Host Family Adventures

Travels to Daejeon

2011-02-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

My most recent trip to Tokyo and Korea were a part of my work with Global Study Connections, which works with international students and families who are looking for study abroad opportunities.

I have been fortunate that a few of my past colleagues have come on board in partnership with me in recent months. Hae Jin Lee who went to high school and college in America and lived with Dottie and I for a period of time has been a big help in our work in Korea as has Eunkyung a friend and counselor with an established Korean agency.

On this trip Seulki's parents as well as A Young's and Hae Jin's all made sure I was safe and well taken care of during my stay. Over a period of about 10 days I traveled to six different cities with Hae Jin, Eunkyung and Hwang,

Our first stop was in the city of Daejeon, which is south of Seoul. The trip was a two hour car ride through the country-side of S. Korea, where I saw for the first time what I would call "rural" S. Korea. Lots of farms and rice fields and small village with the most modest of houses.

While the purpose of our trip was meeting with students and parents in these various cities a real side benefit was stopping to eat in small traditional Korean restaurants - great food!

Preaching at the Kangnam Joongang Church

2010-07-06T05:13:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, July 4th I had the opportunity to preach at the Kangnam Joongang Baptist Church in Seoul, South Korea. This is the home church of one of our students A Young Kim and her family. A Young was very active in our own church in Dexter during this past year where she often ran the PowerPoints for my sermons. The Kangnam Joongang church has an active membership of over 5000 people and six services on Sundays with each service having an attendance between 600-800 people. They have a pastoral staff of about 40. They have a full orchestra and several choirs including a 60 member college choir. While large they are a warm and caring fellowship of believers. I was simply in awe of the many ministires, schools and universities this church has helped spawn both in Korea and Asia. Read their weekly church magazine. This is a short clip from the sermon from Daniel 3:16-18 - God is Able, But if Not.

Amazing Adventures in China

2010-06-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last 12 days in China and now my time in China is coming to an end. I began my travels in Beijing for 4 days then to Hangzhou, then to Changxing, then back to Hangzhou for more meetings, then to Ningbo and then Wenzhou and the back to Hangzhou then to Guangzhou and finally to Shenzhen. (see my blog - Amazing Asian Adventures) During most of my travels I stayed with students in their homes. In all these cities we held parent and student receptions, lunches and dinners with individual parents and meetings with consultants and schools.

What has impressed me most during my time China has been our students, as well as their parents. While Mengli (Diana) organized and led most of my trip she was joined by several other Academy students including Yuxuan, Chuqiao, Bolin, Adam, Cody, Soki, Lily, UB and Pan Yao who all played a significant leadership role in the various meetings and receptions, as well as organizing the smallest details of my travels. The parents of these students have also taken care of the vast majority of my travels, meeting, meals as well as the receptions. My gratitude can not be expressed by words, I am simply overwhelmed by the show of hospitality and affection by students and parents alike.

I tried keeping a blog, but it was blocked in China so while I am in Koren (the next leg of my travels) I will try to post my journal to Amazing Adventures in Asia.

For now you can view the following photo galleries: Beijing Photo Gallery, Changxing Photo Gallery, Hangzhou Photo Gallery, Ningbo and Wenzhen Photo Gallery, Guangzhou Photo Gallery and Shenzhen Photo Gallery. Also photos in: The Forbidden City and Wuzhen Ancient City.

Visiting with Boarding Alumni

2010-01-31T18:04:00.000-08:00

Recently Dottie and I met You Jin Choi in Boston for a two day reunion. You Jin lived with us during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school year. She was the student who played the piano for us every night while we all worked at the dinning room table. She was also an important part of the Academy's band and jazz band program and ultimately gained acceptance at the Berkley School of Music, although she chose Michigan State University instead.

She and her sister flew in from Lansing, Michigan to spend time touring Boston and visiting with us. We quickly picked up things from when we last saw each other - each of us teasing the other to the point of tears. We thank You Jin for taking time to visit with us, it was a wonderful two days filled with great memories.

Eating Korean at Harvard

2010-01-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

Dottie and I spent New Year's in Boston with students and alumni of the Academy's boarding program. Hae Jin, who is a sophmore at Bentley University, served as our guide and found us a great Korean restaurant near Harvard University. Joining us for lunch were also Cindy Yang, a senior at the Academy, Nam Lee, a freshmen at Colby College, You Jin Choi a junior at Michigan university and her sister who is a student at Seoul University.

Mengli visits WPI

2009-11-25T06:38:00.000-08:00

Diana (Mengli) who is now in her third year living with Dottie and I has now begun to apply for her university studies. Of course with three sons having graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Instittute (WPI) and her interest in engineering we have been strong cheerleaders of WPI as one of her considerations.

On Monday she and I along with Ina who had to have her passport update at the Korean Consulate in Boston and Cindy Yang who had an admission interviews with Northeastern and Emerson Universities all took off for Boston (and Worcester).

The picture here is of Diana at WPI. She had the opportunity for an interview, tour of the campus, lunch with a student and sitting in on a freshmen physics class. It was a good day for all 3 students and Diana especially enjoyed her time at WPI.

Hae Jin and NaRae Come to Visit

2009-11-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

Its been two years since Hae Jin and NaRae graduated from Foxcroft Academy, but their love of Foxcroft keeps them returning for periodic visits. Hae Jin is in Boston studying and NaRae is in New York, both enjoy their university studies, but both also miss the quiet and simple life of Dover.

While here they had a chance to visit with faculty members and enjoy some of Dottie's home cooked meals. They also were kind enough to invite some of our younger students from their home country, Korea to join them for a Korean barbeque meal which we prepared in celebration of their coming home to visit.

We miss both Hae Jin and NaRae but are so proud of the young women they have become and the excellent job they are doing with their university studies.

Two Birthday's to Celebrate

2009-11-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

With 50 students in the dorm it seems we are always celebrating someone's birthday. Being so far away from home, dorm parents make sure each student gets a cake or a special meal or some treat to recognize their special day.

This past week Dottie and I decided to celebrate two of the students (A Young and Manjing) birthday with a special meal. Dottie made pulled pork served with lettuce, kimchi and rice in a similar fashion as a traditional asian barbeque meal.

We ended the meal with an American traditional cake and ice cream, which the students also appreciated.

Masquerade Ball

2009-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night over 150 students participated in the 16th Annual Masquerade Ball sponsored by the French Club under the direction of French teacher, Ms. Teresa Brzustowicz.

Dottie and I also joined the festivities and enjoyed watching the students come into the Ball with all of their creative costumes.

Here are a few more photos from the evening.

Visit to Gordon College

2009-10-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

Two of our children attended Gordon College (Jayme and John), a Christian college just north of Boston. We always welcome the opportunity to share about Gordon College when any of our boarding students inquire about a Christian college.

Ina has had an interest in Gordon for over a year and since we were traveling to visit Ellen this past weekend we decided to make a short detour to Gordon. Diana (Mengli) who was with us had never been to a Christian college campus and decided she too would like to visit the campus.

Students had an opportunity to talk to professors in the academic areas of their interest. Ina talked to people in the education department as well as the chair of the French department. Diana hung out with a phyics professor. They also had an opportunity to attend classes, talk to students and attend chapel. They both also made it to the cover of the Gordon Blog.

Boarding Students Join Pep Rally Celebration

2009-10-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

Since last Monday students have been celebrating Homecoming week, which culminated in our annual school-wide pep rally on Thursday night. It was encouraging this year to see how many of our boarding students participated in events all week long including Thursday night's pep rally.

Students painted in maroon and white while yelling, screaming and shouting various school chants had most of the boarding students wondering if they had been transported to a different planet. Our own Ina, who has been a cheerleader for past two years led most of the chanting with other cheerleaders.

Since Thursday nights boarding students have been sending video clips such as the one above home to parents, because words can't describe the experience.

Cooking Chinese

2009-10-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Each week our Admissions office is stacked with care packages from around the world. The care packages are sent by mothers wanting their children to have some food that is native to their own land. So food items like kimchi, squid and bamboo shoots find their way to Dover Foxcroft, Maine.

While all of our boarding students eat their meals in our dining hall students also enjoy cooking some of the "goodies" that their mothers have sent. Our apartment has become one of the places for students to bring items from their care packages and cook a meal that reminds them of home.

Dottie in particular is very good in the kitchen with students. It is amazing how these young students quickly bond with Dottie as they enjoy the nurturing of a mother. It reminds us that these students are still just children in need of sense of belonging. We hope we provide that in a very small way.

Life in the Dorm

2009-09-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

For the past twenty years Dottie and I have lived in our home here in Dover Foxcroft where we raised our seven children. In recent years we have used our 6 bedroom victorian home to host several international students, many staying with us for two and three years.

This fall with the opening of the Academy's new on campus student and faculty residendence hall Dottie and I decided we may enjoy living a few night of the week with 50 teenage students. Some of our own children are wondering if we are suffering a severe case of "empty-nest syndrome", we have assured them we are not...we just enjoy kids.

We are keeping our house and go "home" often, but also are learning that "home" is in part an issue of the heart. We enjoy life in the dorm with students and other faculty members and we are beginning to feel at "home." The pictures are of the dorm itself as well as Dottie at our kitchen table working on what else- physics lab reports!

Moose Population Increases by 3

2009-09-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park Diana and Ina took two of their friends, A Young and Hyun Joo. Bar Harbor always means a little shopping and when the girls returned from their shopping trip they had attracted a small crowd around them who were surprised to find 3 moose in the middle of downtown Bar Harbor.

Diana, being rather independent decided to go for her own head gear fashion statement, but rather than wear it herself she wanted me to wear it. While I got a few compliments it was the girls whole stole the day in Bar Harbor.No matter where we went in Bar Harbor people would stop the 3 girls and ask, "where are your moose hats."

Borestone Mountain

2009-09-08T15:20:00.001-07:00

It wasn't long after all the new students had arrived that we decided to take them for our annual climb up Borestone Mountain. Borestone is about 30 minutes from Foxcroft Academy and has an elevation of just under 2000 feet.

