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People to People Memories


Dear People to People,
I was sitting and talking with my 19-year-old son last night and comparing stories about our trips to Europe. As we were talking I realized what a huge impact the People to People program has had on my life and the life of my family. It was then that I knew I had to write and say thank you for starting this program, and for all the work you do to make it a life-changing experience for young people.

I went on a People to People exploration of Southern Europe in 1976, right after I graduated from high school. There were so many highlights that it would take days to list them -- but a couple of the most memorable were going behind the Iron Curtain into Budapest, turning 18 in Florence, going to the Vatican, and of course, my home stays. And that is where the biggest impact on my life was, my first home stay.
 
Melody relaxes with Rolf and Angelika
Melody relaxes with Rolf and Angelika Willmund in 1978. The Willmunds hosted Melody during a People to People program to Germany. She has stayed friends with the Willmunds, visiting them twice in Germany.

I stayed with a family in Denzlingen, a small suburb of Freiburg. The couple I stayed with, Rolf and Angelika, had no children at the time, but were thinking of starting a family (they were deciding if teenagers were too “out far”!). They packed so much into five days! For the last 26 years I have kept in contact with them.

Their first son, Felix, was born nine months after I left (I wasn’t sure if I should feel responsible or not!). He has come to our home twice (once with a friend), and also did a foreign study program in Canada while he was at a university because of his U.S. experience.

Two of my sons have taken German in high school and have spent a semester in Germany on a student exchange program through their school. As part of that program, we have had two different students spend a semester living with us and going to school here. Both of those sons have visited Freiburg and my “family” there.

I have also been back to Europe twice, once with my mom and once with my husband; on both trips we spent time in Freiburg visiting.

That five-day home stay has turned into a huge extended relationship among many, many different people. I know I would be a different person, and I know my family would not have the incredible world experiences they have enjoyed, were it not for those beginnings back in 1976 on my summer with People to People. It would be impossible to thank you enough. Keep up the good work -- your program DOES make a huge difference!

Sincerely,
Melody (Brown) Kieffer

 
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