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LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas is seeking U.S. hosts to participate in the Betty Grimwood Thanksgiving Homestay Program for international students, Nov. 26 to Dec. 1.
The program provides an opportunity for new international students to experience the U.S. holiday with an American family. Host families should apply by Nov. 1 to Carol Dias da Silva, program coordinator in KU's Office of international Student and Scholar Services.
"We need area families to host one or more international students from Tuesday evening, Nov. 26, to Sunday afternoon, Dec. 1," Dias da Silva said.
"We often have more students than families participate, so new families are always welcome and greatly appreciated," Dias da Silva added. "Last year, we had 31 students and 25 families participating."
Not all students or families are able to spend the full Thanksgiving break together. Dias da Silva said some students are interested in joining a U.S. family for Thanksgiving Day only; others are interested in spending the full break with a U.S. host family.
This marks the 48th year Kansas and Kansas City-area families will celebrate Thanksgiving with international student guests from KU. The homestay program was named in honor of the late Betty Grimwood, a Burns resident who helped to organize homestay visits in Burns, about 60 miles northeast of Wichita, from 1954 through 1998. Following her death in May 1999, Grimwood's friends and relatives continued the Burns Thanksgiving community tradition of inviting international students from KU for a weekend visit.
This fall a total of 1,677 international students enrolled at KU. The homestay program gives preference to students who are in the United States for the first time and to students who have not participated previously, Dias da Silva said.
KU has students from 123 countries. The 10 countries with the greatest number of students enrolled at KU this fall are:
• India, 269 students
• People's Republic of China, 168
• South Korea, 137
• Japan, 118
• Saudi Arabia, 81
• Malaysia, 59
• Taiwan, 56
• Indonesia, 41
• Canada, 34
• Germany, 31
To apply for homestay as a host family or as a student participant, contact Carol Dias da Silva at (785) 864-3617 or carol@ku.edu.
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