When Gary Goldsboro picked up Hugo Ota from the airport in fifth grade, he never could have imagined the Brazilian foreign exchange student would play a pivotal role in helping him complete his international business degree from Oklahoma Christian University years later. Thanks to the foreign exchange program in which his family participated, Goldsboro has had the opportunity to visit nine countries and counting, with three young men he now considers some of his best friends.
Originally from Yukon, OK, Goldsboro and his family housed three foreign exchange students when he was in elementary and high school. Hugo arrived from Brazil when Goldsboro was in fifth grade, while Hugo’s younger brother, Leonardo (Leo) came four years later, and Rasmus Pedersen came from Denmark when Goldsboro was a high school senior.
“My mom never actually told me, but I think because she always wanted a lot of kids and only got two, she was really open to the idea of housing these students,” Goldsboro said. “While it kind of helped her fill that void, it helped make me who I am and taught me to be more outgoing. You learn to help someone who is struggling with English adapt to our culture, and you have to learn to help them from a young age.”
The three boys each stayed 9-10 months with Goldsboro and his family. Arriving the week before school started in August, they would leave within a few weeks of graduation in May.
“They would tell me stories of how they did things at home just like I would tell them stories here,” Goldsboro said. “It is different because, when you talk to your friends at home you know the scenery, but these kids would tell me stuff I had never explored before.”
According to Goldsboro, one of the toughest challenges of housing the students was overcoming the language barrier, as well as saying “goodbye” at the end of each program.
“When we picked Hugo up from the airport, he did not know what we were saying, and we kept asking him if he was hungry,” Goldsboro said. “He told us ‘no,’ but when we got home he ate an entire pizza. And then, it was just tough to see them leave. When Leo left, Hugo and his dad actually came and picked him up from the airport, so it was hard, not only to say ‘bye’ to Leo, but to Hugo for a second time. With Rasmus, it was really tough to say ‘goodbye’ because he fits so well with our family.”
Because the two became so close during the foreign exchange program, Pedersen’s family bought Goldsboro a round-trip ticket to visit Denmark during June 2017. Staying a month, Goldsboro and Pedersen traveled around the country and into the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, Hungary and Austria.
“In Denmark, it is so much more relaxed,” Goldsboro said. “Time is not a big deal there.”
Going into his senior year at Oklahoma Christian, Goldsboro was informed his stay with the Pedersens would not satisfy the international internship and work experience required for him to graduate in April 2019. Goldsboro turned to the Ota brothers and asked if he could visit over Christmas break and work on their 1,000-acre farm.
“When I went to Brazil, it was a culture shock because English is not big for them down there, and what they do learn, most of them never get the chance to do what Hugo and Leo did, so they know English words, but they cannot really speak the language,” Goldsboro said. “While there was that big language barrier for the majority of my trip, it was still fun trying to adapt and to be able to see how different life is there. It is more relaxed and not as fast-paced.”
Looking back on his connections formed through the foreign exchange program, Goldsboro said he would encourage those considering housing an international student to “take the leap of faith and go for it.”
“Not only do they change your life a little bit and you get a little more perspective on the world firsthand without ever leaving your country, but you also get to change their life,” Goldsboro said. “When they go back home, they get to tell their friends about their trip, and it makes more people want to travel. Between all of my experiences and both of my trips, I have made more friends, and it has made me feel like those kids are ahead of us in a way – they are learning our language to come over and get the ‘American experience.’ For a lot of them, it is a dream come true.”
According to Goldsboro, befriending foreign exchange students also gives one an excuse to travel, because “you do not want to always just make them come see you.” He said he considers all three students life-long friends.
“We all still talk and are already planning more trips to see each other,” Goldsboro said. “I do not think this is something that will ever fade. Hugo even has a daughter he wants to do the foreign exchange program, and we have already talked about that if she wants to come to Oklahoma, she will always have a place with us.”
0
0
Be First to Comment