An act of kindness is one thing, but to take a person from a foreign country into your home is another.

Sophomore Carlee Cunningham talked to her friend Svanta Luce, a sophomore foreign exchange student, who mentioned other students in need of host families.

“I asked my mom, who said yes. We went through the paperwork and within a few days she moved in with us,” Cunningham said.

It was official — there was an addition to the Cunningham family. With eight people under one roof, they made room for one more: sophomore Yeso Kim from South Korea.  

“Most of the time, you don’t realize that you are bringing someone into your house that is from a different culture with different traditions,” Cunningham said” So, it’s fun to learn her ways; but it’s also very different.”

Kim shared the way they eat in Korea―how she is used to strong spices in her food― and grocery shops with the family.  Also, she plans to make a special meal for the family.  

Family is very important to Kim. Every Saturday, she goes into her room and calls her parents. Meanwhile She is becoming more comfortable with her host family each week.

Cunningham is the only girl out of three brothers, so a different aspect for her to have  another girl in the house. When she and Kim have free time Cunningham takes Kim shopping to show her U.S. fashion trends.

“One thing that I noticed was that she is very regimented and organized. She’s not used to having all this free time after school, because in South Korea school is 24/7.”

One day, Cunningham wanted to show Kim what she does in her everyday life; so she showed her how to make a facemask and how to apply. Kim said she hadn’t done a face mask before and it felt slimy and cold ― but she liked it, because it made her face feel clean and refreshed. Cunningham and her family got a kick out of this, because of Kim’s unexpected reaction toward the facemask.

“The funniest moments are the simplest ones.”