Sveva Cattaneo, center, an exchange student from Italy, poses with Bonnie Witkosky, a representative of the International Student Exchange program, left, and Nicole Brant from her host family. In the background is the Brant family’s holiday tree, adorned with lights. Sveva was waiting for Holland Brant to come home from her after-school job so they could put ornaments on the tree together.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
Exchange student celebrates her first Thanksgiving with local host family
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When the Brant family of Mountain Top gathers around their Thanksgiving table, they can tell each other they’re grateful for their newest member — the new “daughter” and “sister” who arrived in August as an exchange student from Italy.
Sveva Cattaneo, in turn, can tell them how happy she is to be part of their lives as she attends Crestwood High School and plays volleyball there with Nicole and Eric Brant’s daughter, Holland.
“I’m having the most wonderful experience here,” Sveva said as soft light from a Christmas tree played on her face in the family living room.
“I’m thankful I’ve gained a daughter. My daughter has gained a new sister, ” Nicole Brant said with a smile. “I’m thankful that her family was willing and trusting enough to let us take care of their daughter, and I take care of her like my own.”
Sveva’s 10-month stay in the United States was arranged by Bonnie Witkosky, a representative of International Student Exchange. That program, based in Bay Shore, N.Y., has brought 877 students to the United States this year, with Witkosky making the arrangements for 28 of them.
The young woman from Milano wanted to come to the United States to learn more about this country and to improve her English, and her host family says the learning is a two-way street. They’ve learned about her culture, too.
The Brants’ interest in becoming a host family was sparked by their daughter Holland’s friendship with a girl from Spain, Clara Garcia, who was an exchange student at Crestwood last year.
“We weren’t her host family, but basically she lived here,” Nicole Brant said of Clara. “We just loved learning about Clara and about Spain. The connection she has with our family will be forever.”
Now the family is forging the same kind of bond with Sveva, who will be celebrating her first Thanksgiving this year, because it is not a holiday in her home country.
“I’m going to make tiramisu,” she said, describing a contribution she will make to the family feast.
Sveva also has contributed mightily to Crestwood’s volleyball team, excelling in play against other schools this season.
“Sports here are taken more seriously,” she said, naming a difference between her experiences in Italy and the United States. “Here they practice every day.”
“I got way, way better.”
Another difference, Sveva said, was that “teachers here help you more” and seem less strict than in her home country.
She lives in a fashion capital of the world, and if you ask her whether what you wear is important there, she collapses into giggles and says yes. In the United States, she said, what teens wear to high school tends to be more casual.
Witkosky, who visited with Nicole Brant and Sveva on a recent evening, is always eager to talk to potential host families, and said they should ask themselves the following questions:
“Do you have a welcoming attitude? A desire to make a positive impact in a child’s life? The wish to exchange cultures? And room for another household member?”
Families with or without children, empty nesters and single individuals all are eligible to host. The exchange students, all of whom speak English fluently, are 15 to 18 years old and hail from more than 40 countries.
You’re not expected to treat them as guests but as family members who “respect family rules, help with chores and participate in family gatherings and activities.”
The program can last for 5 or 10 months. Witkosky invites potential host families to contact her at 570-417-3418. Information also is available at iseusa.org.