Council (an organization composed of representatives from various civic agencies), and the Greater Carbondale Community Development Association. Early in September, a letter was sent to the president of every organization in Carbondale-62 women's groups and 39 men's. The parent-teacher associations, the service, civic, and social organizations-all were informed about the program and its objectives and were asked to cooperate. Typical of the response to this advance publicity, the members of the Southern Illinois University Women's Club "adopted" two grantees at a time, rotating every two weeks. The chairman of the club reported that "the teachers were entertained by the committee in their homes, sometimes as a group, singly, or a few at a time with other guests; taken on picnics, drives, shopping tours, and to numerous town and university events." In addition, the community committee found others in the community-both town and faculty-who entertained the teachers, thus broadening their opportunity for seeing how America lives. The record of social activities maintained during the university phase showed that a total of 528 invitations were accepted by the grantees for an average of 22 for each grantee. This number did not include the invitations received by the group as a whole. Evaluations of the program by University staff members, hosts, students, and people in the community attested to the facts that, from the point of view of University and the community, the purpose of the program had been completely fulfilled. To them, most enlightening and uplifting was the realization that true friendship conquers the barriers of race, religion, language, and cultural background. In this community, somewhat out of the mainstream of international affairs, certain vestiges of racial discrimination still remain. One grantee from Africa commented that, in spite of the fact that he had been the object of some discrimination, he thought that it was very democratic of our Government to send the visiting teachers to all parts of the United States, especially to the South where they could see for themselves the evidences of racial prejudice, instead of picking out the flattering sections to show them. He commented further that, in all of their own countries, they had read about Little Rock, New Orleans, and other trouble spots of the South and had always heard of our prejudice here. He said that he was pleasantly astonished to find, from being there himself, that it was not nearly so bad as he had always been led to believe. The reaction of the community itself was that it had benefited immeasurably by the broadening of its horizons. The visiting teachers here related that they "met and spoke to hundreds of people-at service clubs, churches, social gatherings, schools-living in an area extending over several hundred miles." Personal contacts such as this with representatives from, for example, Thailand, Pakistan, and Uganda, make the world news much more personal, vital, and meaningful. They took pride in the fact that, as a result of so many people at the University and in the City of Carbondale having been involved with the grantees during a 2-year period, impetus was given to a movement among University personnel and Carbondale citizens to assist the foreign teachers attending school there and to help them make their stay more pleasant. Summing up their 3-month experience in Carbondale and Southern Illinois University, practically all of the visiting teachers were in accord as to the immeasurable value of the total experience. Before leaving her home country, one had been hoping that the university phase of the program might take place in a small town. She wanted to have an opportunity to become acquainted with people and with their way of life at close quarters. In Carbondale she was not disappointed. Another of the visiting teachers described his experience as an "exciting voyage of discovery-a discovery of democracy in action, a discovery of the American peoples' powers and abilities, wishes and aspirations, and lastly, a discovery of the latent capacities and talents of the people in their immediate concern for the peace of the world." Another stated that, contrary to his fears, he never experienced any difficulty of adjustment. He went on to remark that the people of Carbondale make foreigners feel so much at home that one does not find it difficult to adjust and "within a few days I came to know a large number of helpful and cordial men and women." Another thing that impressed him was the spirit of joy that could be experienced everywhere (classrooms, stores, cafeterias, post office, and laundry). It appeared to this visiting teacher that the motto of Carbondale and Southern Illinois University was "Love your work and attend to it devoutly and cheerfully." Further comments by the visiting teachers on their experiences with community and university life in Carbondale included the following: One good feature I observed during my stay was the eagerness and willingness of the people to assist the foreign teachers in every sphere of activity. Wherever we went the friendly smile and warm hand greeted us. I wish to congratulate Southern for the excellent program arranged for me. My stay at Carbondale will be written in letters of gold in my book of life. excellent experience for us; we all learn many things from these visits, and our family has been happy to take part in the program-and lucky, too! It has been a worthwhile education. I learned many things. Not only to teach how to love the best, but to keep the human touch. How to think rather than what to think. Not only to understand a great people, but also to see the ideals of their education. Visiting the different departments of Southern Illinois University, I saw the American students working in order to do better, but diligently with love for work, using tremendous resources that I have never seen before. That spirit of work is the basis of the democracy. For this reason, democracy will never perish in the American sky. Sharing our home with people from abroad is next best to actually traveling in their countries... We consider it a pleasant privilege to have had them as our guests this past three months. The president of Southern Illinois University summed up the feelings of the university personnel and the townspeople in the following words: "We are hopeful that our friends and visitors feel as inspired and rewarded as we do for the experience of having them here those 3 months. If the program serves no other aim than to clarify and sharpen our awareness of each other's individuality, then it will be successful. I wish to commend it most sincerely." NEW JERSEY I have talked with each of the families that entertained these folk. We were all impressed with the way they adapted themselves to our home life. Whether it was a game with the youngsters, a tour with local school officials, or a spirited late evening discussion they seemed to fit in so well. Our children still speak of the visit. We feel the experience was very rewarding on both sides. This kind of contact gives an insight and a quality of understanding of other people from other lands that could not be gotten any other way. NEW YORK -S. H. Price Plainfield Julio Benitez has been a guest in our house for five weeks. It has proved to be a most rewarding experience for us and our two children. He adjusted immediately to the pattern of our family life and became one of us. His delightful sense of humor and his tolerant understanding of strange ways and customs have made him a most popular guest. We are sorry to see his visit draw to a close and hope sincerely that he may have the opportunity to visit with us again. He has brought Bolivia closer to all of us. He has become our friend. -Mr. and Mrs. Anthony A. Di Yeso |