joy of a competitive spirit and the importance of seizing every opportunity! When Ariane was around it was impossible to be grumpy... it was also impossible to keep any candy in the house that she didn't eventually find! You will be missed, dear heart!
So while I am certain that we are all richer for the open door and the welcome we hold for those from afar, today my heart is a wee bit tender and needs some rest...
...until we say Hello again.
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