We climb Borestone for several reasons. First, its a wonderful team building exercise as students need to help each other at different points in the climb and even help some of the older staff! It also serves as a visual teaching tool to help students understand exactly where they are in Maine - they are in the heartland of the Maine forest! Many parents worry about whether Foxcroft Academy is a safe school and whether its too close to big cities. This visual lesson quickly assures students there are no big or small cities anywhere near Foxcroft Academy.

Lastly the climb up Borestone allows students to see the stunning beauty of Maine and God's creation. While they were very tired when they reached the summit they collectively gasped at the beauty and simply stood in almost perfect silence as they took in the sight.

Dottie Arrives from JFK with 16 Students

2009-08-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

Dottie left Sunday afternoon at 12:30 on a flight out of Bangor International Airport to New York's JFK. Her mission was to meet Hyun Joo who is a 13 year old student attending the Academy as a freshman. Because of her age the airline would not allow her to fly from JFK to Bangor without an adult since it was the last connecting flight of the day out of JFK to Bangor. Dottie gracious volunteered to accompany her on the last part of her trip.

Dottie arrived at JFK at around 2:30 P.M. and found Hyun Joo with little problem. Together they waited until 8:30 P.M. when their flight was due to depart for Bangor. While they waited Dottie discovered 15 other students who were on the same flight to Bangor all who had Foxcroft Academy as their destination. While they all had a six hour wait for the flight to depart they spent time getting to know each other and asked Dottie alot of questions about Foxcroft.

Dottie returned home shortly after midnight and brought with her Hyun Joo while the other students made their way to Foxcroft Academy and their dorm.

Students Begin to Arrive

2009-08-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

The summer provided many hightlights including the marriage of our last son, David to his childhood sweetheart, Chelsey.

Now with summer almost gone students have begun to arrive back at FA. This year with the completion of the Academy's new $7 million dorm we expect over 80 boarding students from 11 different countries.

One of our first stuents, A Young arrived last night and spent her first night with us. She and our grandson, Samuel became instant friends. A Young also joined us for worship this morning and even helped run some of our worship software.

We are delighted to have students back at FA and in our home. It should be a great year.

A Quiet House for the Summer

2009-06-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

The school year has been over for awhile and Myeonghoe, Ina and Diana have all traveled back to their families for the summer.

Our dinning room table instead of being filled with students and computers is once again empty. There is always plenty of hot water. Fruits lasts for more than one day. There are no clothes lying on chairs, couch or the floor. There is no cooking in the kitchen at 1:00 A.M. or the noise of laughter coming from their bedrooms well after our bedtime. Needless to say the house is much quieter.

Dottie and I initially enjoyed the break, but it only took us about two days before we looked at each other and admitted that we missed the noise and activity that three teenage girls bring to our house. In fact, we found it hard to sleep at night without their laughter coming from the third floor....things are a bit too quiet.

Myeonghoe and Ina are in Korea attending summer school prepareing for TOEFL and SAT tests. Diana is in China doing the same. We anxiously await their return in August.

Graduation Day Arrives

2009-06-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

As parents and grandparents we often ask, "where does the time go?" For Dottie and I it seems as if it were yesterday that some of these students arrived at Foxcroft Academy. Through the years most of them have been in our home more than once. In the case of Gun Yang we saw him almost everyday last year since he was dating one of the girls living with us. For Nam Yeon Lee we saw her every Wednesday night as she attended a bible study that Dottie lead for teenage girls. (picture to left is of Dottie pinning Nam with her graduation flower)

They all have touched our lives in ways that we will never forget. We will miss all of them, but already have plans for a few of them to visit us next Christmas and on their college breaks. We are proud of all them and wish them great success as they move forward with their lives.

(picture to the right: Gun Yang, Nam Yeon Lee and Young Il Lee)

Let's All Go to Bar Harbor

2009-06-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago Dottie took about 30 boarding students to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor for three days.

We did everything from rock climbing, to minature golfing and racing go-carts. One of the activties students seemed to enjoy the most was kayaking in Frenchmen's Bay.

In the end students didn't want to come back to school and promised us that we would bring them back, so we are making plans for 2010.
We have created a Photo Gallery of our time with students you can view it on our Kodak Gallery.

Dr. Wafaa El Saddik Visits Again

2009-06-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Dottie and I were privileged to host Dr. Wafaa El Saddik, Director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and her husband Dr. Azmy El Rabbit, in our home again this year. Her five day visit to Foxcroft was prompted by the fact that her son is a boarding student at the Academy and she had been in America as a guest lecturer at various universities and museums, most recently, Emory University.

During Dr. El Saddik’s stay at the Academy she gave 13 different presentations to students on topics ranging from the Egyptian Museum’s Collection, Egyptimology, the exhibit of Tutankhamun to the artifacts of the lost city of Atlantis, which are still being discovered. In addition, Dr. Azmy El Rabbat lectured to various science classes on the medicine of Ancient Egypt and in particular, the science of Egyptian mummification.

Our girls most of all enjoyed sitting around our dinning room table at night looking at various books on egyptimology as well as artifacts which Dr. El Saddik brought with her and listening to Dr. El Saddik tell story after story about ancient Egypt.

Dottie and I plan to visit Egypt next year as a guest of Dr. El Saddik to see many of the ancient Egyptian artifacts in person, but mostly to visit with our good friends Waffa and Azmy.

Parents Come to Visit From Around the World

2009-05-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

While many of our boarding students parents are not able to travel to Foxcroft Academy from Europe, Asia or the Middle East we do get a few parents visiting each year.

Last week we had LI Shen, from China, the mother of ZHU Shenying (Katie) visit us for a full week. This week we have Dr. El Saddik and Dr. Azmy El Rabbat, from Egypt visiting their son, Hadi El Rabbat.

As one might imagine parents worry about their children so far away from home, as well as a strong curosity about the school where they are studying. Websites, pictures and verbal descriptions never tell the full story so parents when they are able visit Foxcroft Academy to see first hand if their son or daughter is being well taken care of and if the education contains the right balance of rigor and nurturing.

The embrace, smiles and greetings when a mother sees her 14 or 15 year old child for the first time in 6 months is more than words can describe.

Ellen, Seulki and Hae Jin Play Host to Ina

2009-05-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ina who is an 11th grade student at the Academy, and who lives Dottie and I, recently expressed an interest in doing her university studies in Boston. So, with lots of help from Hae Jin, Seulki and Ellen we were able to put together a few visits to some of the universities in Boston. Hae Jin hosted her for a few days at Bentley University, Seulki hosted her at Boston University and Ellen helped with most of the transportation. In addition, Ellen hosted Ina for a few days with their family in New Hampshire.

While Ina is still not sure of what she wants to study at the college level she now feels a strong support network of family and friends as she considers her options. Thank you Ellen, Hae Jin and Seulki!!

Catching Up With Hae Jin and Seulki

2009-05-06T02:47:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of our time in Boston was being able to visit Hae Jin and Seulki who are now students in universities in Boston. While no longer living in our home they do come back to visit and remain an important part of our family.

During the past year it has been a delight to watch them grow as they have taken on life as college students and have both shown real success in their studies. Dottie and I remained blessed to have both of them in Boston and active members of our family life.

Good Times In Beantown

2009-05-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

One might not imagine that the most relaxing way to spend ones spring vacation week would be with 44 boarding students sightseeing in Boston (Beantown): however, Dottie and I enjoyed every minute of it....and we came back with all 44. The trip allowed students to explore places like Quincy Market and Fanuel Hall, as well as a few of the historic sites of Boston. We also took students on a tour of Harvard University and MIT as well as Boston University. From the students perspective I think they enjoyed more than any thing else the variety of authentic Chinese and Korean restaurants.

We concluded our week with a day long trip to Six Flags in Springfield where most students had the chance to ride their first rollercoaster. We returned home a bit tired, but having enjoyed showing our students a little piece of American history and culture.

On Top of the Mountains

2009-03-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

To say that our girls are enjoying the outdoors of Maine would be an understatement. Two weeks ago Diana decided to follow Dottie's example of previous years and climb snow capped Borestone Mountain at midnight to witness the stary night from atop Borestone. The group of climbers was led by Mr. Thomas,one of the Academy's faculty members. The group started their ascent at 9:00 P.M. When they reached the top Diana exclaimed "the stars are only 1 meter away - I can reach out my arm and touch them." Diana is in the forefront of the picture to the right.

Last weekend Ina decided to join two of our faculty members as they climbed Mt. Kineo which is at the head of Moosehead Lake. They started their climb by crossing a section of frozen Moosehead Lake. Three hours later they had reached the summit. The climb down Mt. Kineo went very fast for Ina, who enjoys speed and spent most of her time on her bottom sliding down the mountain...and laughing the whole way! The picture to the left is that of Ina perched on the fire tower on top of Kineo.

Congratulations Diana and Ina!

In Hwa - A Love For Speed

2009-03-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Whether its coming downstairs for dinner or heading to her first period class everything In Hwa (Ina) does is with a high rate of speed. The faster the better. It is no wonder that when she saw her first snowmobile she wanted to ride one.

Fortunately, Ina's Economics teacher has a snowmobile and loves taking people for rides on Sunday afternoons. Today, Ina jumped onto his snowmobile and headed out into the Maine woods. An hour later she returned and beaming with a big smile and quickly said, "I have to get one of these."

Her teacher commented that no matter how fast he went Ina kept saying, "faster, faster, faster." Of course Mr. Thomas had the good common sense to keep it within the posted rate.

He did let Ina take the "wheel" for a short period and she quickly found the first snow bank. No one was hurt and everyone had a good laugh.

On a side note: Please pray for us, Ina starts her driver's ed class on Tuesday and can't wait to get behind the wheel of a car.

Lobster - Maine Style

2009-02-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Maine is often described as "the way life should be." I guess that can be applied to our lobsters too. If you like lobster there is nothing as delicious as a Maine lobster and a piece of blueberry pie. As Mainer's, Dottie and I have partaken in our share of Maine lobsters, but nothing prepared us for last Saturday night.

This past Saturday night a few of our boarding students called and asked if they could come over to the house and talk to me. I initially said "no" that I was spending time with our daughters and grandchildren and whatever issue they had would have to wait til Monday morning. A few minutes later the phone rang again and a different student was on the line and asked, if they could come over to the house for just 5 minutes because they had a gift to give us. Feeling a little embarassed I apologized for being so "short" with them earlier and invited them to cover over for a short visit.

