Come Stay Here...We've Got T-Shirts...

I've live a fairly cool life. My parents are loving and open minded. They provided and spoiled me in what I like to think of as in a "healthy" way. By that, I mean I wasn't spoiled by things so much as I was by the love they provided. They showered us in love.

At a very young age (I say that NOW!), I was introduced to foreigners. My aunt married and Argentinian and then, when I entered high school, there were foreigners everywhere! My high school was teeming with them. Seemed our high school had a Foreign Exchange Club and there were about 15 students that were living with American families and attending our school.

I was intrigued.

I became a member of the club and every year, I made friends with the new group of students. My sophomore year, my family acquired one for ourselves. Charlotte (Tina). She was a trip and she became family.

The following year, I lived overseas. There was a song by a rock group that was popular at the time: "The Best Thing." It became my theme. It was the best thing and time of my life. I was blessed with a fabulous family that I still keep in contact with and consider 'mine.' Anyone who knows me, knows the love that I have for my Aussies.

I had such a great experience that I ended up working for the organization that I had my exchange experience through. My family also hosted other students, but none as special to our hearts as Alexander. He & I went through some tough things together, unique and trying. My love for Alexander was almost immediate and hasn't wavered since. Such a great person.

Personally, I have had over 32 countries represented in my house. If we limit to long term, it's only a dozen or so. For this house, we are looking at 4 Germans, a Brazilian, and 'coming soon' a Kuwaiti. I might even end up with an Iraqi too. If we include any Internationals that have stayed here...the German count would go up considerably and a few other countries would be added to the list.

This particular house has been affectionately been named "IHOL" Sounds a little dirty doesn't it? It reminds me of the character in "Johnny Dangerously" that has a thick accent & mispronounces swear words ("you icehole!"). Alas, it stands for nothing dirty, just "International House of Lisa."

"My foreigners" came up with that (OK, I helped a little). The slogan is "Hosting the World, One Person at a Time." So, if you are foreign and you need a place to stay, stop on by IHOL...maybe you'll earn an IHOL t-shirt.