HOME AWAY FROM HOME: HOST FAMILIES PROVIDE AMERICAN LINK TO FOREIGN STUDENTS

Edwin Tia and Evelyn Woon, both 22, left Malaysia 11 months ago and came to Cape Girardeau for the educational opportunities both in and out of the classroom. They wanted to learn on a Midwest campus. They wanted to taste life in the States, see seasons change.

Gyorgyi Tauber, a Southeast Missouri State University freshman, said goodbye to family and friends in Hungary and traveled to the United States at age 16. With adventure as her friend, Tauber sees the States as a place of opportunity.

"You have to start early," she said of her decision made at a tender age, "or you lose your motivation to move."

Eighteen-year-old Kate Hansen, an exchange student from Denmark, will participate in the Cape Central High School graduation ceremony next spring.

"You hear a lot about the United States in Denmark," Hansen said. She wanted to see for herself.

International students have the gumption to follow their dreams. But those dreams come at a price. Plunging into their future, they leave behind the security of home.

"I'm a farmer girl," Hansen said as she shared photos of a smiling mom and dad peering at the camera lens. Two older sisters held their young children lovingly. A yellow, Lab-mix named King even seemed to smile at his slender, blonde owner as she held his photo.

The family photographs on the table of Richard and Jane Daume of Cape Girardeau could have been taken anywhere. Yet, they were shot in a country far from Southeast Missouri.

The human need of home knows no boundaries.

"She's from a very close family," Jane Daume said. "They're so supportive of Kate."

Hansen came to the States in August through the Rotary International student exchange program. Sponsored by a Denmark Rotary Club, she is being cared for by the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club while in this country.

The Daumes have shared their home with Hansen since her arrival, in what Jane Daume said "has been a very happy experience." Hansen will live with three other families and spend time with many more, during her 11-month stay in the United States.

Woon, Tia and Tauber knew they wouldn't be living in someone else's home when they came to Cape Girardeau. Ready to establish their own residences, they didn't expect to find second families.

But the Host International Program has provided them with the unexpected.

"They are like our family in the U.S., in Cape Girardeau," Woon said of Ron and Margaret Popham.

"I'm really attached to my family back home," Woon said. But having the Pophams as a host family here "has sort of brought me out of my homesickness. They're so warm and nice, we never felt like strangers."

Tia agreed, adding: "We come into a lot of situations where we have to make our own decisions. Sometimes having Ron and Margaret is a big help." After a slight pause, he said with a smile, "They're our American link."

"It's really good to have somebody who is concerned," said Tauber of her host family, Richard and Dee Cannon of Cape Girardeau. "If I need something, I can call them, even if it's a trip to Wal-Mart."

Woon, Tia and Tauber are among 308 international students attending Southeast Missouri State University. An additional 40 international students are enrolled in the university's intensive English program.

Forty-two countries are represented in the university's international enrollment.

To help ease the adjustment, a friendship family, or host program has been in place at the university in one form or another for about 20 years, Margaret Popham said.

"Starting in the fall of 1993, it became coordinated by a community group," she explained, noting that the university supports the program both financially and programmatically. "We work very closely together," she said. Margaret Popham, besides providing a host home, is chairman of the 12-member Host International Board.

There are about 60 host families involved in the volunteer program, with a constant need for more, Popham said. Most families have at least one student assigned them, some more than one.

The students are not the only ones who benefit from the cultural exchange, she stressed. "We get more out of it than the students do," Margaret Popham said.

"They just add so much," she said. "The relationship is just really worth whiIe."

Jane Daume voiced a similar conviction. "It's given us a lot more insight ~as to what teen-agers are going through here," she said.

The Cannons have served as a host family for students from China, Japan, Malaysia, Turkey and Hungary. While learning about other cultures, Dee Cannon has seen firsthand the common need of friendships. "We all need people," she said.

But, there are differences, those involved in cultural exchange programs note.

"You are very busy people, all of you, very busy," Hansen said. Life tends to be enjoyed at a slower pace in Denmark. For instance, she said, stores generally close much earlier there, allowing for more time spent with family in the home.

Yet, advantages can be found in every culture.

"The opportunities for a career woman are a lot bigger here," Hansen said.

Tauber, the 18-year-old from Budapest, agrees. "America is the best place for opportunities," she said. She is happy the Cannons and others involved in the host family program are interested in learning about her country.

"It's neat that they're interested," Tauber said. "We all learn something from each other."

How much time the volunteer host family spends with the student is up to those involved. Many keep in regular contact.

"We try to see each other twice a month, sometimes more," Woon said of she and Tia and their shared host family, the Pophams. Woon and Tia are juniors at Southeast.

Relationships between international students and families are as varied as the peoples themselves.

Tia chuckled that he has received some parental advice from Margaret Popham.

In times of insecurity, Woon said, "They become our parents. Other times, they are our friends."