PAX Family Reunion
Euro trip for serial PAX host family
As a host family, we always enjoy learning more about the culture of our students (“our kids”). We encourage their natural families to visit our community when the students stay is over with us.
We also love to see what life is like for “our kids.” We were invited to our host daughter Alize’s (Spain, 2011/12) wedding in Bilbao, Spain. We quickly accepted and made plans with our daughter and our German host daughter (who was a double placement with Alize).
Not only did we attend the wedding but six other PAX students were there. Alize met Nerea (Spain) at orientation, and they became lifelong friends. Jon and Ainara were in the same cluster (both from Spain). Farah (YES, Egypt) was in a neighboring cluster, and she came with her friend Lamiaa, who was hosted in Alabama. Lastly Alize’s cousin, Inigo, was a PAX student in Vermont (2013/14).
We spent the week in Bilbao visiting the area. I was able to visit with two students who had been in my group, Paula in Pamplona (home of the famous running of the bulls), and later in Portugalete we saw Alberto and the fabulous Vizcaya Bridge. And we met Andrea (from Spain) while we were in Belgium. She currently has an internship with an agricultural advocacy group there in the de facto capital of the European Union.
During this trip, we also were housed by two of our German host daughters. Sophie and her family in Cologne and Ulrike and her family in Hanover shared their homes and local life with us.
These experiences are some of the many wonderful benefits of hosting.
—Martha Mitchell, host mom (PA)