When they arrived they were carrying a large box which peaked my curiousity. When they opened the box I saw a large object, but at first couldn't make it out entirely because it was covered with lots of seaweed. Upon closer inspection I realized I was looking at the largest lobster I had ever seen. The students told me it was a 15 lb lobster. I thanked them for their gift, but my mind quickly began to think about what I was going to do with a 15 lb lobster.

After a little scrambling the best we could do was our relatively small lobster pot which is fine for 3 - 2 lb lobsters.....but a 15 lb lobster was going to be a challenge. Over an hour later we had finished cooking the lobster and were prepared to partake. Ina tried cracking the claws with a large hammer, but her best effort resulted only in the hammer bouncing off the shell. Eventually the lobster meat was harvested and six of us had our fill of lobster...."the way life should be."

Get-A-Way

2009-02-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

For the past eighteeen years Dottie and I have taken our children and more recently our grandchildren to the Samoset Resort on the Ocean for their Family Get-a-way Weekend.

There are always lots of supervised activities for children which allow parents some "down town." This year was no exception. Everything from cooking making classes to build your own sundae to ping pong tournaments to pizza and movie evening keep children busy from early morning to early evening.

While our boarding girls are too old for many of these activities we did find them spending a good deal of their time in the swimming pool, whirlpool and sauna. Jayme and Samuel did try the little tots tumbling room, as well as the swimming pool.

A Time for Family

2009-02-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

We have just returned home from visiting 5 0f 7 children, spouses and 7 of our 8 grandchildren. The hightlight of our time was dinner at Margaraita's Restaurant with ninteen of us.

While we didn't get a chance for a lot of individual visiting with the children or grandchildren it was wonderful to see all of our children and their children visiting with each other. Our next large get together is in August when David and Chelsey get married.

Samuel Comes to Visit

2009-02-18T03:39:00.000-08:00

Dottie and I have been blessed with eight grandchildren one of whom is Samuel, who came to visit us. Samuel and our daughter, Jayme and her husband Dave live in Pittsburgh, which means visits with Samuel are rather special.

We last saw Samuel when he was only a few weeks old. He is now nine months old and is a friendly little guy who takes to anyone. Our girls also took to him rather quickly and enjoy helping Jayme manage his very quick and mobile ability as he explores grandma and granddad's house.

Samuel's only "downside" is that he hasn't quite figured out how to sleep through the night so all of us are up a various times during the night as Jayme allows him to "cry it out." As we all prepare to leave for the Samoset Resort we are looking forward to time with Samuel, but also looking forward to a good night sleep - since Jayme and Samuel will have thier own room!

First Things First

2009-02-17T04:10:00.000-08:00

We are all preparing for our week long winter break from classes and work. In fact, Dottie and I are preparing for our annual pilgrimage to the Samoset Resort, a place where we have frequented with our children this time of year since 1991.

The girls will be traveling with us to the Samoset and then onto New Hampshire where we will spend a day and an evening with 5 of our seven children. However, the girls being aware that they will have little time to do homework during the coming week decided to do homework first.

On Saturday night all four girls, including Yoo Kyeong who visits us on weekends, were busy doing homework. In the picture Yoo Kyeong is busy with a US History report which must include a poster. With homework all done they are ready for a good week of vacation.

Visitors from Hong Kong

2009-02-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

Each year a few parents of the international students at Foxcroft Academy make the trip to Dover Foxcroft, in north central Maine to visit their child in school. This year we have had parents from Mexico, Columbia, S. Korea, Germany and China visit their students.

This past week LAM Kam Min and his wife DU Yulian came to visit their daughter LAM Pui Shan (she is in the center front row of the picture above). Also traveling with them was LAM Pui Shan's younger brother who has adopted the American name of Colin...who all the girls fell in love with because he looked like "a tiny teddy bear."

David and Donna Macomber are serving as host parents to "Shan" and for the past week have also served as the host for her parents. During the week the Macombers have treated the LAM's to some snowmobiling, ice fishing, deer watching and touring trips of Greenville and numerous small towns in Piscataquis County. Later in the week they are traveling to Portland to a restaurant that serves genuine Hong Kong cuisene. Last night we all went to dinner, along with the Macomber's other host students and the three students with Dottie and I.

The LAM's have also spent two days at the Academy attending classes with their daughter as well as visiting with teachers and students throughout the school. The most often asked question was asked of young Colin a 5th grade student in Hong Kong, "do you want to come to Foxcroft Academy to study with your sister?" His immediate answer was, "yes!"

On Sunday the Macombers are throwing a birthday party for Shan who will turn 16 years of age. We are so appreciative of all of our host families for the wonderful way they have "adopted" not only these students into their home, but their families as well.

Let's Go Skiing!

2009-02-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

Two things which are plentiful in Maine are its mountains and snow. So, if you come to school in Maine one of the winter activities you must try is skiing or snowboarding.

This weekend Myeonghoe, Ina and Yoo Kyeong joioned 21 other boarding students and a few days students in a ski trip to Hermon Mountain (In the picture above: Jung Min, Yoo Kyeong, Ina and Myeonghoe). While Myeonghoe and Yoo Kyeong had skied before Ina had never strapped on a pair of skis in her life. With just a few pointers from me Ina took off fearlessly for the big mountain. Fortunately, Myeonghoe and Yoo Kyeong stayed right with her and "picked her up" after each fall.

It wasn't long before Ina got the knack of the snowplow and weaving down the mountain rather than taking a straight track (often towards the trees). It was fun watching Myeonghoe and Yoo Kyeong who looked like old pros coming down the mountain. The video below shows Myeonghoe coming down in her red jacket, followed by Lucy McDermott on a snowboard with Ina bringing up the "rear" on her skis...and slowly weaving back and forth across the slope.

We got home in the early evening.....and while the girls still had plenty of energy left, I was ready for a "long winter's nap."

Girls Extend Welcome

2009-01-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we welcome Yoo Kyeong LEE to America from her homeland of Korea. She arrived at Bangor International Aiport on Sunday afternoon and stayed with our family until her host parents were able to pick her up on Monday evening.

As most students arriving in America for the first time she was tired, nervous and very quiet. Given her young age our girls very quickly took her under their wings to make sure she not only felt welcome, but also cared for. In the photo to the left Myeonghoe and Ina are watching a Korean drama with her as a way to relax.

Later in the afternoon Nam and Ji Ryang also from Korea and our Diana from China joined the other three in a card game at our dinning room table. The ability of these students to provide a nurturing environment for Yoo Kyeong was incredible to watch and while not taking away all her nervousness their warmth and care did make her feel welcome.

Later that evening we had another 3 girls from another host home visit with us for dinner. Dottie was at her best making lots of beef stir-fry, rice and kimchi for all the students. We went to bed tired, but very grateful for our girls and their wonderful hospitality.

New Year's Celebration

2008-12-31T05:46:00.000-08:00

This year our New Year's plans included a trip to Boston where we had planned a dinner party with our children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, a good New England snow storm came blowing through the afternoon before New Year's Eve and Dottie, Myeonghoe, Ina and I got "stranded" at Ellen's.

Our back up plan included staying at Ellen's New Year's Eve and enjoying lobster and sushi. Myeonghoe and Ina took care of entertaining the grandkids while the adults played card and board games. Myeonghoe played dolls with Grace and Julia, while Ina played tanks, army men and legos with Caius and Lucius. We appreciated the girls flexibility and good spirit in pitching right in helping to take care and entertain kids while the adults visited with each other.

PJ's - Four of a Kind

2008-12-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

One of our newer family traditions at Christmas has been a small gift of some matching clothing item for a group picture. In the past it has been matching Red Sox jerseys or for the girls mathing hat and gloves. This year we decided on matching pj bottoms for the girls.

Dottie and our daughter Ellen even got in the spirit of things. Diana missed this photo opportunity since she is still in California, but she too has a matching pair. From left to right there is Myeonghoe, Ina, Dottie and Ellen

Mom and Ina even decided to use the moment to do a little rockette number together. However we couldn't get Myeonghoe and Ellen to join in.

Christmas in Maine

2008-12-24T18:37:00.001-08:00

Our girls have been busy helping us to prepare for Christmas with decorating the tree, setting up the train and our Dickens village. With Dottie laid up due to a bad fall which broke a rib and fractured a vertabrae Ina has taken over the cookie baking for this year. Myeonghoe has been helping to keep the fire going - while roasting marshmellows and Diana....well she took off for California to visit with some friends...and enjoy a break from all the snow.

Christmas is celebrated in Korea, but is less of a celebrated holiday in China. In Korea where there is a strong Christian community Christmas is primarily a religious holiday with little of the commercialism which surrounds Christmas in America. Diana has never celebrated Christmas and all of the preparations are fascinating to her.

Part of our tradion in hosting boarding students has been to get each of them their own Christmas stocking. This year we added to our collection with a stocking for Myeonghoe, In Hwa (Ina) and Mengli (Diana). Other recent stocking holders are Seulki, Hae Jin, Won, You Jin and Jin Lee.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2008-12-23T02:45:00.000-08:00

Living in north central Maine we get our share of snow...and we love it! Our girls who are from Korean and China have seen snow, but just not this much.

Yesterday we got our first major storm of the season which dumped about 22 inches on us with blowing wind and them temps which were -22 F, which is about -30 C, either way it was cold.

However, the snow and cold did not deter our girls from wanting to go outside and play in the white stuff. They even pitched in and helped with some of the shoveling, but like any teenager they were really more interested in playing.

We are getting ready to celebrate Christmas and the snow has certainly put us all in the mood for a wonderful Christmas celebration.

Girls lead Korean Worship - 싹트네

2008-12-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

Dottie and I became Christians when we were very young and since that time our faith has been at the center of who we are and what we do. At the same time, students who have lived with us have come from a variety of religious backgrounds or no religious background at all. We have found learning of our student's faith backgrounds educational as well as fascinating. Who knew ten years ago we would have the opportunity to know and learn first hand about Islam or Buddism.

