First-Time Volunteer Hosts 11 Thai Visitors
Recently, 11 visitors from Thailand came to the Greater Cincinnati area through the premier exchange program of the U.S. Department of State, the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), to discuss social enterprise and better understand the American culture. They visited Miami University’s Center of Social Entrepreneurship, where they learned more about the center as well as the social problems that the center addresses, such as finance, education, nutrition, the environment, politics, and more. Besides their visit to Miami University, another cultural experience the group participated in was a dinner provided at the home of first-time host Kayla. Both Kayla and the international visitors enjoyed their time together immensely.
Here is what the visitors had to say about the experience:
“Kayla not only cooked a meal for the whole group, but offered warm conversation, and musical entertainment.After the meal Kayla got out her guitar and sang for the group! We reciprocated with a couple of songs with Joy, our interpreter, on piano, Praewa leading the singing, and me on djembe! It was a wonderful cultural exchange as well as a celebration of the end of the program!”
Kayla’s feelings about the dinner were just as positive:
“I truly enjoyed hosting the delegates from Thailand, and they were fantastic guests! They played the piano and sang a traditional Thai song. My house mate joined me last minute and we played a song for them on guitar. I showed them our garden prior to eating, and we played two truths and a lie after dinner; I was able to get a better understanding of who they were because of that. It all was extremely fun! I would love to host international visitors again in the future, so I will be keeping my eyes open for other opportunities I can support.”
If you would like to become a host like Kayla and experience a wonderful cultural exchange, or you just want to learn more about our hosting programs, click here.
The IVLP allows for people from other countries to come to the U.S. through short-term visits. To learn more about this program, click here.
Click here to learn more about Miami University’s Center of Social Entrepreneurship.
