Residents Host Exchange Students

Bob and Chris Cassel have experienced the culture of 23 countries, all without leaving the comfort of their own home. Always having an extra bedroom to spare, the couple began hosting foreign guests through the Council of International Programs, which gives professionals an opportunity to train in other countries.

From learning to cook new foods to the discovery of the translator on their iPhones, the Cassels have been on a whirlwind of adventure for the last 35 years.

“We’ve learned so much and have met brilliant people,” Chris said. “Hosting is an experience we didn’t want to give up in retirement.”

Fortunately, they didn’t have to, and several people have called their Masonic Village at Elizabethtown cottage “home,” including three Lancaster Barnstormers baseball players, who come from across the country for the season.

Pre-retirement, Chris worked as a pharmacist and Bob as an accountant. The two loved to escape a world of numbers and medicine by not only hosting, but traveling themselves. “We love sharing our culture and enriching our lives,” Bob said. Occasionally, they stayed in the homes of professionals they once hosted in America.

A cabinet in the Cassel’s entryway is filled with trinkets from around the globe. In the front are a few new and precious additions. These unique Japanese treasures were given by two 15-year-olds.

The Cassels hosted Hikaru and Ryutaro (“Oji” for short), their youngest house guests, during an exchange program between Lancaster Catholic High School and Hakodate La Salle, a private school in Hokkaido, Japan. Hikaru and Oji were two of the 100 boys needing a home for a week.

Having no children of their own, the Cassels have found exchange programs are a great way to be around kids. “You know, one thing is true,” Chris says, “young people are good for seniors.”

There was only one daily challenge for Chris – waking up around 5 a.m. to prepare breakfast and get the boys on the 7:10 bus every morning, no easy feat for someone who has been retired for three years. The kids kept Bob and Chris moving with a week full of attending programs, tours of Masonic Village, cooking plentiful dinners and pick-ups and drop-offs.

Hikaru and Oji were perplexed by many things during their first trip to America, including the use of forks and knives, conversational English and the casual inclusion of onions in just about every dish.

Despite the disruption in their normal routine, the Cassels and the boys certainly benefited from the experience.

Bob and Chris refreshed their memory on chopstick use, learned a few Japanese words, and most importantly, created unexpected friendships. In their years of hosting, this may have been their favorite experience. “I call them ‘my boys,’” Chris says with a smile.