About our family....

Okay, well, this blog won't just be about our new exchange student....obviously it will be mainly about our family and our experiences during this adventure.

So, first, we were told by our coordinator to start thinking of our house rules because the student will be required to follow them and not be treated as a guest....at first I thought, well, we don't have too many rules so this should be easy.

But really, if you stop to think about it, so many of your family rules are really unspoken expectations. I mean, when you live with the same people for many years, you all just come to expect certain things that often go without saying. Things like, sharing a bathroom...sometimes modesty has to take a back seat when you have multiple people sharing one. Who cooks and cleans up meals. Who controls the remote control? Who lets the dogs out? Where is it okay to take off your shoes, put your backpack, purse, etc? What kind of comfy clothing (okay, how little) is okay to lounge around the house in? Bedroom doors closed or open? Knock or just walk in? When can friends come over? Dinnertime behavior....stay until everyone is finished?....prayer?....eat what is prepared or are you allowed to make something different if you don't like it? Guidelines for using the house phone and computer?

See what I mean...most of these are totally unspoken and Alena will have to come into this family with all of our unspoken rules (you have them too!) and navigate through them and remember them. Even harder when you throw in cultural expectations that may be totally different than ours.

All of us will have to do an exceptional job of communicating to make sure any misunderstandings and expectations are addressed right away so they don't fester into something bigger. Patience for all of us as we adjust will be of utmost importance as we develop our relationships and begin to merge into a slightly different family unit.