Homestay family keeps on growing

When Pam and Bill Odders first married, they imagined that they would adopt children from a dozen different cultures. Instead, they had three of their own, and “the dozen kids from other cultures” turned out to be ELI students who have lived with them during their studies here.

The Odders are a homestay family. They’ve been “adopting” ELI students since 1997. Their own children, Paul, 22, Rene, 16, and Becca, 14, whom the Odders have schooled at home, have become a magnet for their international “children.” ELI students delight to learn about home schooling and partake in those daily lessons along with the Odders children.

Instruction continues informally, too. Becca likes to teach baking to her ELI sisters. She, in turn, has learned how to make “kim bop” from her Korean sister, Angela Shin Jong Kim (‘99), who adapted the recipe for the United States by adding hotdogs. Paul introduced paintball to Hitoshi Watanabe of Japan (‘02) at a home graduation party, an event impossible in crowded Japan.

Their most recent live-in student, JiMae Kim (’06), is so much a part of their family that after JiMae completed her after-studies-tour of the United States, she returned to her American home to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with the Odders before going back to South Korea.

A homestay family Bill and Pam Odders with daughters Renee and Becca and Angela Kim (Korea '99) at an ELI holiday dinner.

Some of the best family days have occurred during snowstorms. Being snowbound provides more than an excuse for sledding and hot chocolate. When the ELI graduation ceremony was snowed out in January 2003, the Odders held their own event, presenting certificates to their graduates at the dinner table.

Having so many live-in guests over the years has created many lasting memories for the Odders. One of the most memorable was that of Bo Wan Chong (’05), a Korean teacher who arrived eight months pregnant. Despite some initial trepidation, the Odders welcomed her into their family circle. Together, they learned about nutritional foods for expectant mothers, and they enjoyed buying baby gifts before Bo Wan left to give birth back home.

The Odders like to keep in touch with their extended family. In 2001, Pam traveled to South Korea to attend the wedding of Angela Shin Jong Kim and to visit several other ELI graduates who had lived with the family. Thus far, the Odders have adopted 25 ELI students into their family and are “eagerly looking forward to the next 25!”

Editor’s note: Currently, there are 100 students living with 85 families through ELI’s Homestay program. Fifty new students per two-month session, on average, were welcomed into American homes in 2006. In addition, for students who wish to live independently, host families invite their “adopted” son or daughter to their homes for dinner, weekend ball games, Friday night movies and other cultural activities.

For more information on the Homestay or Host Family program, contact Nancy Purcell at rtp@aol.com or visit www.udel.edu/eli/homestay