Letter From An Aspect Foundation FLEX Host Family

When we first decided to share our home with a FLEX student, we looked at all the applications and finally decided on Asel. Asel is from Kyrgyzstan. To be honest we had to find a map to locate it. It’s a very small country west of China and south of Russia. Our family picked her up at the airport around the first of August.

Asel came down the concourse and we got our first glimpse of her. She was so cute and tiny and dressed in the latest teen fashions. Her parents had taken her shopping in the city of Bishkek before she came.

We loaded up the car and headed home. She was wide-eyed all the way even though she was exhausted. She had never seen a freeway before and all the cars!!! We were on vacation the first two weeks she was here so we were off doing things that were not everyday occurrences. We took a ferry from Whidbey Island to the Olympic peninsula the second day she was here. That also amazed her. She fell in love with Hamburgers. For months, when people asked her what her favorite thing to eat was she would exclaim Hamburgers! Here is an interesting illustration of how we take things we know for granted. It was just a few weeks ago that she asked me if people ever made hamburgers out of beef. She thought they were made of ham.

Asel had never seen or used a microwave oven before. She caught on very quickly. Microwave popcorn and hot chocolate became a quick, easy treat………as did the leftovers in the refrigerator.

When she first arrived we asked her if she had used computers when at home. She said they had one in her school but only the teachers could use it. Within a month, she had our home computer figured out, had an email account set up and was participating in "instant messaging" with friends from school. She was also helping my husband and I out when we couldn’t figure out something on the computer.

After she had been here a month or so, I asked her what surprised her most about the US. She said…."The cars. There are so many and people are always hurrying from here to there." About a month ago, I asked her what she would miss the most when she goes home. She said…"The cars. I love being able to go where I want, when I want and get there quickly." We laughed because it was such a difference in outlook. I’m not sure that that was a good thing to learn, but it was interesting. The other thing she said she will miss is her morning shower. Her family is one of the few in their village that has running water but they do not have a shower. The village has a public bathhouse, so most people don’t bathe everyday.

It was so interesting and eye-opening for both of us to share information with each other. I was reminded that there are still large parts of the world that are not driven by clocks and that the average American lifestyle is far different from most peoples.

Asel and were grocery shopping early on and she said "My mother would be amazed by this." They have no grocery stores in her village. Most food is grown by the individual families and then traded for other things. There is a small "store" that she describes as being a lot like my garden shed. (It’s about 11’ X 12’). She said they bought flour and sugar and other staples there. Occasionally they would find treats like bananas or oranges. She loved the abundance of fruits we had available and couldn’t quite believe that she could have a banana any time she wanted. She also loved cheese and told us she had never tasted it before.

Having Asel in our lives for the past year not only gave us the opportunity to expose another person to new experiences but was also a compelling reminder to stop and appreciate what you have, where you live and who you are surrounded by. We count our blessings regularly now and have one more to add. It’s very difficult to say good-bye to someone that has become such a huge part of our family. A piece of our hearts will travel to Kyrgyzstan with Asel when she leaves. But as my husband tells me when I start mourning the loss, it will be very good to know that there is someone in that part of the world thinking about us.