Some of the students who have lived with us have themselves been Christians and have participated from time to time in the worship life of our church or other churches in the area. Last year Seulki worked in our nursery while Hae Jin was a part of our worship team leading music during our Sunday morning service. When Hae JIn's mother visited in June she and her mother sang in Korean with us joining them in English. You can listen to this song -In Moments Like This on YouTube.

This year Ina and Myeonghoe have taken an interest in teaching the children at our church a form of body worship which is used in Korean churches. This past September Ina began teaching the children the words to a Korean children's worship song as well as the hand motions that go with the song. This past Sunday both girls led our children in singing and performing a song in Korean whose title loosely translated means - "Jesus is Growing Bigger in My Heart. "

Diana who lives with us is from China had never been to a Christian church prior to her arrival in our home. Her curiousity as to what the Christian faith was all about now has her running all the worship software for our worship service including the sermon PowerPoint notes from her laptop onto our large screen.

Getting Ready to Celebrate

2008-11-27T03:40:00.000-08:00

Ellen and John and five of our grandchildren arrived yesterday afternoon as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving. Shortly after their arrival Ina and I left for the Greyhound bus station in Bangor to pick up Haejin and Seulki who came home for their Thanksgiving break. David and Chelsey arrive later today.

With an expected crowd of eighteen eveyone has been pitching in and helping. Last night Ina helped me prepare stuffing in preparation for stuffing the bird later this morning. She also helped in preparing some late night snacks for Haejin, Seulki and a few of their friends who also were also visiting with us last night.

Myeonghoe has been busy helping Dottie prepare 14 pies. We are still not sure who is going to eat all 14 pies, but Myeonghoe and Dottie sure did have fun baking all of them

First Snow - First Fire

2008-11-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

While its only mid November we have already had our first snow fall. The girls were all hoping for at least a full meter of snow, but we received just enough to cover the grass. However, the temperatures did get below 20 degrees fareinheit and that according to Dottie and the girls was enough have be build our first fire of the winter season.

To celebrate the occassion we decided to do some cooking on the wood stove. The girls had never made smores so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to roast marshmellows and teach the girls the art of making smores. In the picture Ina is taking her turn at roasting her marshmellow and by the smile on her face you know she is looking forward to eating her smore.

Visiting Colleges

2008-10-14T17:28:00.001-07:00

While we were visiting Ellen and our grandchildren the girls and I traveled to Boston to visit Hae Jin at Bentley University. Of course part of any trip to Boston has to be a visit to the Natick Mall, the largest mall in MA. After four hours of shopping I was ready to drop and Hae Jin and the girls took mercy on me.

We drove back to Bentley University where Hae Jin and Lynn Suh, also a graduate of Foxcroft, took all of us on a tour of Bentley. Bentley is a small university in Waltham MA, that has become world renowed for their business and economics programs. Myeonghoe, Ina and Diana were able to see the state of the art trading center, which allows business and economics majors at Bentley to trade on New York Stock Exchange and other world markets.

After our tour of Bentley we took off for Gordon College in Wenham, MA, a small Christian liberal arts school. Ina in particular was interested in the pyschology program. We arrived back at Ellen's at 10:00 P.M. that evening...a 12 hour day, but filled with lots of great memories!

A Weekend with Grandchildren

2008-10-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we visited our daughter Ellen and her family in New Hampshire. When we travel our three boarding girls always go with us which gives us an opportunity to better get to know them and they us.

The trip this weekend also allowed Ellen, her husband John and their five children a chance to get to know our girls. In the picture above Myeonghoe and Ina spend time on a beautiful fall day with three of our grandchildren, Caius, Grace and Julia.

A House Full of Music

2008-10-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Our house has always been filled with music...and we have loved it.

Our children are grown but, the Lord, knowing our love for music, has been gracious in giving us students particularly gifted in music. From You Jin and Seulki's piano playing to Hae Jin's violin playing to Won's percussions our house has remained full of music.

This year Ina is at the piano everynight always working on a new piece. In addition, Ina and Myeonghoe have taken up the violin and Diana is now taking cello lessons. They are not ready for a recital quite yet, but our house once again is filled with music!

Parents from China

2008-10-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Throughout the year Dottie and I have the unique opportunity to play host to parents from around the world. Last year Dr. Wafaa El-Saddik and her husband Azmy visited their son Hadi and we were able to spend a few unforgetable days with Waafa and Azmy.

This week Mr. Dan WANG and his wife Yonhua LIU came to visit their son Weilun who is an 11th grade student at the Academy. They spent 3 days here and were able to visit all of Weilun teachers to get a report on his progress.

Weilun's parents leave tomorrow afternoon on their way back to Beijing, China. While Dottie and I only were able to visit with them only briefly we were encouraged by their willingness to travel half way around the world to check on the progress of their son.

Borestone Mountain

2008-10-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a beautiful fall day in Maine and Ina and Dottie decided to see the fall foilage from atop Borestone Mountain.

Following church, where both Ina and Dottie work with young children, they drove 40 minutes to the base of Borestone Mountain and began their climb along with FA economics teacher Ernie Thomas. The three of them made it to the top in less than two hours. Once on top Ina could not stop commenting about the beauty of Maine. She mentioned she would love to bring her parents to Maine so that all of them could enjoy a picnic together and they too could enjoy the beauty of Maien.

While Dottie and Ina were climbing Myeonghoe and Mengli (Diane) and I were hard at work stacking firewood for the winter. I think Myeonghoe and Mengli wished they had climbed the mountain too!

Late Summer Memory

2008-10-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

One of the experiences Dottie and I have enjoyed most in having international students live in our home is the opportunity to meet their parents.

This past June Seulki's mom (Young Sook Seo) and Hae Jin's mom (Soon Hee Jeoung) were able to visit us. Unfortunately at that time Won's parents were not able to visit. However, this past August as Won was preparing to move into the University of Illinois her mother and sister flew over from Korea with their first stop being Dover-Foxcroft and our home.

We didn't have a lot of time, but in the midst of trying to help Won finish her packing, Dottie did get a chance to show Won's mother (Kyung Sook Oh) some of her flower gardens. We also ejoyed my attempt at a Korean style meal.

Girls in the Kitchen

2008-09-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

Last February I had written an entry entitled "Girls in the Kitchen" about how Hae Jin and the others had invited 11 girls into our home to bake cookies for Valentine's Day. This year Hae Jin, Won and Seulki are all off at college, but our girls this year seemed to have picked up right where the others had left off...inviting friends over and cooking.....which we enjoy!

This weekend our girls invited Shen, Ming and Daun, also Academy boarding students, over to watch some movies together as well as cook all of us a good Chinese meal.

We enjoyed a Chinese soup with cucumbers, mushrooms, ginger and shrimp. I cannot remember the name of the soup, but it was delicious. The girls also made several other dishes including a rice with eggs and vegetables and a two stir fried style dishes.

Three Busy Girls

2008-09-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

Our girls this year, while new to Foxcroft Academy, wasted no time jumping right into the life of the school.

In the picture of all three girls Ina (In Hwa Chung), who is on the left, took the bold step of trying out for the cheerleading squad and made it having never cheered in her life. In the video below she helps lead a cheer at the homecoming pep rally. She was also recently voted secretary of the junior class. In addition, she is learning how to play the violin with lessons after school.

Myeonghoe Son who is pictured in the middle is playing soccer for the first time in her life as a member of the girls's junior varsity team. She was also voted secretary of the sophomore class.

Mengli Luo (Diana)who lived with us during part of last year is the manager of the football team. She as well as Ina and Myeonghoe are all members of the Key Club.

On Sunday's Diana runs the LCD projector and computer at church for the worship service while Myeonghoe and Ina have taken an interest in teaching the young children worship dance which is a regular part of many worship services in Korea.

Birthday Korean Style

2008-09-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

No birthday in Korea is complete without Mi yeok gook (beef and seaweed soup), sometimes call birthday soup. To help celebrate Meyonghoe's birthday Ina and I tried making some Mi yeok gook last night. After a few phone calls to Korea, for advice from Ina's mom we were on our way to making a delicious seaweed soup.

Today we celebrated Myeonghoe's 16th birtday with Bulgogi (Korea Barbeque), Kimchi, seaweed soup (which we had made last night) and rice. The girls were very kind and said it tasted delicious.

Dottie couldn't be home for our celebration since she was caring for the children of one of our dorm parents while the parents were at the hospital having their fourth child. We saved Dottie some of the Korean barbeque, but she made it clear before she left that she would pass on the seaweed soup. Personally, I love seaweed soup which in Korea is often eaten at breakfast.

After dinner we sang "Happy Birthday" to Myeonghoe, ate some of her ice cream birthday cake and then she opened up some gifts and cards from all of us.

Its hard being away from home on your birthday, but Myeonghoe as almost all of our students acted very brave and courageous for a 16 year old girl 5000 miles away from her family. Happy Birthday Myeonghoe!

Chinese Moon Festival

2008-09-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

The day after we celebrated Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving we then prepared to celebrate the Chinese Moon Festival which dates back in Chinese history 3000 years. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together.

I did not know how to cook a Chinese meal or the traditional moon cakes so our own Mengli (Diana) Luo and about 20 of our other Chinese students took off for the local Moon Hing restaurant to celebrate. Our other two girls, Myeonghoe and Ina and I followed them to the restaurant to join their celebration. The picture is of Myeonghoe and Ina having a fun moment at the restaurant.

Celebrating Chuseok

2008-09-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Its not often you get to celebrate Thanksgiving in September unless of course you are celebrating Korea's Thanksgiving which is known as Chuseok. Chuseok is a major three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar Korean calendar. It is a celebration of the good harvest.

In modern South Korea, on Chuseok there is a mass exodus of Koreans returning to their hometowns to pay respects to the spirits of one's ancestors. People perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning. They often visit the tombs of their immediate ancestors to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. Harvest crops are attributed to the blessing of ancestors. One of the major foods prepared and eaten during the Chuseok holiday is songpyeon (송편), a crescent-shaped rice cake which is steamed upon pine needles.

