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Show Area host families sought for summer exchange program Foreign high school students will be arriving soon in the Bountiful area for homestay programs, and the sponsoring organization urgently needs local host families. According to Pacific Intercultural Exchange (PIE) Area Coordinator, Patricia Cannell, the students are all between the ages of 15 and 18 years, have their own spending money, are fully insured and are anxious to share their cultural experiences with their new American families. PIE's academic homestays range in length from one semester to a full academic year, where the students attend local high schools. PIE representatives match students with host families by finding common interests and lifestyles through an informal in-home meeting. Prospective host families are able to review student applications and select the "perfect match.' As there are no "typical' host families, PIE can fit a student into just about any situation, whether it be a single parent, a childless couple, cou-ple, a retired couple or a large family. Cannell says that the situation in the Persian Gulf created a drop in student participation, but now that the conflict is over, the organization has received many applications ap-plications for students wanting to take part in the program. pro-gram. For 1991-92, PIE has students from Spain, Germany, Japan, France, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, the Soviet Union, Colombia, France, New Zealand and other countries. PIE is a non-profit educational educa-tional organization that has sponsored more than 12,000 students from 18 countries since its founding in 1975. Bountiful area families interested in learning more about student exchange or arranging for a meeting may call Patricia Cannell at 801-563-9511 or the International Interna-tional Headquarters toll-free at 1-800-245-6232. i |