 |
| Ine and her parents and sister on the day she left to come to the US |
Ine her year in the USA is already halfway. I can assure you that such an
exchange also has a major impact on the lives of those who stay at home. Ine
was not an adventurous type. She was rather a bit shy and quiet. Certainly not
the type from which you expect one day they tell you they want to go abroad for
a year. So yes, we were shocked when she told us about her dream. Everyone
wants to be close to his children so that you can see them and help them when
needed. At first we even hoped she would change her mind.
To be honest, we thought she would not survive the preparation meetings
and weekends. But she did! That was already a first lesson for us: our little
girl was much stronger than we thought. We talked to her about why she wanted
to do this and what she expected from the exchange. And she was able to convince
us she did not want to flee from us, but that she wanted to develop herself, become
stronger, be more confident and learn a foreign language. So instead of being
afraid because she would leave us, we became proud because she wanted to do
this. We always try to raise our children with an open mind. We want them to
look beyond their own little world. So what Ine wanted to do only meant we did
a good job.
Of course the tension grew when the date of departure approached. Especially
because Ine was given a host family very late. But then she finally got the
first email from Susan. And at once, we had a good feeling. Ine was lucky with
her ‘new mom’. Knowing that helped us a lot at the departure of Ine. But
nevertheless, the moment you see your daughter walk away and you realize it
will be 10 months later before you will be able to hug her again is hard. Very
hard. I really can’t describe the emotions of that moment. But she's gone, that is sure. And that’s the beginning of a very difficult
period. Where is she going to? Will it go well with her new family? How will
she do it on that new school? So much questions to which you do not get answers
immediately. But we were lucky. In the US there is internet access anywhere. So
after a few days we began to receive good news messages from her. That helps,
of course, to take away the uncertainty and tension. And new mom Susan proved to
be very communicative. She kept us very well informed about how Ine was doing. About
what went well, but also about what was not going so well.
Of course there were things went less well. Knowing that gives you a
very bad feeling. You know your daughter feels bad too and you can’t actually
do anything. You feel pretty useless at such a moment. All we could do was to
mediate by mail between Ine and Susan. It feels great when you are able to help
a little. And after a while there is less bad news and much more good news. Things
are getting better between Ine and Susan and Leah. All goes well at school. She
even gets new friends. It’s great to read and hear about all the new chances
Ine is getting thanks to Susan. It becomes wonderful to see Ine develop her own
new life so far away from you. She’s doing well and you realize you miss her
less and less. And before you know it, the exchange is
already halfway...