While we had pine needles we did not have any rice cakes so we were not able to cook any songpyeon; however with the help of our son John we did cook some Korean barbeque beef, pork and shrimp along with rice served with lettuce. We also prepared a traditional plate of fruit in celebration of a good harvest and in thanksgiving to the Lord for all his provisisons.

A Good Long Day

2008-08-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

I left this morning at 5:30 A.M. for Boston to help Seulki and Hae Jin, both who had lived with us for the past few years, move into their college dorms. Seulki arrived at Logan Airport from Seoul last night and through a series of cell phone calls we met each other in front of her new dorm to begin the move-in process. In addition to the luggage she had with her I also had a car full of several large heavy boxes which she had left with us. Together we hauled everything to the 16th floor of her dorm. When complete we visited for a short before I had to say good bye.

From BU I left for Bently College in Waltham to deliver some clothes to Hae Jin (in the picture). Our daughter Ellen had actually picked up Hae Jin a week earlier at Logan and had moved her into her dorm at Bentley, so I was merely finishing the moving-in process. While at Bentley I helped Hae Jin set up her first bank account and we made a quick trip to the mall to pick up some things she needed, inclulding a dress for a social gathering which was part of her freshmen orientation.

After saying good-bye to Hae Jin I began the 4 1/2 hour trip back home trying to arrive in time for Foxcroft Academy's first football game of the season. Ina one of the new girls living with us was cheering (see picture) in her first game and Diana also living with us was taking on a new role as one of the managers for the football team. I arrived in town at around 8 p.m. just in time for the second half of the game and was able to cheer on both Ina and Diana.

It was a great day to see girls who had lived with us over the last few years begin their college careers while also seeing our new girls begin their involvement at Foxcroft Academy. It was a long day... I was a little tired....but it was day filled with great memories.

A New Year Begins - Girls Arrive

2008-08-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday evening the international girls staying with us for this year began to arrive. All three girls who were with us for the last few years, Seulki, Hae Jin and Won, graduated and have arrived at their colleges here in America to begin their fall studies.

The girls with us this year are In Hwa (Ina), Myeonghoe and Mengli Luo (Diana). With the exception of Diana we have only known them for about a week, but they are delightful and full of energy.

While they have a study area upstairs they seem to like joining Dottie and I at the dinning room table in the evening. Dottie and I enjoy the company and always make room for one more computer.

Koren Reception

2008-07-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of my time in Korea was the opportunity to host a reception with 66 parents, students, alumni and prospective students and parents attending. The reception was the work of Soon Hee, the mother of Hae Jin. She along with a few other mothers sent invitations, made follow-up phone calls and arranged every detail of the reception including an FA banner, food, name tags and ice sculpure.Watch A Photo Slide Show

As a result of their good effort the reception was a huge success. Hae Jin and I teamed up on the presentation that included information on our academic programming, plans for three new dorms and information on the college application process. My only regret is that I didn't do this three years ago. Like any parent they want input into the educational program of their child and the opportunity to ask questions. Given the cultural and language differences the opportunity to ask questions is more critical than ever and one we should have provide parents many years ago.

Once again I had to thank Hae Jin for her role in helping to not only translate my English but to actually doing a portion of the presentation which allowed for an even flow of the information we were trying to communicate.

Parents were gracious and kind. One parents said, "We give Foxcroft Academy our 100% support." Many expressed appreciation for individual teachers who took an interest in their child was endless. Parents are now forming the Foxcroft Academy Korean Parent's Association and planning for my return trip (with Dottie) next year.

Eating Korean Style

2008-07-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

It has been over two weeks since I used a fork or had an American meal. Instead I am treated to meals largely comprised of vegetables, kimchi, rice and fish....primarily sushi. In Korea there are no "main dishes" only course after course of many small "side dishes" and soups. One meal I had had 72 side dishes for four of us on the table at the same time and it was only the first course. Outside of breakfast most of my meals are eaten in a traditional style of sitting on the floor.

With names like ear shell rice soup (one of the breakfast side dishes), hanchimuhoe, bingddeok, mom-guk or jandom mulhwoe I often had to inquire what I was eating. One of the eating highlights of the trip was on Jeju island where I was served what I could be describe as a clear seafood soup the only problem was that one of the fish in the soup is served alive. My soup was topped with three live abalones. My only comment was, "Why is it stilll moving." Seulki's parents explained it was served alive to show how fresh the fish was and once you are served you turn the fish over in the boiling hot soup and it finishes cooking. As you might guess I quickly turned over the abalones.

All in all I loved the Korean diet. I ate more in two weeks and half weeks than I would eat in two month in America and I lost 6 pounds....and never was hungry. Breakfast was one of my most favorite meals usually with seaweed soup or songi mushroom rice soup, plenty of side dishes including lots of anchovies and vegatables I have never seen. Hae Jin also made sure her family bought some English muffins....just in case. You can see them in the picture to the left.

The top picture is lunch with Won's family (Won graduate from FA and lived with Dottie and I). We ate for almost an entire 3 hours....they introduced me to sweet korean beef. The dish above and to the right is some of the sushi I enjoyed with several families inlcuding Hae Jin's, Seulki's, You Jin's and Hoi Young's.

I will miss my Korean style of dinning. While I haven't fallen in love with all 100 types of kimchi (fermented and spicy cabbage and turnips) I have learned to enjoy most Korean food. The desserts in Korea are delicious (ma see say yeo) fresh fruits served in a variety of ways....and very kind to ones waist line. When I arrive home I hope to change my diet to include some of the new foods to which I was introduced and enjoy.

Getting to Know Our Korean Families

2008-07-10T02:35:00.000-07:00

I left on June 24th for a three week trip to Korea. Part of the purpose of my trip to Korea was to visit the many families who send their children to Foxcroft Academy. Thanks to the good work of Hae Jin, who has lived with Dottie and I while she was at Foxcroft we were able to coordinate lunches and dinners and private meetings with many of the families.

Before visiting Korea I had already developed a strong sense of responsibility of taking good care of the Korean children that were attending Foxcroft Academy. While in Korea my sense of responsibility for these children grew even more as I got to know the parents and their deep love for their children and the tremendous sacrifices they were making to give their children the opportunity to attend American private high schools and universities.

I watched a daughter give her mom a piggy back ride in the streets of Seoul, I listened to a father speak of his love and conern for his son, I saw the playfulness between a father and daugther and I listened to the worries of mothers about their son's and daughter's diet in America.

I now feel a much greater weight of responsibility perhaps even a holy trust being given to us by these parents. More than ever I begin and end each day asking the Lord to help me be equal to the task. In the top picture I enjoy lunch with the parents of Hoi Young NA and in the picture below I enjoy a walk in a beautiful park with the parents of Hae Jin Lee and I-kyung Suh.

Graduation Day Arrives

2008-06-16T02:17:00.000-07:00

Seulki, Hae Jin and Won all graduated from Foxcroft Academy last Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful day of celebrating as we reflected on all of their hard work.

We still marvel at our girls as well as the other boarding students at the Academy who often arrive at age 14 or 15 to begin their studies in a completely different language from their own to say nothing about the change in culture, customs and food. We are sooooss proud of all three girls....and now they are off to college!!

Seulki and Hae Jin are going to stay close to "home" with Hae Jin attending Bentley College in Boston and Seulki nearby at Boston University. Won will be studying at the University of Illinois, but promises to come home to visit at least during vacation times.

The Sound of Music

2008-06-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Martin Luther said of music, “My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music.” And so it has been for Dottie and I. Our girls, Hae Jin, Won and Seulki have filled our home with music, joy and laughter and we have been blessed beyond all measure.

All three of our girls play the piano and play very well. In addition, Hae Jin plays the violin and Won a number of percussion instruments. The video clip below is a sample of a spontaneous moment a few weeks ago when Hae Jin and Won without any practice decided to play a deut while a few of us were sitll gathered in the kitchen. You can click on each of their names above to see other clips featuring each of the girls, including Hae Jin on her violin playing Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Created to Nurture

2008-06-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Believing God has given women a special gift of nurturing it has been our joy to watch over the year our young girls developing this gift. A few weeks ago even as the girls were getting ready for the Prom our daughter Jayme arrived home with her 4 week old son Samuel, our eighth grandchild. To say Samuel has a pair of lungs would be an understatement. He cried from sunrise to sunset and then most of the night. Seulki however seemed to have a special touch with Samuel and was able to get him to calm down at least for a few minutes at a time. In the picture Seulki sits very quietly and calmly as Samuel slowly settles down.

Hae Jin who was a little hesitant to pick up Samuel too often because he was so small, nonetheless, shows her nurturing instinct with all of our grandchildren and even some of our staff members children. Here she is with Jenna the daughter of one of our dorm parents. Hae Jin who is full of energy and has cheerleading like enthusiasm shows a quieter moment with Jenna as she talks to her softly.

We thank God for providing opportunities for these young girls to develop this very special gift.

I Am Not Ready!!

2008-06-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hae Jin, Seulki and Won have been preparing for this day for the past four years, but I am not ready. Boxes line the girls room as they began to pack to head back to Korea for the summer and then onto college in the fall, but I am not ready. All three are graduating this year and are making preparations to leave "home" even as our own children did and I am no more ready today then I was then.

Prom Time- What's A Dad to Do?

2008-06-06T02:41:00.000-07:00

It has been my habit to tease Dottie that she always seems to be absent during the most hectic times of caring for our girls. Our February 10th post of "Girls in the Kitchen" recounted my being left with 11 girls in the house with several of them making Valentine's Day cookies, while Dottie went snow shoeing. So it came as no real suprise that Dottie "found" some grandmother responsibilities with a few of our granchildren while I took care of the girls during the weekend of the Academy's prom.

Last Saturday our house was filled with 9 girls, some who also were going to the prom, others helping with hair, make-up, nails and dress fittings while others just watched the whole process. My role was fortunately limited to shuttling girls back and forth from the hair salon.

Our own three girls, who all went to the prom, were emphatic that I could not post pictures of them in their prom dresses on this blog and in fact the picture to the right is Hae Jin explaining to me the rules of taking pictures at the prom. However. I did crop all of these pictures to past the test - I hope.

