Tammie Hetzer-Womack
The Independent
GRAYSON —
Opening their Ashland home to Young Kwan Kwak beget blessings and laughs for foreign exchange dad and mom, Rob and Beverly Garnes.
Like any teen, the curious boy from Anyang, South Korea, offers up quick comebacks, hangs out in their yard afterschool like a youngster, and had to quickly learn stern house rules — homework first, playtime second.
“No matter what country they’re from, 16-year-old boys are 16-year-old boys,” said his house mom. “Culture shock is very hard for both students and host families.”
Muddling through bouts of homesickness, the son of a preacher father and concrete business-running mother back home, Young Kwan finally fit in and loves Garnes family time, sharing angling and state park trips together. He especially enjoyed the big deal made out of Christmas festivities.
Last week, Young Kwan was one of 10 foreign exchange students who gave back to the area that’s embraced them during their stays. He teamed up with students from Spain, Brazil, Taiwan, Vietnam and Sweden to clean up the banks and waters of Grayson Lake.
This sort of roll-up-your-sleeves ethic is nothing new to Young Kwan. Diligence is the norm in his land. In Korea, his school hours are from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. He has dinner, and then heads back to school for optional extended classes — lasting till 10 p.m. on weekdays. Then, he gets up early Saturday mornings for school from 8 to 11 a.m.
“Well, I had such a good time with CCI program. … I went fishing over there. I didn’t know they had that much trash. We picked up several tires and bunch of trash,” the Rose Hill Christian student said.
Rob Garnes, a retired Kentucky State Police detective, is honored Young Kwan chose to help. He hopes he’s instilled a sense of community service in him during his stay.
“I’m proud of him like I am my own son. He goes out and works and gets so excited over it. This is not even his country and he takes more pride in it than many Americans do. I am proud to see kids serve.”
Carla Holt was thrilled to see the high school students from Russell, Rose Hill Christian, Fairview and Boyd County out on the waterway. The Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia Center for Cultural Interchange regional manager stresses the importance of paying back to her visiting international students.
Hand-in-hand with the Green Heart Environmental organization, CCI promotes student care for Mother Earth and get involvement in the communities they live in while here, grasping how volunteerism is an American way of life, Holt detailed.
Holt was searching for a project for the kids. Chatting with host mom, Susan Adams, who works at Westwood-based Veolia Environmental Services, she decided the kids should clean up the lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers enlisted too, providing three pontoon boats for the students, volunteers and host families to use at the Saturday giveback day.
Adams said the Grayson Lake Cleanup Project came about a few years ago, the creation of her brother-in-law, Mike Tackett, who envisioned saving the lake, keeping it pristine for future generations to enjoy. She’s participated before, but decided to bring along her student from Spain, Alfred Pastor, for this year’s mission.
Scouring the lakeside tree lines, where trash washed-in during recent Carter County flooding, students collected heaps of broken glass, thrown-away fuel cans, discarded plastic pop bottles, old tires and even an abandoned boat they towed to shore. After a hard four hours of work, corps officials treated them to an American cookout feast of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.
“I know our work is only a drop in the bucket for the amount of cleanup that needs to be done, but it’s a beginning,” said Holt, who attempts to place at least 25 students in area high schools annually.
Quan Tran is a senior at Fairview High who lives with Tom and Carol Abbey in Westwood. Since his arrival, he’s been busy and involved with after school activities like archery, cup stacking, Leo Club and the student council, while also representing his school at the regional academic team meet this spring.
“To me, it was a great experience serving the purpose of having a memorable meeting with everyone and doing something environmental-friendly,” the smart 18-year-old said. “I personally enjoyed the time riding on the boat in the cool wind and seeing all that gorgeous scenes. The project was successfully carried out, as we had cleared out many trashed spots around the lake and collected many tires which we pretended to be trophies to ourselves.”
Ole Kummeritz, 18, from Germany, agreed.
“I enjoyed the cleaning day, wonderful weather and very nice, friendly people to work with,” said the teen who lives with Tony and Ro Daniels in Ashland and is a senior at Boyd County High School.
“You can see how much it helps the environment with cleaning the lake. I was amazed that we even found old tires and a discarded fuel tank in or near the water that people swim and boat in.”
With activities like this recent effort — foreign exchange students playing a part in area undertakings — multiculturalism comes alive regionally, giving fellow American students a glimpse of nation they might only read about in geography and history textbooks, Holt said.
Erica Robinette is a second-year host and CCI area representative. She’s proud her exchange student played a role, right alongside her entire family.
“I know Cecilia Froberg, our exchange student, had a wonderful time, not only reuniting with the other exchange students, but making a difference in a foreign community,” she said. “However, I personally felt it a privilege to be a part of the experience and to give my children, Taylor and Elijah an early start at caring for our environment.”
Yun Han “Elaine” Wang, 16, fit right in at Russell High School, achieving the first chair orchestra spot. She comprehends the importance of her work.
“I love this volunteer project. We not only helped the environment, but also helped ourselves too,” shared the Taiwanese girl who lives with Rita Pancake in Flatwoods. “Actually I found out this is the most interesting volunteer (project) I have ever done. We can find pee in the bottle, a basketball floating on the lake, a huge handmade bird house,” she said with a chuckle.
CCI is currently looking for volunteer host families for 15- to 18-year-olds who are placed in 11 different Tri-State schools for the upcoming school year.
