[voices]
Worldly lessons
STREET TALK
by Cathrine L. Walters
Asked Tuesday, June 3, on N. Higgins Avenue. Who do you think is the most underrated musician in Missoula? Follow-up: What local band or artist gets you off the couch, into the club and onto the dance floor?
Daniel West: Solomon. He has a show on MCAT. He’s a hip-hop artist around town. Spoken words: I would definitely go to a performance of Solomon’s or Tahj Kjelland or Mateo Mblem.
JoAnn Secrist: Probably Three-Eared Dog. I saw them on Saturday and thought they all looked about 10 but loved them. I thought they were awesome. Footloose: Definitely Three-Eared Dog and I love Miller Creek. I couldn’t sit still when I heard them at BrewFest.
Shy Andrad: Lee McAfee. She’s the most beautiful person I’ve seen with dreadlocks. Wrapped up: Frodie Wapikiya. It’s hip hop and rap. He plays at the Palace.
Erin Schneider: Mesozoic Mafia. It’s like dinosaur hip-hop with cello and trombone and lots of people singing. Horn of plenty: I want to say Shakewell but I’m in Shakewell. But we’re a high-energy 10-piece funk band. Those horns bring a lot of energy.
Stephanie Lubrecht: Keaton Wilson and all the guys of The Captain Wilson Conspiracy. They are all fantastic jazz musicians. Sing along: I like the Miller Creek shows. I started listening to them years ago and got to know a bunch of their songs.
[4] Missoula Independent • June 5–June 12, 2014
I am writing in response to Henriette Löwisch’s May 15 op-ed piece, “Stop Feeding the Beast,” in which she asserts that Missoula “isn’t all that great a destination for foreign high school students.” As a veteran host mother and volunteer liaison to numerous high school exchange students from around the world—Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Guatemala, Peru, Japan and Turkey, among other countries—as well as a former exchange student myself, I couldn’t disagree more. It’s unfortunate that Lowisch’s exchange student was “bored out of her mind” and missed “clubbing” like she did in Germany, but the point of going on exchange isn’t to re-create the life you had in your home country. Rather, it’s to discover what life is like in another one. Without exception, the kids I have hosted and been involved with have loved and treasured their time here in Missoula, a place which allowed them the freedom to decide who they wanted to be, outside of the constraints of their own cultures. They willingly gave up activities they pursued at home to explore new ones—the Italian skydiver learned to sew her own clothes; the Thai badminton player joined the yearbook staff; the Hungarian ballroom dancer learned to sing and play tennis; and of course all of them became huge fans of the outdoor adventures that are such a big part of our lives here. Nearly all of them earned top-notch grades (contrary to what Lowisch writes, many exchange students need the academic credits from their classes here, and even if they don’t, most of the ones I’ve known have taken their studies seriously). They participated in school plays, choir concerts and sporting events, and experienced American teen coming-of-age rituals, including prom, homecoming and graduation. They took on new roles and responsibilities as part of their American households: one learned to be a big sister; another learned to cook and do dishes; a third how to enjoy family meals. They also made lifelong friends not only with American kids but with teens from other countries, creating an international web of connections. All while gaining a fresh perspective on themselves and their home countries. Two of them were so enamored with our city that they got (parent-approved) tattoos of Missoula after they celebrated their 18th birthdays here. Three years after she
L
went back to Budapest, one of them still lists Missoula as her current city on her Facebook page. Many have come back to visit, and those who haven’t yet managed to return tell me they are anxious to. While they were here, they were excellent and enthusiastic ambassadors for their home countries, broadening the views of their classmates as well as their teachers. Since returning home, they have become excellent and enthusiastic ambassadors for the United States and for Montana. This, of course, is the most important benefit of exchange programs: they promote peace through intercultural understanding. It is a lofty but worthy goal, and it’s the reason I’m so passionate about them.
“Without exception, the kids I have hosted and been involved with have loved and treasured their time here in Missoula”
The “strict” no drinking and no driving rules that Lowisch complains about are not only appropriate, they are the law: as high schoolers, these students are too young to drink legally. Most are also too young to possess a driver’s license from their home countries, which generally require that they be 18 before they can obtain one. As for prohibiting tattoos, not all programs do, but even American kids need parental permission to get one if they’re under 18, and some states won’t allow minors to be tattooed even with parental permission. And while the organ-
ization I work with doesn’t prohibit sex, we do discourage it, warning, among other things, that it puts the students at risk of contracting STDs, that boys may be charged with statutory rape, and that girls will be sent home if they become pregnant. Far from being overly restrictive, these rules and approaches are simply a common-sense effort to keep the students safe and prevent them from making poor choices. What parent or host parent would trust an organization that did anything different? And that brings me to Lowisch’s suggestion that it would be better if the Missoula schools bypassed exchange organizations and dealt directly with foreign students, which would allow the schools to design their own programs and charge tuition for them. At first blush, that may sound like a good idea for our cashstrapped district, but the truth is that even for long-established exchange-student organizations with a proven track record, it’s no small task to handle all the logistics that are required—to vet students and host families, match students with appropriate families, negotiate the mountains of paperwork and complicated travel arrangements that are required to get the students here, and provide orientation and support for both students and host families prior to and throughout the students’ stay. I have never received a penny for hosting or helping exchange students, so I don’t have a financial interest in perpetuating the current system (and indeed, I have often bemoaned the high costs of going on exchange, since the world would be a better place if more students could afford to), but I am interested in seeing the continued success of exchanges, and I am skeptical that our school system would be equipped to take on these duties. In November, 35 years after I first went to live there, I will be headed back to Denmark to celebrate my host mother’s 90th birthday. My time in Denmark changed my life and views and those of my host family in profound ways, and the foreign exchange students I’ve hosted and helped here say the same. I strongly encourage Missoulians to continue to open their hearts to the exchange students that are lucky enough to be placed here, and perhaps even to consider hosting one of them. It’s a surefire way to change the world for the better. Kathy Witkowsky Missoula
etters Policy: The Missoula Independent welcomes hate mail, love letters and general correspondence. Letters to the editor must include the writer’s full name, address and daytime phone number for confirmation, though we’ll publish only your name and city. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. Preference is given to letters addressing the contents of the Independent. We reserve the right to edit letters for space and clarity. Send correspondence to: Letters to the Editor, Missoula Independent, 317 S. Orange St., Missoula, MT 59801, or via email: editor@missoulanews.com.