All three girls looked beautiful and they had a wonderful evening together with friends. We all got home at 11:00 P.M. and had a small after prom party for them and a few friends. Everyone was in bed by 2:00 A.M. with lots of wonderful memories.

Let's Play Golf

2008-05-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

Our last two posts have been about the very competitive educational climate in Korea and in particular the rigourous study habits of Korean students. However, we are very happy to announce that while our girls, who are from Korea, are excellent students who know how to study hard they are also learning how to play.

My mom use to say to me, "All work and no play makes Jay a very dull boy." As a result, while I didn't study too hard, I did learn how to play hard. So its seems only fitting that one of our "missions" as host parents is to teach our girls how to relax and have fun in the context of studying hard.

In that spirit we took all the girls for a day of playing minature golf. By the expression on Hae Jin's and Won's faces you can tell they too have learned how to play hard.

A Time to Study

2008-05-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

While our girls are not under the regiment of study described in the "Elite Korean Schools" article below, nonetheless, they have strong study habits reflective of their earlier asian schooling.

In the picture some of our girls gather at the dinning room table with Dottie (as she grades physics lab reports) to be in close proximity to her just in case they have any questions related to their assignments. While Dottie and I are in bed by 10 p.m. it is not uncommon for our girls to be up til midnight or 1 a.m. studying.

All Academics - Is it Good?

2008-05-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

The New York Times recently ran a front page story entitled: "Elite Korean Schools, Forgoing Ivy League Skill." The article certainly confirms for Dottie and I what our own girls have shared with us. While we applaud the Asian cultures for their high expectation levels Dottie and I often ask, "at what price?" It's a fascinating and eye opening article that we would encourage you to read, particularly as more and more Asian students come to America for their education.

Start Your Engines - Spring is Here

2008-04-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Temperatures today reached over 60 degrees for the first time this week and the last of the snow is almost gone. With warmer weather soon to come our girls decided to celebrate with a little go cart racing at a local track in Bangor.

The girls took to speed like ducks to water. I don't think any of them realized they had a brake pedal. The end result was that I got spun around and lapped...more than once. In the end their only response was "let's do it again." Pictured here are Hae Jin in the lead car followed by Seulki and Won.

YouJin Returns

2008-03-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Last June we said a hard good-bye to YouJin as she graduated from the Academy and headed off to Michigan State University. When Michigan State had their spring break two weeks ago YouJin headed back to Dover to spend a few days with us, but not just with us. All three girls who were with us last year - Seulki, You Jin and Jin Lee also had a reunion of their own as they shared memories and talked about the "early days" of living with the Brennan's.

Of course no evening would be complete without YouJin playing the piano for us, so while mom did the dishes (noise in the background) YouJin played on.

It's Still Snowing!!

2008-03-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

Its March 26th and we have had over 160 inches of snow this winter, we still have over 46 inches on the ground with another two inches this morning. Its been a long winter and spring is nowhere in sight.

With all the snow and ice this winter we have lost power a few times. These short power outages have become the girls favorite times as we start a fire in the fireplace and roast eveything from marshmellows and hotdogs to bananas....yes bananas! As I said its been a long, long winter and we are all desperate for a little entertainment. Needless to say when Diana began roasting bananas we all just rolled on the ground in laughter and thanked her for the comic relief.

Girls in the Kitchen

2008-02-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday 11 students crowded into our home many of whom had gathered to bake Valentine's Day cookies. Dottie, very wisely, had gone off snow shoeing while I took on the task of supervising a group of teenage girls as they baked sugar cookies for the very first time.

I was a little rusty on my sugar cooking recipe, so much so, that we completely forgot to add sugar to the recipe and rolled out the dough way too thick. However with the patience and help of Hae-Jin (putting the cookies in the oven) we got the recipe just right and our production line was in business. Almost four hours later we had baked and decorated about 50 Valentine's Day cookies.

The girls and I enjoyed a lot of laughs and flour was everywhere, including on each other - you can't bake sugar cookies without a flour fight! Fortunately for us (me in particular) the kitchen was clean by the time Dottie returned from snow shoeing.

Ji-Yeon Arrives

2008-02-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

While most students arrive at Foxcroft Academy in August, some students arrive in January at the beginning of our second term. This year six new boarding students arrived in January many including Hoi Young (see post below) stay in our home for a biref period of time while I finalize their housing arrangements. Most recently, Ji-Yeon arrived at Foxcroft Academy and in our home.

Ji-Yeon came to us from another private school in Boston as a second semester freshman. Dottie and I are just getting to know her, but one of the first things we learned about her is that she is a wonderful pianist, full of energy with a playful attitude in front of the camera. We have been fortunate that all of our girls play musical instruments and enjoy nightly concerts on the piano or violin. While we are currently looking for a permanent host family for Ji-Yeon we are very glad she is in our home and are enjoying getting to know her.

Hosting Parents

2008-01-27T03:40:00.000-08:00

In addition to hosting international students in our home we also have the opportunity to host parents who travel with their child to Foxcroft Academy. These parents stay a day or two, or three before saying good-bye to their child for the school term. (In the picture (Mengli Luo, Hoi Young, Hoi Young's dad and Seulki)

It is always a little bit humorous watching who has a harder time saying "good-bye", the student or the parent. After raising seven children of our own, I can say with some deal of assurance that it is always the parent who has the harder time saying "good-bye." That was certainly the case with the most recent family which came with their daughter (Hoi Young) from South Korea.

At what appeard to be the end of the parent's stay Hoi Young headed to class and said her good-bye's only to find that her mother wanted to "sit in" on a few of her classes before she headed back overseas. If you could have seen Hoi Young's face when the mother walked into her second period class - like - "why are you still here, mom!" Of course it was all very respectful, but also clear that Hoi Young was ready to begin this new chapter in her life, but the parents were having a harder time "letting go." (In the picture Hoi Young with her mom and dad)

As a reult, some of the time Dottie and I spend with parents is reassuring them that "everythings going to be O.K." and we will take good care of their son or daughter. There are often 2-3 days of hand holding, not with the child, but with the parents.

We Say Good-Bye to Felipe

2008-01-21T10:35:00.001-08:00

While most boarding students at the Academy are here for at least two and sometimes three and four years others come for a shorter period of time. Felipe Noschese came to us in August from his home in Brazil and his studies in Germany with a desire to study for one semester at an American private school while living with an American family.

With some encouragement from our girls who always said they wanted a "tall dark handsome Brazilian boy" to live with us and no room in our dorms Dottie and I invited Felipe to live with us for the semester. We had always said we would never have boys living with us while we had girls living with us, but we made an exception and it was one of the best decision we have ever made - largely due to Felipe's courteous, polite and respectful attitude towards us and our threee girls.

Felipe was not only a great student, but he brought a wonderful sense of humor to our home. He loved teasing the girls at dinner, particularly Hae-Jin who would always respond "really" to Felipe's tall tale's from Brazil, including his surfing with shark stories. As a going away gift the three girls bought him 3 Shrek dolls appropriately named Seulki, Hae-Jin and Won. Diana who was living with us at the beginning of the year also gave him a special gift from China made by her mom.

The girls as well as Dottie and I miss Felipe, particularly at dinner time where his diet of a plain hamburger with no ketchum or any other topping was standard fare and his "thank you" with a little hand gesture - which was Brazilian for "no thank you", still has the girls imitating him each evening. See more pictures from January.

Children at Heart

2008-01-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

All of the students who live with us are between 15 and 18 years of age, but don't let their chronological age fool you. At one moment they can appear so adult like with a very disciplined attitude towards studying and adult like courage as they travel around the world, but then almost out of nowhere they are teasing each other, poking each other or playing some childhood game with laughter that is reminiscent of young children.

So it was no surprise, that after dinner last night the six students who were with us (Won, Diana, Felipe, Hae-Jin, Gun, and Seulki) decided to explore our "Let's Find Waldo" series of books, which were new to them. The picture above has all six of them crowded around our kitchen table exploring three different Waldo books simultaneously. It wasn't long before the six of them broke off into three pairs with each pair having their own book and competing who could find Waldo first. Every few minutes shouting would erupt as someone found Waldo and then laughter at where they found him. They would not appreciate my using the word "cute" to describe their behavior, but that's exactly what it was.

While in many, many ways these students are mature young adults once in awhile you get a glimpse into the fact that in some ways they are still children at heart, which is good for us to remember.

A Special Guest from China

2008-01-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

On Thursday morning I went to the airport to pick-up a new Academy student, Luo Mengli (Diana) from China. She will begin her studies at the Academy at the beginning of next semester, which starts on January 20th.

Since Diana arrived a little early Dottie and I will host her until her host family is ready for her sometime in the next few days, although we would love to keep her. She is a wonderful, bright, cheerful and respectul student. Our girls (and Felipe) are enjoying her tremdously. At times we wish our home were larger - with 3 regular boarding students, Felipe here for a semester, periodic visits from boarding student's parents, our own 7 children coming to visit along with grandchildren even our 6 bedroom home can become a bit crowded - but we enjoy all of it!

In the picture on top (left to right): Seulki, Diana, Won and Hae-Jin. In the picture to the left Diana and HaeJin are poised in front of a 12 foot snow bank.

Grandchildren Come to Visit

2007-12-27T05:29:00.000-08:00

Seulki, Hae-Jin and Felipe went home for Christmas break to visit with their families, but Won decided to stay here with us as we celebrated Christmas with our children and grandchildren.

In the picture above Won is working with three of our grandchildren Grace, Caius and Julie on an art project. In the picture below our youngest son David, an electrical engineer for Raytheon is helping Julia with her paper dolls. Jayme and her husband Dave also made it home. Jayme is expecting their first child in April. Ellen and her husband John brought 4 of our grandchildren home for Christmas. Stephen, Tim, John and Anne and their spouses didn't make it home this Christmas, but we enjoyed long phone calls with all of them.

Room in the Inn

2007-12-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Two days before Christmas I received an unexpected call from the parents of one of our boarding students who expressed a desire to visit the Academy and their son. I told them they were most welcome and asked them when they would like to come. They said, "we will be there in 20 minutes." I immediately dropped what I was doing and made preparations to leave for the Academy. About one-half mile from the Academy I got another phone call saying they were at the Academy and standing in front of the Academy's Santa display. As I pulled into the Academy I saw both husband and wife standing in about a foot and half of snow with all their suitcases in hand and a taxi cab pulling away.

