-Testimonials of Citizen Diplomacy-

January 31, 2012

We at GCIV believe in the power of citizen diplomacy and the results of building relationships between the members of our community and future leaders from around the world. There is no greater evidence than the testimonials by our members and our exchange participants. These are guest blog posts that we wanted to share.

Sucheta Rawal, a GCIV volunteer home stay host dedicated a post on her food and travel blog, Go Eat Give, to her experience in December hosting a Russian visitor participating in an Open World program.

Russian Open World delegation with volunteer home host Sucheta Rawal.

“Last week a delegation from Russia came to Atlanta to discuss social issues and healthcare through the Open World Leadership Program. The six delegates were hosted with families who have opened up their homes by being members of the Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV).

Mariya Yuryevna Solodunova, a young lady from Saint Petersburg was assigned to live with us for a week. She is a child psychologist who works in an orphanage providing counseling to children, parents and the care takers. Having volunteered in an orphanage in Yaroslavl, Russia a couple of years ago, I was eager to learn more about what she did. Mariya (pronounced Marsha) is absolutely passionate about her work. She told me about how cutting edge her orphanage was and how her team has been on a mission to replicate its model in other places. Basically, they hired mothers to work as caretakers with the orphan babies between the age of 0-4, a delicate age when they are most in need of emotional and physical care. This has completely changed the children’s psychological behavior leading them to grow up to be healthy kids.

Mariya and I had a wonderful time together. This was her first visit to the U.S. Even though we live across the world from each other, we found we have a lot of similarities and could converse on practically any subject (even though Mariya said her English was limited which I disagreed with). One evening we had a girl’s day in and cooked pirogues (Russian stuffed bread), drank wine and shared stories. Needless to say I got to learn a lot about Russian traditions. Did you know that Christmas in not celebrated on December 25 in Russia? Also, they do not put presents under the tree until Christmas Eve and the children actually have to earn them by doing a performance or a recital.

One thing Mariya shared with me brought about a self awakening. She said that in Russia people are generally cautious about their belongings and their privacy, and would not leave their home open to a complete stranger. The fact that I gave her a key to my home after only a few hours of knowing her surprised her that I would trust someone so much so soon. I explained to her that we humans try to protect our materialistic things and forget that we came into the world with nothing and will leave with nothing. It is only our gestures towards each person that leaves an everlasting impact on one individual or an entire society. Then why do we give so much importance to materialistic things? A Buddhist believer, she found me to be. She said after staying with us, it has opened her heart and she will now be more trusting of people as well. Perhaps she will sign up to be a host family in her city.

Click here to read the rest of Sucheta’s post and visit her blog.

Yazeed, a high school exchange student from Jordan, is spending his sophomore year abroad in Atlanta, staying with a local family and attending North Atlanta High School. He is here on a full scholarship from the U.S. Department of State’s Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program. YES is a program for high school student exchange to the U.S. from countries of Muslim majority population. Here in Atlanta, AFS carries out part of the YES exchange experience, finding the host family and supporting them and the student throughout the year’s exchange. Yazeed joined GCIV for the 50th anniversary kickoff celebration at Fernbank Museum of Natural History in December 2011, and here are some of his impressions:

“Hey – I’m Yazeed and I’m an exchange student from Jordan. I came to the USA thru a program called Youth Exchange and Study (YES).

I was surprised when I went to the 50th anniversary celebration for GCIV because I saw people from my own country, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. I really enjoyed the party because I had a chance to see people from all over the world and talk to them and they were actually interested in knowing things about me.

And the first ones who I thank (because without it I wouldn’t have this incredible experience in my life) are the AFS and the YES programs. The second one I thank is my father who encouraged me to go, and without him I probably wouldn’t be here.

I’ve been in the USA since September and I have already made a lot of friends and met great people. I have a really great host family and I love my school (North Atlanta High School).

I celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas here in the USA and it was a great chance for me to know how the Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

I had the greatest days of my life here in the USA and I thank everybody that encouraged me to come and especially the AFS and the YES programs.”

Feel free to share your own experiences and memories interacting with GCIV’s professional exchange participants.

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-Making a Difference-

December 1, 2011

One of GCIV’s most active hosts shares why everyone should participate in home hospitality through GCIV.

“When was the last time your dinner conversation was more than the boring, ‘What did you do today?’
Would you like to travel to Egypt, Israel, China, Italy or anywhere else in the world just for dinner? Allow me to recommend the dinner home hosting program through the Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV).

The GCIV program brings the best and brightest professionals from around the world right here to Atlanta, people like former participants Nelson Mandela and Nicholas Sarkozy. I have been a home host with GCIV for the last six years now and have hosted dinners for people from over 45 countries of the world. Since I live alone, my dinner conversations are usually pretty one-sided, but when I host these international visitors I transcend my solo life and become a part of the wider international world.

I have hosted a former prime minister, doctors, veterinarians, mayors, judges, a former teen singing idol, television anchors, authors and sheiks, among others. There is a good chance I have even hosted someone who will become a future president or Nobel Prize winner. The discussions can be serious or amusing and range anywhere from home life to cutting-edge science.

