Dear Paula and Joe,

Because we had such a great experience with your program we decided to host another girl with a different organization in the month of August. Our second young lady was from Durango. We came out of the summer with definitely two different programs and two different experiences. We by far enjoyed your program to the other and would love to share the great experience we had with Laura and the great program that you & Paula do each year.

The other program was the same length of time but much larger so I was shocked. They had three field trips and two pool parties. The student already knew about them and they were paid for, so they weren't really optional. They were seeing friends from Spain every week, sometimes twice a week. They were also allowed to bring cell phones, so texting and calling each other was a huge problem. The students would also make plans to get together to hang out, if their host family allowed. Some of these things were curbed to a minimum by the third week, but because it wasn't a full immersion I felt like we and she really missed the full opportunity that we had been given through your program. We also didn't have much communication with the leaders. If there ever was an issue or even the first few days, they would call her cell phone and wouldn't speak to me. The lack of communication with the host parents I found dis- heartening.

Your program was a complete immersion program. Once the student got here they were to be a part of our family. You and Paula checked in frequently, especially at the beginning and made sure that we and Laura were comfortable, eased ALL of us and you let us know in those first couple days Laura's feelings and concerns. We were all able to adjust quickly I think because we all knew where the other person was coming from emotionally. While Laura was here we lived together for the whole month and considered her a part of our family...we still do. Being able to spend a whole month bonding is amazing and a rare opportunity.

We would be happy to host again with your program. You and Paula do such a great job.

Amy and Al Swanson