After formal greetings had been exchanged I asked them what their plans were for the evening and they indicated they were going to sleep in the dorm where their son was staying. After informing them that this might not be the best place for a husband and wife to sleep they indicated they could stay at the Dover Hotel (Dover-Foxcroft has no hotel!!). With few other alternatives in Dover-Foxcroft two days before Christmas I invited them to stay with Dottie and I in our home. They indicated this wouldn't be necessary and they would sleep on the floor in the dorm; however, I insisted and they recluctantly joined our family was we continued to prepare for Christmas.

One of our own girls, Won made them a Korean dinner while we went and picked up their son from the dorm and together the family had a beautiful Korean meal and a wonderful time visiting with each other. While Won took care of our special guests Dottie and I left for an engagement for which we had a commitment.

The next day I gave our guest a tour of the Academy and spoke about their son's academic progress. Twenty-four hours after their unexpected arrival we said good-bye and wished them well. While their visit came at an inconvenient time both Dottie and I agreed that we were happy to help this family see their son on Christmas and feel a bit more comfortable about where their son was attending school - almost 14,300 miles from home.

Christmas Comes Early

2007-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning I leave at 3:30 A.M. with Seulki to meet the first "leg" of her flight out of Bangor International Airport and back to Korea. In fact, most of the boarding students at Foxcroft Academy head home during Christmas break to see their families. Next week our Hae-Jin and Felipe head back to Korea and Brazil, while Won will stay with us for Christmas, which we will enjoy.

As host parents we have always celebrated Christmas with our students prior to their leaving for home and tonight was no different. We enjoyed the evening with a large meal, lots of sweets and the traditional opening of stockings and gifts. As partents we haven't changed much in the thirty plus years we have been raising children - we still go a bit overboard.

During the past two months our blog entries have been infrequent, but we have enjoyed and have taken special delight in the interaction of the girls with Felipe. While we were a little skeptical of having a boy with the three girls - the fact of the matter is that it couldn't have worked out better. There is lots of teasing and joke playing...and we think Felipe has the upperhand on teasing, but the girls are proving to be a challenge.

The picture on top from left to right: Hae-Jin, Felipe, Seulki, Jay and Won. The picture at the bottom is of our Christmas Village set up around the tree.

Dr. Wafaa El Saddik Visits Us From Cairo Egypt

2007-10-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

It's not everyday we get guests in our home from Cairo, Egypt. However this year we have our first student from Egypt, Hadi El Rabbat, who is one of our boarding students at the Academy.

Hadi's mother is the General Director of the world renowned Egyptian Museum in Cairo Egypt. Dr. El Saddik is world renowned in her own right and is in demand by virtual every major museum in the world and every university offering studies in egyptomology. She works with various governments of the world to bring exhibits such as the current Tutankhamun exhibit which has been in the U.S. and now in Philadelphia.

She and her husband Dr. A. El Rabbat stayed with us for three days while visiting their son and lecturing at the Academy on ancient egypt history and art. In order to be at the Academy she turned down an invitation from the government of South Korea to visit us, so we felt especially honored. After she left us she traveled to the New York Metropolitian Museum to work with them in putting together lost pieces of various egyptian collections - at least that is my laymen's understanding.

She also donated to Foxcroft Academy many replica artifacts which she brought from Egypt. She also provided Dottie and I with a signed copy of the book Tutanknamun which she played a major role in putting together with the people at National Geographic.

Felipe Joins the Girls

2007-09-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

We had only planned on having our three girls Seulki, Won and Hae Jin with us for the year; however, I was not planning on running out of dorm space.

When I asked our three girls about three weeks ago if they would mind a tall, dark hansome Brazilian boy living with us....well you can imagine their excitement. I should mention that Dottie's excitement was not at the same level as the girsl. Now Dottie loves Felipe we just were not prepared for a fourth student much less a boy.

While Felipe's family is from Brazil he has studied in Germany for the past year and speaks four languages. We are currently looking for a host home for Felipe, although the girls think its just fine if he stays with us. Fortunately the girls live on the third floor in their own area and Felipe lives with us on the second floor. Nonetheless the four of them spend plenty of time in the kitchen talking and enjoying Dottie's hot apple pies.

In the picture Dottie is sitting with Hadi (from Egypt), Felipe, and James (from Austria).

Happy Birthday Seulki

2007-09-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

This past week we celebrated Seulki's 18th birthday. We celebrated it with a lobster dinner. The girls had a fun time helping to cook the lobster, but they also felt very sad for the lobster as they put them in the pot. However all three girls ate their entire lobster without a complaint.

After dinner we sang happy birthday, gave gifts and ate plenty of ice cream cake. When we were done the three girls posed for a picture together. Hae-Jin is on the left, Seulki in the middle and Won on the right.

Won and Hae-Jin join Seulki

2007-09-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last week Seulki's two new roommates arrived. They are Won Kyung Hwang, who we call Won for short and Hae-Jin Lee who we call Hae-Jin, although she also goes by the American nickname Liz.

The picture above is that of Seulki introducing Sebec Lake to Won as they play together with a few other boarding student. As you can tell Seulki is not afraid of introducing students to the cold water of Sebec Lake by making sure everyone gets wet.

On the other had Dottie takes a softer approach and took Hae-Jin for her first ever canoe ride on Sebec Lake. Hae-Jin just marvled at the beauty of the lake and the wilderness area that surrounds the lake.

Seulki Comes Home

2007-08-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

On August 21st Seulki returned to America after spending 8 weeks with her family in Seoul, South Korea. This marks the beginning of Seulki's third year as a part of our family as well as the beginning of her senior year at the Academy.

Seulki returned a little earlier than the other boarding students in order to help me as a student Orientation Leader for all the new boarding students who arrived earlier this week. In the photo, Seulki is participating with faculty members in some outdoor games meant to help new students get to know the faculty. She was a big help to me and Dottie and I are glad to have her back in our home again.

This weekend returning boarding students arrive as well as Seulki's two roommates.

Girls in Search of A College

2007-07-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

As our girls get older and prepare to graduate from the Academy they begin to think and dream about where they would like to go to college. Most boarding students have a list of colleges which in their homeland are considered the "best" American colleges. Our challenge as host parents is to make them aware of very good America colleges which their parents and consultants in their homeland may not have ever heard of and which in some case are a better choice then the "best" American collegs.

This past spring my son-in-law, John Jacott, helped us out by taking You-Jin for an audition at Berkley College of Music in Boston, which was a full day affair and which was an unfamiliar name to You-Jin. Earlier I had taken YouJin and Seulki to view Colby College and Seulki got a chance to visit Bates College. All of these colleges are unknown in Korea. In You Jin case as you can read below she choose to attend Michigan State Univesity where she will study business. Michigan State University has a strong reputation in Korea.

In the picture above Seulki is visiting MIT in Boston. We also spent a day at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, from which three of our boys graduated, but a school which is unknown in Korea.

Dottie and I certainly enjoy showing our girls a wide selection of colleges, particularly here in New England, but the need to get a job in their homeland after college places a high premium on attending a university with homeland recognition.

A Quiet House for the Summer

2007-07-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

All of the Academy's boarding students leave campus for the summer. Our girls do likewise. YouJin and Jin headed home to Korea in mid June, while Seulki asked to stay with us until early July which we were glad to accomodate. While we understand their need to visit their own families, nonetheless, after having a houseful of girls for 10 months we do miss all their chatter and laughter. As you may read below this year we said a final good-bye of sorts to YouJin who graduated this year. The good news is that she has promised to visit us on Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas while she is on break from Michigan University.

A tradition for each of our girls before they leave for the summer has been their writing us a letter expressing their feelings and thoughts about the year we have all spent together. Its hard to read any of their letters without tears coming to our eyes. Each of their letters express not only their genuine thankfulness for the time together, but draws attention to one or two of their favorite memories living with us. We cherish these letters and keep them in a safe place so that we will always remember their time as a part of our family.

Seulki this year made her traditional letter in the form of a very large card which I have posted above. Each of the 6 pages of the card highlighted a favorite memory including our time visiting colleges, buying her first pink dress at the Bangor Mall, going to the prom and many of the small things, such as trusting her and giving her confidence in herself.

We thank the Lord for giving us these three girls and for all the joy they have brought into our lives over the past two school years. We are now counting the days. We have 6 more weeks before Seulki returns "home" and this year she will be joined by two new girls whom we have yet to meet. We hardly can wait!

Proud to Share Their Culture

2007-07-03T15:43:00.000-07:00

All of the Academy's boarding students, including our three girls are very proud of their culture. One of the ways students keep their culture alive is to bring with them some of their traditional clothing. The traditional Korean clothing has its roots extending back at least as far as 668 A.D. The Korean hanbok, which Seulki is wearing in this picture, represents one of the most visible aspects of Korean culture. The beauty of hankbok lies in the harmony of its colors and its bold, simple lines.

The top part called a jeogori is blouse-like with long sleeves. Most jeogori have snap tie ribbons on the inside to hold them closed. The long ribbons of the jacket are tied to form the otgoreum. The otgoreum is very important because it is one of three things by which the beauty and quality of the hanbok is judged. The chima is the women's outer skirt. Various accessories such as foot gear, jewelry, and headdresses or hair pins completed the outfit. The particular hanbok which Seulki is wearing is patterned after those worn during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

To see this dress up close, which is hand made from silk, is to stand in awe of the beauty and richness of the Korean culture.

A Hard "Good-Bye" - You Jin Graduates

2007-06-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Saying good-bye is never easy, particularly with family members. You Jin has lived with us for almost two years and during that time she has become a real part of our family. Seulki quietly said to me, as we were saying our final good-bye's, "I don't think we will ever meet anyone quite like You Jin again." Seulki was right; You Jin's high energy, passion for life, confidence, strong opinions, desire to win every argument and her gift to talk endlessly made her one of a kind.

