Othman Zaimi remembers the taste of wild rice soup at his first American Thanksgiving. He vividly describes his astonishment upon seeing family photos covering the walls of his host family’s home.

“I loved going inside a person’s house and seeing the number of photos. That was impressive to me,” Zaimi said. “For me, the space, the garden, the yard, the barbeque and the wild rice during Thanksgiving — all those things I’ve never experienced before — I did through this program.”

Zaimi had these experiences and many more through a friendship family program, which promotes cultural exchange by matching international students with host families in order to introduce them to American culture. Participating in a friendship family program gave Zaimi an understanding of American culture through his interactions his host family. Now, years later, he helps organize the Friendship Family Program at the university, running for over a decade now, in order to give new international students the opportunity to have an the experience of being immersed in a U.S. family’s daily life and culture.

The student and host family are expected to engage in activities twice a month hosted by the program through the Office of International Students & Scholars. This year, managers Katelyn Mazzitello and Othman Zaimi predict the program will match 25 families with international students. Hosts, which can be university faculty, staff, parents and community members, will give the students a taste of what it’s like to be in a U.S. family.

The application process this year however, has been a bit out of the ordinary. Typically, students and potential host families send in applications during the summer months and are paired before the student arrives on campus. This year, the Friendship Family program is still inviting families and students to sign up and will continue to take applications.

Zaimi said the program was created because some international students come to the United States and never step foot inside a family’s home.

“It’s important to for the students to know how an American family lives,” Zaimi explained.

Once an international student himself, Zaimi knows the importance of participating in a friendship family program. Zaimi and Mazzitello encourage families participating in the program to bring students into their daily life rather than having a tour guide mentality.

“It doesn’t have to cost extra money for the family, it’s just for them to be able to get to know an international student while the international student is getting to know the community,” Mazzitello said.

Karla and Brad Anderson, a local couple, hosted Weidi Lyu in their home and have some advice for others interested in doing the same.

“Do things that’ll show them real Minnesota, instead of what a tourist here would see,” Brad Anderson said.

Karla Anderson described Lyu as an enthusiastic and outspoken young woman, and together with Brad, the three went on many adventures around Minnesota together. The experience definitely left an impact on Lyu.

“The time I spent with Karla and Brad is one of the most memorable parts of my life,” Lyu said in an email interview. “I feel (I am) deeply loved when being with them.”

A trip to Lake Superior with Lyu the weekend before she left is one of the Anderson’s most treasured memories.

Throughout the program experience the Anderson family and Lyu learned about many cultural differences between the U.S. and China.

Karla Anderson spoke about her experience with Lyu at a restaurant. Anderson learned it is normal in China to seat oneself at a restaurant in a booth of one’s choosing and then yell in order to get the attention of a waitress.

“In the U.S. we might view somebody from China doing that behavior as very pushy and loud and rude, but (Lyu) explained to us there’s so many people in China that is inefficient to sit around and wait for a hostess to greet you,” Karla Anderson said. “I thought that’s pretty cool because it’s very different than how we view it, and actually probably a better system.”

Lyu also learned about not only U.S. culture, but hospitality from the Anderson family.

“Friendship Family Program has helped me make my one-year American life more meaningful and colorful than I thought,” Lyu said. “Karla and Brad helped me know so much about what Americans think and prefer to do, which I didn’t know before.”

Karla Anderson said her great experience with Lyu last year has given her a positive outlook on the program.

“What the friendship family does is it really eliminates prejudice and brings unity from people to different countries, and what I like most about being a friendship family it’s just fun,” Karla Anderson said.

Emily Sweeney can be contacted at swee4225@stthomas.edu