For details on this year's PAX Goes GREEN contest, click here. For an entry form, click here.


Matters of State
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley met with PAX students and Coordinators Lisa Dabb and Cindy Thigpen during their lessons on government at the state capitol.

PAX On YouTube
Learn more about the hosting experience and the PAX organization onYouTube. You can also check out a YouTube visual diary posted by New Hampshire students, the winning video from a YES Host Family Contest, and a touching goodbye Just Can’t Thank You Enough from a Thai student.

An Auspicious Moment
On the weekend of 11/11/11, Indonesian YES student Robby Arsyahdani leapt for joy during his visit to the Biltmore Estate, one of North Carolina’s most important historic sites.

The Power of a Smile
Evangeline Safeh (Cameroon) has been smiling since she arrived in Louisiana. “One of the first things I noticed here is the fact that people smile at you immediately when you make eye contact with them,” the YES student notes.

Santa’s Elves
FLEX and PAX students in Utah adopted a family with two children for Christmas. Pictured with the gifts they bought for the family are Madiyar Dartayev (Kazakhstan), Rodrigo Amado (Brazil), Guntaphon Tangkitsanguan (Thailand), Aleksandra Shalimova (Kazakhstan) and Natalia Cojuhari (Moldova).

The Greatest Gift
It is said that the greatest gift of life is friendship. Celebrating together at a North Carolina Christmas party are Lydia Albe (Germany), Moldir Sertayeva (Kazakhstan), Daniela Danuta (Moldova), and Bingwen Ren (China).

International Education Week
Like German student Lynne Kuhnhenn in Oregon, hundreds of PAX students made presentations about their homelands during International Education Week, November 14-18. The presentations are part of a joint State and Education Department initiative to help students prepare for a globally competitive economy where knowledge and innovation are more important than ever. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan points out, “It is through education and exchange that we become better collaborators, competitors and compassionate neighbors in this global society.”

Expressing Our Thanks
This November, PAX students in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, put on an elaborate dinner for their families, teachers and school officials. Like the pilgrims and Native Americans of America’s first Thanksgiving, this event was packed with a rich exchange of customs. The students put a lot of effort into representing their countries through creative table decorations, inspiring traditional clothing and delectable national dishes.

Tune In
When Washington State DJ / PAX Coordinator Teresa Lambert heard that some of her students were interested in journalism, she arranged a studio tour at her radio station, KOSW. Soon after, the Foreign Exchange Student Radio Show was hatched. West Bank native Dema Issa is the lead DJ and Russian Kseniya Kurkova heads up news and discussions. Dema (pictured) says, “This is seriously a great experience, playing songs and talking about my beautiful country, Palestine. I have been blessed to have this great opportunity.”

A Weekend of Meditation
In Utah, Thai student Kun Bunyakan, pictured in monk robes, and host brother Jeff Gant attended a three-day retreat at a Thai Buddhist monastery.

Like Peas in a Pod
I have a wonderful host father. I have never seen such a person like Gil, who is always full of vital power. We have a good time together. Sometimes it seems that I have two fathers because Gil takes care of me like I am his son and calls me "sonny". I am very glad that PAX gave me this opportunity to be with this host parent because I have a lot in common with Gil. We are always laughing like two pen friends. My plan in the future is to be a bookkeeper and Gil teaches me how to make the operations in the QuickBooks bookkeeping system. Also, we travel a lot. We have visited New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and other states. He showed me a lot of beautiful places in the USA that I will never forget in my life: Atlantic City with it's amazing boardwalk, Cadillac mountain and many other places. During these trips we always have fun and never get bored. We are also going to Florida this winter and during this trip Gil told me that we will visit Disney World. When I heard about this, I was very happy because this is my dream from childhood. Thank you, PAX, and my coordinator, Bunny, for this wonderful host parent.

-Vasiliy Chernov (Russia), hosted by the Roy family
Maine

Different Strokes
I think that the life here is totally different from my lifestyle in Italy, but I find it interesting. I came here to find something different. Guys usually hang out at the mall or they ask you to go to their house even if they don't know you that well. In my town, you are usually supposed to know someone really well before you ask him or her to come to your house. There are some differences in the family, too. The curfew is different, some rules about guys are different, and so are some rules about cleaning the house. The school that I attend, compared to my school in Italy, is a castle. It's new and huge. There is a big lunchroom with a lot of tables. There are a lot of classrooms and the students change rooms every block, whereas in Italy the teachers change the rooms. We are in the same classroom every year, every day, every block, with the same people. Here, there are five to ten minute breaks between every block because we have to change stuff in the lockers. In Italy we don't have lockers, so we just take our rucksacks with us in the classroom. In addition, in Italy people my age don't usually work because it's impossible to work in that society if you study. Guys and girls of my age here work a lot. This let me figure out that you can't just ask money from your parents and it is better to try to provide for yourself on your own. Since I came here I figured out that I'm really more interested in new cultures and travel than I thought. I’ve started to take more care of my stuff, my clothes and my money. 

-Giulia Notaristefano (Italy), hosted by the Hildreth family
Iowa

PAX Goes GREEN: Class of 2011 Earth Warriors
Should we wait for Superman to rescue the environment? Last year’s PAX students said “no”. They stepped up to influence their communities and be trustees of the Earth we share. To change attitudes, Artur Pak (Kazakhstan) put together a persuasive video full of climate change facts for his Wisconsin classmates. He asked, “What are you doing today to live better tomorrow?” In Oregon, Irvan Fathurohman (Indonesia) made a step-by-step video of how organic materials can be turned into dirt with a composting unit. During spring break in Hawaii, Seongjae Hong (South Korea) spent a day digging out invasive weeds that were threatening an organic farm. To do her share in South Dakota, Lela Merabishvili (Georgia) crocheted a reusable tote bag out of plastic bags. Rescuing items from going into the trash in Virginia, Indah Mahendra (Indonesia) made jewelry and Aiperi Iusupova (Kyrgyzstan) made lamps and frames. Meanwhile in Missouri, Roman Kohut (Ukraine) prompted his fellow students to go on a “carbon fast”, and in California, Alina Zestrea (Moldova) reduced her daily carbon output by walking home from school. In Wisconsin, Pussakon Phuthongdee (Thailand), Nurzat Rakhmanberdieva (Kyrgyzstan) and Sofia Furlan (Italy) ran a poster campaign urging people not to be passive environmentalists, but to be “Earth Warriors”, while down South, Florida Coordinator Natalie Saltmarsh’s students teamed up to install a garden on Earth Day. Marking that day in Utah, Pratima Padghan (India) planted sunflowers. PAX applauds the students who did green activities this past year! Keep up the good work in your homelands!