What a wonderful time I have had. Here are a few memorable tidbits that stand out…

  • the sheik explained his living conditions with multiple wives
  • guests wanted permission to look at my pick-up truck because they were not allowed to own one in their own country
  • I showed a photo of one of my international guests to a friend of mine from Egypt and he told me I had hosted the most famous newscaster on television in the Arab world
  • Israeli and Palestinian visitors sat next to each other at my dinner table and were friends
  • a guest read the label on the bottle of salad dressing and told me he would NEVER eat blue cheese and asked why are there no fortified fences around the houses

The true reason I host is because I thoroughly enjoy it. However, I always tell people I host because I feel that I am doing something, even though it’s small, for the common good and that I am helping to build a bridge of friendship throughout the world. The famous sociologist Margaret Mead said ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’ I feel that if each and every one of us in the world knew each other, there would be peace because you don’t harm your friends.

Every time I drop my guests off back at their hotel, each person thanks me and tells me, ‘I didn’t know Americans were so nice.’ I think it’s important for me to keep hosting until I no longer hear those words.”

- GCIV volunteer host Vicki Van Der Hoek

Please feel free to share your own home hospitality experiences, thoughts and memories. If you are interested in being a home hospitality host or would like more information, please contact Emily O’Harris at emily@gciv.org or 404-832-5560 x 15. GCIV is currently seeking home hospitality hosts for a worldwide delegation of visiting Fulbright scholars on Friday, February 10, 2012.

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-Staff Spotlight: RJ Paulisick-

November 1, 2011

GCIV welcomes the newest member of our team, RJ Paulisick, Program and Technology Coordinator.

Robert John (RJ) Paulisick, a native of Washington D.C., is a recent graduate of Georgia Tech earning his B.S. in International Affairs. While at Tech he performed undergraduate research analyzing expert opinions concerning nanotechnology applications within the nuclear energy and nuclear weapons industries. He has previously worked as a research associate for the India, China America (ICA) Institute and the British Consulate General. RJ also has extensive experience as a web developer and designer from his internship with local interactive marketing firm, What’s Up Interactive. He speaks a little German and when he’s not playing piano, he’s out playing basketball or tennis.
You can email RJ at rj@gciv.org.

If you are a former GCIV intern, please share with us what you are doing now. We hope all former interns or volunteers will share your memories/comments about your experience at GCIV.

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-Celebrating 500 Programs-

September 30, 2011


GCIV program director Emily O’Harris has reached a significant milestone. She recently completed her 500th international exchange program. Over the past five years, Emily has designed and implemented professional and cultural programs for visiting leaders from over 125 countries. GCIV staff, board members, volunteers, friends and family celebrated Emily’s accomplishment and the power of citizen diplomacy in September with a party at Pura Vida. Do you have a favorite story about Emily? Do you have any memories or comments to share about your experiences with GCIV and hosting international visitors?

Click here to view more images from the celebration.

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-Invaluable Programs and Lasting Impressions-

August 29, 2011

This blog post continues our retrospective, compiled in 1998 by former GCIV executive director Anne Hansen. Please be a part of our 50th anniversary celebration in 2012 by leaving comments about your GCIV memories, reasons for hosting, and beliefs about the impact of our shared work.

Great Decisions GCIV became the coordinating office for the Great Decisions discussion groups in 1993 for the state of Georgia, with Rosalie FitzPatrick managing the program. This combination of GCIV members and Great Decision participants provides a forum for the visitors to speak to interested groups about their countries and to observe U.S. citizens in small groups discussing foreign affairs.

No history of GCIV would be complete without a special mention of James Kindell, long time program officer since 1977, who died in April 1996. Mr. Kindell, as he was known by all, will be remembered for his hearty laugh, his southern cooking and his love of gospel music. In 1993 he was given the NCIV award for outstanding program officer for the many group programs he coordinated during his twenty years. Ada Almering reminisces, “Mr. Kindell was always most involved with the GCIV office holiday party, his fried chicken was famous, his pound cakes were sacred. On the day of the office party he was always busy organizing the mid-winter AID Seminar – typing on his knees because all extra chairs were needed elsewhere for the party.”

One last anecdote from Dorothy Beasley, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals and a new GCIV board member in 1998, depicts the way the visitors and programs of GCIV interface with other international endeavors in the city and how Americans exchange ways of doing things with people from other countries. She says, “As a new member of the board, I have already had many experiences which have enriched my life and those of others as we reach into the global community.” She goes on to recount a breakfast meeting with the chief editor and head of programming for Croatian television, which helped her in the preparation for two Croatian law students who would be coming to spend a semester at Georgia State Law School. Juvenile Justice CenterShe also entertained an Indian visitor over “grits, biscuits and can syrup” while they discussed the use of mediation in settling disputes in both their countries. She later arranged for the visitor to have a productive meeting with the Justice Center of Atlanta, a mediation center.

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