A program at Westminster College has been pairing American students with foreign students and sending them abroad, all expenses paid.
The "Take a Friend Home" program, initiated in 2006, allows students from abroad to bring home a fellow student and share his or her family and culture. Also, American students may select an international friend to share a family experience with, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.
The college pays the round-trip airfare for both students, who share their experiences upon their return to school. On Tuesday afternoon, students Rupa Kumari and Tiffany Crawford talked about their spring trip to Kumari's homeland of India.
"It was the first time my family hosted a foreigner," Kumari said. "I had to translate everything and think about things to make her comfortable."
They traveled to New Delhi, Agra and Kumari's hometown of Hazaribagh.
"I wanted her to see all the small places as well as the (better known) places," Kumari said, adding she would recommend the program to anyone willing to share an experience. "Showing my world to some one else, through my eyes - it's real nice."
Kumari said she had forgotten how hot some parts of India can be that time of the year. The two women traveled May 12 to June 1, and the heat was only part of what Crawford said was challenging.
"One of the really big things I had to deal with was culture shock," she said, adding she's traveled in Europe. "I realized the living situation was very different than what I was used to, and it was hard for me to adjust to. The heat was the biggest obstacle."
She also had to deal with dietary changes, and when she realized she wasn't eating enough protein, she started paying more attention to her meals. Crawford said she also drank only bottled water but still came home with giardia, an intestinal infection.
Then there were the people. While most were nice, many were maybe too interested in the American tourist, Crawford said.
"People stared at me everywhere I went," she said. "People were shocked every time they saw me."
People were constantly taking pictures of her, she said. In one case, a parent gathered children around her and started snapping away without asking her permission. Men also crowded her for pictures, but eventually she found a way to discourage them.
"After that, I just took pictures with kids," she said. "People were taking pictures of me at the Taj Mahal, and I said, 'You're at the Taj Mahal. Why are you taking pictures of me?'"
Crawford said her favorite time was spending days with Kumari's family.
"Her brothers were like my brothers, and her parents tried to make me really comfortable," she added. "Her father went out and bought me a chicken."
In turn, Crawford took Kumari home for Thanksgiving.
"I really enjoyed being with her family," Kumari said.
Crawford also said she would encourage other students to take advantage of the program.
"It's very unique," she said. "Not many colleges have programs like this. It's really a good way to put national and international students together."
According to Jeremy Brooke Straughan, director of Study Abroad and Off-Campus Programs, the program has sent students to more than 25 cities in 20-plus countries. Next year, he said, the program will fund four or five pairs of students.
Other students traveling together over the years have gone to Nepal, Switzerland, Mongolia and Costa Rica, among others.
Details about the program and applications can be found at westminster-mo.edu. Completed applications are due about one week after the start of the spring semester in January.