Lynda's Corner

We also had Amanda our Brazilian exchange student with us from January till July, 1998, and what a wonderful young woman Amanda is, and a true member of our family now.

Here are a couple of pictures taken late last year.

Shannon graduated from Bret Harte High School on June 4, 1998. I was so proud of her! Shannon finished high in her class, and is off to the University of California at Santa Cruz, and will really enjoy college.

After graduation Shannon went to Germany as a Rotary exchange student for three weeks, and Katrin her host sister came back for three weeks, quite an adventure for both of them. Shannon learned to drink German beer, in a big way! This year at college Shannon is studying the German language and is doing very well.

Katrin and Shannon saw alot of Germany and France before they came back to the United States and Shannon tried to show Katrin EVERYTHING in 2 weeks. All those places we took Amanda were repeated!

We look forward to traveling to Germany sometime to visit the town of Nordlingen, where Katrin lives with her brother and parents. The town of Nordlingen is one of the only completely walled cities left. The pictures they took look fantastic.

Early in July we put Shannon on an airplane to Germany, she and Amanda saying their goodbyes in Fresno airport. Then three days later we put Amanda on an airplane home to Brazil, a very tearful day. If you ever have the opportunity to house an exchange student, do it, the things you learn and the lifelong bond that is built is worth all the tears when you say goodbye.

Not long after these tears it was time to say goodbye again to Katrin as she boarded her airplane back to Germany.... what a year!

Then we start the packing and cleaning out of Shannon's room for college!

Typical Shannon, food in hand, going off to college. This was taken just after we moved Shannon's stuff into her Kresge apartment at Santa Cruz.

Then Larry and I left for home, just the two of us. After 7 months of having two girls in the house, the house suddenly felt very empty, and I felt really lonely.


We look forward to a trip to Brazil in the spring of 1999 to visit Amanda and her family, Shannon gets to go also! Time to brush up on some Portugese.

Click on Amandas picture for more stuff on her visit and stay in the United States

See what was up in 2001

For info on the year 2000, you can still see what we have been up to.

For what happened in 1999