You Jin's family flew in from Seoul, South Korea and spent the weekend with us. We took in plenty of golf and a little time at Sebec Lake. While language was a little bit of a barrier our common love for You Jin enabled us to share many thoughts and feelings despite knowing very little of each others language. Mr. Choi and I discovered we had many things in common including our love for teasing You Jin to the point You Jin didn't want her dad and I talking to each other anymore, because as she put it we were "a bad influence on each other."

On our last evening together we all sat in our living room listening one last time to You Jin play the piano. She played a number of pieces which had Dottie and I remembering all the evenings she had played for us while we both sat at the dinning room table doing school work. Memories which we cherish.

YouJin is off to Michigan State University where she will study business and music. She has promised to visit us over Christmas, we can't wait...but for now we say good-bye and may the Lord bless you!

Seulki Scores Tops in Eastern Maine

2007-06-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Seulki loves math. However, it is not unusual for Asian students to have strong math skills. In fact, Dottie has noticed in her physics classes that many of the Asian students are able to do rather complex math computations in their head, rather than on a calculator. However, Seulki rises above even her strongest Asian competitors.

Recently, Seulki who is a junior at the Academy won first place in the Eastern Maine Competition and was ranked in the top 10 in Maine. Interestingly her competition in many cases is Asian students, competing on math teams at other private high schools similar to Foxcroft Academy.

Dottie and I are very proud of Seulki who continues to work hard at improving in all her academic areas, but especially in math!

Camping with the Girls

2007-05-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we thought it would be a great idea to take all three of our girls camping, since this would be a new experience for them. As time drew near we discovered there was a bit too much "big city" in some of our girls to entice all of them out into the remote woods of northern Maine, even if we were only 5 miles up the road at a state park.

Seulki however was brave and joined us for a day and evening at our campsite and even sleep in our small camper for the night. We discovered Seulki really loves s'morse and she ate as many as I have seen any of children ever eat.

YouJin, while she didn't spend a whole day and evening camping with us did muster up enough courage to face the black flies for two hours to attempt her hand a making s'morse as well. You Jin discovered that the reports from Seulki were not exaggerated...s'morse really are good!

Jin, well she likes the creature comforts of our home and didn't wander too far from the house. We thank our good neighbor Sharon who cared for Jin and YouJin while Dottie, Seulki and I were camping.

Serving in the Senate

2007-05-21T17:32:00.000-07:00

Last week I took our girls to Augusta at the invitation of my good friend Sen. Douglas Smith so that they would have an opportunity to learn about Maine's state government. The day included their serving as pages in the Maine Senate.

As pages they were kept busy shuffling papers and messages between senators and carrying message from the senate chambers to the house chamber.

All three girls were amazed at the loud sound of the gavel (which caused You Jin to jump out of her seat more than once) and the pace at which bills and motions were brought forth. At the end of the day the girls all wished they had brought their tennis shoes. They were appreciative of all the help Sen. Smith and other senators provided them.

Washington D.C Here We Come

2007-04-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

During April break this year Dottie and I thought it would be fun to take 35 of the Academy's boarding students with us to Washington D.C., so last Wednesday night we packed a bus full of kids and luggage and took off for our nation's capitol.

We arrived Thursday early afternoon and spent the first day checking into the hotel, taking in the Jefferson Memorial and the memorial to the battle of Iwo Jima as well as an evening tour of the national mall. Friday we took in everything from the Washington Monument to the Korean War memorial to the White House to the Air and Space Museum. At the end of the day we were exhausted, the kids on the other hand had lots of energy left and took off for places like China Town and Union Station for an evening meal and site seeing on their own.

Saturday we spent a beautiful day with temps in the high 80's at Six Flags amusement part in Virginia. We rode roller coasters all day long - although I avoid the ones that turned you upside down and sideways - and the kids took in every water ride that could soak them to the bone. Yes, that's me in the front row, also soaked to the bone and flanked by Seulki and You-Jin, who talked me into the ride.

We returned to the Academy late Sunday night exhausted, but all wishing we could go back to D.C. and in particular to Six Flags. Dottie and I have already begun to plan for next years trip and can't wait. A special thanks to Beth and Neil Postlewaite who joined us on the trip.

Snow in April!

2007-04-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

While we love snow in Maine a large storm in April is a bit unusual even for Maine. However, our girls who always love a day off from school made the most of the new 18 inches of snow. Here YouJin and her friend Richard demonstrate their snowman making ability.

Sadly, the day ended too quickly and school resumed the following day.

International Food Night

2007-04-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

One of the real joys of the Acadmey's boarding program is that it exposes all of us to a variety of cultures and their foods.

In fact, if you walk into our home you will likely pick up on smells to which many of us Americans may not be accustom. Our girls, particularly on weekends, are usually cooking foods which their parents have sent them from home or they have ordered online.

Most recently, to celebrate all our unique cuisines we had all our boarding students make dishes from their native land. Day students involved in our Latin, Spanish and French Clubs also joined us by bringing foods representive of the country whose language they are studying.

This year over 70 students and adults tasted and dinned on over 40 different dishes from 9 different countries. Our three girls, pictured in the forefront prepared several dishes including a drink made with a variety of fruit.

Filled with Music

2007-04-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

All three of our girls are wonderful muscians and our house is always filled with music. Most recently two of them had an opportunity to demonstrate both their love for music and their ability to perform well.

The event was the debut of the Academy's orchestra. This is the first orchestra in the Academy's 184 year history so it was quite an event. In part, the addition of many stringed players from our boarding population made this possible.

One of the players in the orchestra was our own Yoo-Jin (Alicia) Lee who plays the flute. She did a wondeful job

More Than A House

2007-02-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

Raising children is always packed with responsibility, but as children grow older it is always a delight to see them share in some of those responsibilities.

As a host family for boarding students Dottie and I have been pleasantly surprised that students are more than willing to lend a hand in various household responsibilities. While their studies take up a good bit of their "free time" our girls are often in the kitchen helping Dottie or I prepare a meal, setting the dinner table and helping to clean-up after meals. What has been uniquely surprising to us is that we don't even have to ask for help, they simply offer.

Last night was a good example, after Jin had made pizza for the whole family and after Seulki had helped clean up the kitchen, YouJin and her friend Ju-Hyun (it was Valentine's Day!) offered to shovel our drivway - in the midst of a 22 inch snow storm.

This type of attitude has gone a long way in making our house more than a simple residence for the Academy's boarding students. In many ways we have begun to function as a family.... and the credit goes to our girls who are simply delightful. As Dottie and I grow older we certainly have enjoyed their company, conversation, and late night laughter which they bring to our home, but we most of all appreciate their kindness, love and respect.

Christmas 2006

2006-12-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

With our girls headed back to Korea in a few days to spend time with their families we decided to celebrate Christmas a little early.

In preparation for our Christmas celebration the girls had spent time throughout the week helping Dottie make a variety of Christmas cookies and candy. Unfortunately everyday after school the girls, particularly YouJin, would find the cookies which mom had thought she had hide....and helped themselves. When "Christmas" night came we only had a few cookies left, but we all laughed as Dottie and I recognized these were true "kids."

The girls opened their stocking, which we had made for each of them, that were filled with all kind of goodies. Next, the girls opened a gift which was from our seven children. The read the card that the kids had signed to them...and which in part said, "welcome to the family." Needless to say the girls were touched with a real sense of being loved. Lastly, Dottie and I had also gotten each of the girls a set of matching hat and gloves to properly prepare them for another Maine winter...and which they properly modeled for the camera.

The next morning we took the girls to the airport at 4:00 A.M. and sent them back to their families in Korea for two weeks. The house is kind of quiet now, but our 7 grown children will begin to appear shortly so for the time being we are taking a "long winter nap."

Girls Put Up the Tree!

2006-12-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

For the past few years with our children grown Dottie and I have decorated our Christmas tree by ourselves, which we tend to put off to the very last possible minute. This year as soon as Thanksgiving was complete the girls wanted to know when we were getting our Christmas tree. In Korea the celebration of Christmas is much more subdued with few if any decorations and little or no gift giving.

While Christmas is ultimately about the birth of Jesus and the Korean culture may be able to teach a thing or two about the proper emphasis; nonetheless, the traditions here in America and the festive atmosphere which is created at Christmas is something the girls find fascinating and enjoyable. YouJin is pictured helping us decorate our tree. Dottie and I certainly appreciate sharing this "chore" with those who approach it with child like enthusiasm. And in the midst of it all we have discovered a new appreciation for all our traditions.

Thanksgiving - Too Much to Eat

2006-11-30T18:18:00.000-08:00

This year we broke tradition and did not celebrate Thanksgiving in our own home. Since all 7 of our children have families of their own we decided it was time for us to travel to their homes. This year we traveled to Ellen and her husband John's home in Chester NH.

As on most of our family outing our 3 "adopted" daughers, Seulki, Jin and YouJin traveled with us. Our girls all have good appetites and Thanksgiving was no different. They particularly like our "sweet deserts", which are not as common in Korea. So, after plenty of turkey and apple pie our girls crashed on John and Ellen's coach for a little nap.

Of course a visit to Ellen's also means a visit with our grandchildren. Our girls also enjoy visiting with Ellen's children and in particular Julia who they treat as their little sister. Here Seulki and YouJin enjoy some time with Julia....who enjoys them almost as much as they do her.

The Wiz

2006-11-10T19:49:00.000-08:00

For the past 6 weeks YouJin has been spending her afternoons and evenings at Foxcroft Academy rehearsing for the musical The Wiz which opened last night at the Center Theatre in downtown Dover.

The Wiz was a Broadway show back in the '70's and is a take off of the Wizard of Oz. Here is a clip of one of the scenes with the Scare Crow. YouJin was the pianist in the pit band.

All Dressed Up

2006-11-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Halloween is always a fun time of the year for kids who enjoy getting candy and dressing up. As you get older, typically by the time you have reached 17-18 years of age, you're suppose to have put aside these things....at least the dressing up part.

Having You-Jin, Seulki and Jin living with us has certainly kept us feeling young at heart, although our bodies remind us otherwise. So, this Halloween the girls talked me into dressing up in costume in order to greet children coming to our house for a "trick or treat."

Fortunately, Seulki had her favority cow costume which she was more than willing to lend to me ... for a good laugh and photo.