When the Dobbins family made the decision to host a foreign exchange student this year, they never expected it to be so easy.
In fact, the only thing that Darla Dobbins, the host mother of Mariami Tkeshelashvili, could think of that has changed was an added load.
“More laundry,” Dobbins laughed.
The Dobbins know Tkeshelashvili as ‘Mari,’ a 15-year-old foreign exchange student from Georgia.
Georgia is a republic located near the Black Sea. It is surrounded by Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Georgia, students do not rotate classes. Instead, teachers rotate into their classes.
It was a quick decision to be a host family, Dobbins said. Her son, Nate, came up the idea to host a foreign exchange student. There was a shortage of host families in Morton.
“I said, ‘I’ve already had four kids, do I want another?’” Dobbins said.
The family had less than a couple of weeks to decide. But, the decision to host Mari, Dobbins said, was a good one.
For Mari, it is a new challenge for an only child.
“It’s definitely different than what Georgia is like,” she said. “I like the education system.”
Transportation is much different here in the United States, Mari said. Typically, Georgians walk or ride a bus to their destinations. So, daily life in Morton is a bit more fast paced.
“Everytime we go somewhere, we get in the car,” Dobbins said.
Mari is in Morton to educate students about her country, as well as learn about the United States. Mari speaks three different languages — Georgian, Russian and English. She is studying a fourth language, Spanish, at Morton High School.
English is nothing new to Mari. She has studied the language since she was in second grade. But, using that English in America was a bit different than she expected.
“I never had the chance to actually talk to Americans (face to face),” she said. “As time passed, it became easier for me.”
Mari was able to get a preview of her host family through Facebook, where she became friends with the family and chatted prior to arriving in Morton in mid-August.
Being an only child in Georgia, moving in with the Dobbins was also a whole new experience for Mari.
“I wanted to experience what it was like to have sisters,” she said.
Mari said she has enjoyed being around two sisters, Shelby and Whitney. She shares classes with Shelby, a freshman at MHS. Whitney is a junior at Illinois State University, but she lives at home in Morton.
