We are hosting an exchange student this semester named Bruno.  He is from Brazil and enjoys guitar and soccer.  We hosted his 17th birthday on St Patrick's Day by inviting other exchange kids from the area eating Bruno's favorite food Lasagna and ice-cream cake.  He now eats green chili and loves Thai food.   He is doing very well in school and really enjoys watching cheerleaders at the pep assemblies as they don't have these in Brazil..  Bruno return home on Jul 20th we are regularly in touch with him and hope to see him again - when he returns to the United States to go to college. 

Update Dec 2006: Bruno is currently attending the university in Brasil for Computers.  He continues to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot and is studying for his exams.  He spends most of his free time with his girlfriend of over one year Nicole.  We are still waiting for him to come visit us again - meanwhile, we keep in contact weekly via the internet!  The second row of pictures above are some recent pictures.

For the Fall semester we hosted Tiago.  He is also from Brazil and enjoys the drums and soccer.  He enjoys soccer and is playing on the high school team - they won there first game.  He also enjoys playing the drums and plans on taking lessons on weekly basis.  Tiago is enrolled as an 11th grader here, however, he is considered a senior in Brazil.  He is planning on graduating from his school in Brazil in December on this year.  He played on Rio Grande's JV soccer team.  Tiago's favorite food is anything with Ketchup on it.  He returned home on Christmas Day.

Spring Semester  04 we are hosting Anne from Halle, Germany.  She arrived on 6th of Jan 2004 and plans on staying with us until the end of the spring semester.  She enjoys lots of things including hanging out with new friends and shopping.  We hosted a Welcome to America Party for her on the 10th of January where we introduce her to the other exchange students attending her school as well as the Los Lunas bunch.  We had students from Brazil, Japan, Germany, Norway, Holland, Italy, and of course the United States.  Anne has attended several Rio Grande Basketball games and the Winter Ball.  In February  we are went on a skiing trip to Red River, NM (near Taos) .  She successfully ended her studies at Rio Grande in May after which was celebrated by taking a trip to Disney World - see pictures on our vacation page.  During her summer vacation she worked on outside projects with us - such as the completion of the fence, installation of the hot tub, and installation of sprinkler system.  She said she will really miss Dr. Pepper, hot chili's, the mountains, having a little brother, and dogs.  On 27 June Anne returned to Germany - with a promise to visit again . . .

For the 04-05 School year we are hosting Javier from Spain.  He arrived on the 6th of Aug 04 and plans on staying with us until the end of the spring semester in 05.  Once again we hosted a Welcome to America Party on his weekend here to introduce him to other Exchange students.  Javier joined the JV football team at Rio Grande and is a defensive tackle as well as a member of special teams.  This has keep him busy along with his academics.  Javier participated in the tennis team and even brought his parents to visit.  They traveled as a family for a week and we got to spend a dinner La Luna Mansion in Los Lunas.  All in all we sent a totally different boy home to Spain  on June 3rd - he lost a total of 45 pounds looking a fit and trim stud!  So much for all Americas making these kids fat!  A long the way we made a Packer fan out of him and he now regularly watches the games from across the ocean!

Antonio arrived to Albuquerque 7-30-6 he is from Japan.  All Japanese students are required to attend a 2 week English camp prior to staying with their host families.  Hence Antonio actually arrived two week prior and stayed with a temporary host family in Michigan.  As  Jenn's sister got married on 7-30 we were not able to meet Antonio or 'Tonio as Jadon would call him at the airport and got to met him the next day!   Antonio followed Javier by joining football, but also temporarily joined ROTC, and was a member of the baseball team.   We showed him the regular Albuquerque sites such as Balloon Fiesta, State Fair, and  River of Lights.  Antonio was our first student that was allowed to participate in the Graduation Ceremonies at RGHS! Antonio learned to love green chili but still can't stand vegetables- especially carrots unless we hid them in food.  Tonio returned to Japan at the end of June however we still keep in regular contact with him over the internet.  A recent quote from him 'America is the best, I love the freedom"

Umar arrived from Russia at the end of Aug 06 due to Visa problems.  During his temporary time here he joined the wrestling team where he was considered a star player! During the year we visited State Fair and Balloon Fiesta.  He left unexpectedly from the exchange program in early Dec 06.  Last we heard he went to New York to be with a family friend.

 Melina arrived on Aug 5, 2006 from Brasil.  However, due to travel we met her officially on Aug 12.  After getting use the dogs - we have been smooth sailing.  So far we have gone to the State Fair, Balloon Fiesta, the Zoo during Halloween, Pumpkin Patch, and took a trip to Chicago/Wisconsin for Thanksgiving.  In December she participated in a Guitar Concert at school and we are getting ready for Christmas, American style!  For the spring semester Lina join a mentoring program named Cornstalk where Highschool students mentor and befriend middle school students.  She plans on studying Biology at the University upon her return to Brasil.    She will be our last exchange student for the time being because we have decided to pursue foster parenting and simply don't have the room for everyone - our house is bursting at the seams!