Proud Dad

[Zukin]

Hi all

I thought I would share something our daughter Alana (whom some of you have met) has sent us today.

Alana is currently on a Foreign Exchange to Norway for a year, we miss her terribly, but looking at the video and the photos she sends she is having the time of her life

When we watched the video we did have a few tears well in our eyes, not because we are sad, but because of what these young adults can achieve.
She was at a halloween party in Oslo the other night, and she said "Dad, it was really good to see an American and a boy of Iraq laughing and swapping jokes"
If only the politicians could drop their egos, and behave like these young adults the world would be a much better place

If your son/daughter ever gets the opportunity to do an exchange, let them go for it

And HXC we know you will also do your parents proud, us proud and also your country proud

So here is the video that was sent to us this am

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBTeOsgUfhc[/YOUTUBE]

[chanceyy]

Congrats Zukin .. be a great experience for sure

[trumpy]

You have very good reason to be proud......

[Trudes]

Looks like she's having a great time, good on her!!!

[sunhuntin]

adversity can be overcome by those who know better, as in the example of the american and the iraqi.

that reminds me of an old tv ad... cant recall what it was, but it depicted a well off boy and a poor boy sitting on a couch. one is there first, and then the second comes in and sits down. one pulls out a toy airplane, and eventually the other begins to play with him, ending with them chasing each other around the room. had a cat stevens track over top...
reminds me also of a song by shawn mullins "we're born to shimmer, we're born to shine. we're born to radiate. we're born to live and we're born love, we're born to never hate." its called, shimmer, and the video is amazing!

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[BarBender]

Hi all

I thought I would share something our daughter Alana (whom some of you have met) has sent us today.

Alana is currently on a Foreign Exchange to Norway for a year, we miss her terribly, but looking at the video and the photos she sends she is having the time of her life

When we watched the video we did have a few tears well in our eyes, not because we are sad, but because of what these young adults can achieve.

She was at a halloween party in Oslo the other night, and she said "Dad, it was really good to see an American and a boy of Iraq laughing and swapping jokes"

If only the politicians could drop their egos, and behave like these young adults the world would be a much better place

If your son/daughter ever gets the opportunity to do an exchange, let them go for it

And HXC we know you will also do your parents proud, us proud and also your country proud

So here is the video that was sent to us this am

Been finding it to relax the last few hours...as we're up tomorrow morning at 5am to see our 12 yr old off on his two week school trip to Japan. Its not a long term exhange but its the first time he's been away from us.

This thread is incredibly well timed so thank you for sharing. Your daughters vid reminds me how fast our babes grow - and that at a personal level, what I havent figured out, I neednt worry about because my son already has.

[WarlockNZ]

Awwwww ...

that is awesome, it is one of my dreams to have kids one day, i only hope they turn out as good as yours ... bling to you

[Crisis management]

Bloody hell Scott, I thought you were having more kids when I read the title!

Neat seeing them achieve so much as they grow, it makes up for those endless parent / teenager "discussions" that occur.

The wonderful thing with my two now is the opportunity to engage with them as adults and see the relationship change to one of friendship rather than parental control......or lack thereof

You two must be proud of her, well done bringing another worthwhile adult into the world!

[yungatart]

You have much to be proud of, Scott and Carissa!
Lani is a beautiful young lady...on the inside too, where it counts!
Awesome, thankyou for sharing, it brought a tear to my eye as well.

Look what I have to look forward to...(I hope the girls aren't quite as gorgeous in Belgium)

[Nasty]

She is certainly doing the stuff that would make you proud ... great video, and also gaining a real understanding out there of how everything can fit together really well in this world.

[GurlRacer]

Awww shucks everyone... now I'm all embarrassed... haha...

Being over here has certainly opened my eyes to the world, and on the news every night, you see clips on wars, people hating people, nasty politics... what you don't see are the miracles that take place everyday. As my father mentioned above, Iraqie and American boys, swapping jokes. A deaf Australian girl, coming to an exchange to Norway, and not giving up on her dream. A group of Germans, playing games with New Zealanders, Australians, and other nationalities that fought in the old wars. Miracles.

I've become as close as these people on this exchange, in 3 months, as I have with people I've known for 3 years in NZ. We've all had to change... we've all had to accept. We've all been down in the dumps, and pulled each other out of it. Thats what friendship is. Sad thing is, after this year, it's not for sure that we'll ever meet again. But, we make promises to each other, to visit each others countires. Differences between our cultures are things we want to explore, experience, love and cherish - even if it is not our own. A open heart, a open mind, and friendships that will last forever... tomorrows leaders could be these people. I sure hope it!

Us youth learn a lot from adults, but adults can learn just as much from us youth.

It can all start by taking in a student... for a month, semester or year. Go to www.afs.org.nz to read more... or, even, send your own children on one. Even yourself can go on one, they have 18+ programs avilable.

It's taken me this long to realise, this world, isn't such a bad place afterall.

[hXc]

Sorry to bring this thread up from the depths of where ever long gone threads go. But here's another vid of Lani over in Norway.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RskJxIW59k[/YOUTUBE]