12/25/2007 - Families’ bond bridges cultural divide

LEWISBURG — When he boarded a U.S.-bound plane in Santiago, Chile, Jorge Salazar expected to touch down in the foothills of Tennessee. What a surprise, then, when he landed at JFK and found Karen Nicholson shouting his name.

After learning that he’d been chosen to study abroad in the U.S. through American Field Services (AFS), the high school senior searched the Internet for his destination — Lewisburg. He didn’t realize he was heading to the Susquehanna Valley, not the Smokey Mountains.
Jorge’s Google gaffe is now a little joke between the Salazars and the Nicholsons, who’ve made it a priority to visit each other since Jorge left Lewisburg in June 2006.

Now 19 and an engineering student, Jorge, his parents, Jorge Sr. and Georgina, and older siblings, Carolina and Sebastian, have returned to Pa. for the next few weeks to catch up with his host family.
The Nicholsons, along with son Allen, who is the same age as Jorge, spent last Christmas in Chile.

The trips are quickly becoming a yearly tradition for the two families, who say their experiences with the foreign exchange program have certainly left a lasting impression.

Jorge, translating for his parents and siblings, said the family agreed that Lewisburg was nothing like the place they envisioned.
To them, the U.S. was a country of slick-talking criminals and petty thieves, gravity-defying car chases and rampant large-scale heists. At least, that’s the impression they got from a stream of imported action movies.

Before Jorge left Chile in 2005, his parents worried about his safety in a strange country. Brother Sebastian knew a few people who’d returned from studying abroad with entirely different personalities, and he didn’t want that for his younger brother.

Jorge was nervous about his ability to communicate in English and make friends in a new school. And of course there are the obvious differences of moving from a South American city of 6 million people to a Central Pennsylvania borough of just over 5,000.

Much to his relief, Lewisburg was nothing like the towns depicted in movies. Word of his arrival traveled fast — people whom he’d never met shouted “Hey, Jorge” in the hallways at school.

“My first impression was that Lewisburg was a really quiet town, everything was so tranquil,” Jorge said.

He immediately liked the Nicholsons. Karen reminded him of his own mother. Allen showed him around school and around town.
“Thanks to Allen, it was not hard for me to make friends or talk to people,” Jorge said.

Karen recalled Jorge as an outgoing teenager who had little trouble finding his niche in what would be his new home for the next year.
“We sat around the table and talked — in Chile, it’s more family-oriented — and I loved having Jorge sit there and talk with us,” she said.

Karen was also pleased to see that Jorge couldn’t seem to get enough of her cooking.

“I’m really thankful to them,” Jorge said. “I was just like another son.”
Jorge added that he’s grateful to his parents for allowing him to spend a year living and studying in the U.S.

“Out of love, they gave me this opportunity to see the world, to grow up,” Jorge said.

Though separated by the equator, an ocean and several thousand miles, both families say they’ll continue the annual visits. Karen is trying to convince Jorge and Carolina to return to Lewisburg and study at Bucknell.

The Salazars say they welcome each chance to experience more of U.S. culture, and especially enjoyed sharing their country with the Nicholsons.

“Lewisburg has an important significance for our family because we got to know some beautiful people here,” Jorge Sr. said.

Georgina and Carolina agreed that “people are really friendly here, and it’s very beautiful.”

Area families interested in hosting an AFS exchange student can contact Nancy Deitrick at 649-5880 or deitrick@alltel.net. Deitrick is also available to discuss study abroad programs for local students.
For more information visit www.afs.org/usa.