Back with the Boy

Almost one year ago in August 2010, Violet and I drove Jackson to Austin-Bergstrom Airport to embark on a year long Rotary Club Youth Exchange Program in Belgium. We made our teary good byes with great big family hugs. After Jackson disappeared behind security, Violet and I clung to each other still crying long after Jackson was gone.

Today we are all back together, poking and prodding, complaining and arguing and it seems as if he never left. Not much has changed except his hairstyle and wardrobe. We are staying with Jackson’s first host family, Franca and Sergio and their beautiful daughter, Lisa in Fontaine. We are headed to Brussels today after Jackson retrieves his multiple boxes of accumulated books and clothes from his third host family and repacks them for export to the States. Tomorrow we travel to Ostend for the last official Rotary Club event and then to Antwerp for a couple of days exploring.

The Rotary Club has an amazing program for youth to live abroad for a year during high school. I heard about it from a colleague whose son was going on a year study in Brazil. The program provides for the student to live with three host families during their stay, enrolls them in school, and some clubs also offer emergency health insurance and a monthly stipend for the student during their stay.

What a great opportunity. I would suggest this program to anyone interested in student exchange programs. It was quite reasonable in price and I probably saved money in food costs and car insurance while he was in Europe. Now returning home, Jackson is fluent in French and will continue on into his 13th year enrolled in an alternative high school where he can finish at his own pace the last 3 ½ credits he needs to graduate. He will also be dual enrolled in community college during the 2012 spring semester.

Merci, Rotary Club, c’est bon.