You already know my name is Carole, and I live in New Jersey, where I have been a life-long resident. I am divorced, but spoken for, have two sons and one daughter, three grandsons, and three granddaughters. On this page, I will try to explain who I am, and how I managed to travel so much. I know I have a strong tendency to ramble on, so I hope I don't bore you to death. :-)

I was born and raised in a very small, resort town, at the Jersey Shore, into a white, Anglo-Saxon community. As a child, I had almost total freedom to be able to go wherever I wanted, when I went out to play. My closest friend lived two miles from me. Our parents never had to worry that my brother or I would be taken or harmed by some sick pervert.The number of vehicles was few on our small country roads, so our parents didn't worry about us being struck by one of them. They never worried that we would get in with a bad crowd or become involved with illegal drugs. We never even heard of such things in those days. It simply didn't happen here. We would walk, or ride our bicycles into town on Saturdays. It was 8 miles one way. We almost never saw a car pass, but on the rare occasion that we did, the passengers in the vehicle were always folks we knew. We also traveled by boat. To this day, I love boating. It is one of my hobbies, along with ballroom dancing, WebTv, where I've met so many great people, camping, gardening, travel, skiing, competitive dance and figure skating, and sky-diving. I no longer sky-dive, ski, nor skate. I decided I was getting too old to continue to pursue those three. Injuries don't heal as quickly as they do when one is younger. :-((

Everyone who lived in this area knew each other. There were 12 children in my eighth grade class.

In the summer months, many people came here to vacation. We knew all of those folks as well, as most of them owned a small bungalow here. Those who didn't, rented a place, and returned to the same rental year after year.

During 1950 through 1954, my high school years, we had only one student of color, no students who had arrived from other countries, and none who were not Christian. I still live in the same area. It is no longer a small town, and no longer white, Anglo-Saxon, but a town that has grown immensely and is now very diverse, with people of many religions, many colors, and many cultures. In fact, the entire county has grown the same way.

During my growing up years, I was always interested in learning about other religions, and other cultures.....people who were different from me. When I was a senior in high school, a new student came to our school. She was Japanese. Sadly, none of the students would befriend her, because she looked different, dressed differently, and ate different foods. I was very interested in getting to know her, so I made it my business to do just that. I was upset by my friend's reaction to this girl. I was very disappointed in them, that they could be so small minded. She was a very sweet girl, and extremely shy. She spoke little English, but I could communicate with her quite well. I felt very sorry for her, because all the students treated her as an outcast. About two months after her arrival at our school, she failed to show up one day. I never saw her again. To this day, I still think about her, and wonder what happened to her. I remember that her name was Kimura Keiko, a very common name for a Japanese female, as I've since learned. I always wondered if her treatment by the students in our school forced her family to move away, or forced her to drop out of school. Getting to know her, the little that I did, whetted my appetite even more for learning about foreign cultures, especially Asian cultures.

When I finished school, I worked for the Federal Government, at Fort Monmouth, an Army base located about 25 miles north of my home. I met many, many people from other lands. I loved it. It gave me the opportunity to learn about many different lands and peoples. I met a soldier from Ohio on the base, and two years later, at the age of 19, I married him. Our marriage lasted 25 years, and produced a son, Joseph, born in 1959, a daughter, Jill, born in 1961, and another son, John, born in 1964. From these three children, we were blessed with our 6 wonderful grandchildren, whom I love dearly.

When my children were young, I waitressed at night, so as not to ever leave them with a babysitter. As my husband was walking in the door from his job, I left home to go to my job. Our children were always in the care of their parents. When they became older, I taught music, which I did for 25 years. I taught piano and organ, but organ was really my favorite. The music studio I taught for sold Yamaha instruments, Kimball instruments, and others, as well. My boss wanted me to initiate a program in the studio, that was designed by Kimball Company, and he sent me to school to learn their technique. That was my first trip away from my family. I had to attend school in Virginia. As it turned out, I didn't approve of their technique, and upon returning to my studio, I told my boss, and he was very gracious by allowing me not to teach the program he had just paid good money to have me learn. A year or two later, Yamaha Company had developed a unique program, and again, my boss asked me to go to Winnipeg, Canada, to be trained in Yamaha's new program. He promised me that if I felt this program had no value, I would not have to teach it when I returned. As it turned out, I loved this program, and taught it for many years. I was one of 7 original teachers, eligible to teach this program in the United States. Every year, I would have to travel to some place for updated training. Student competitions were held throughout this country, and Japan, once each year. I was always fortunate enough to have students talented enough to enter the competitions. I got to do a lot of traveling........all expenses paid.

In the large cities in New Jersey and New York, foreign students came on homestay programs. I had always wished they would come to our area. I wanted the opportunity to have a foreign student in my home, but the students were never placed in small towns.

Many years later, in 1980, much to my surprise, and total delight, there was an article in a small local newspaper that Korean students would be coming for a 3 week homestay to our area, and host families were needed. I was on the phone arranging an interview for acceptance to host before the ink on the newspaper was dry. I was already divorced by this time. My family and I were interviewed in our home, and shortly thereafter, we received the word that we were accepted as a host family. I was so very excited, and couldn't wait until our student would arrive. We were given a male student. Hosting this young, college student, proved to be a most rewarding experience for my family. We adored him. We took him everywhere, and just enjoyed watching him experience all the new things this country had to offer.......all the things he had never experienced before. Three weeks later, we hosted our first Japanese student......another college age male. This experience proved even more rewarding than our first. We were definitely hooked! From that first experience forward, my life was changed forever.

In 1982, I was approached by the company that arranged the homestays, asking me if I had any interest in becoming more involved in the programs, while I continued to host. I had always made it my business to be involved with the entire group of students in any way that I could anyway. Now the company was offering me money to be involved. "What a great opportunity", I thought! Before long, I was working directly with the students, teaching American culture, English as a Second Language, and arranging all of their activities. It was seasonal work, and I was needed three months in the winter, and another three months in the summer. We dealt with students from many different countries, and I always hosted 1 or 2 from each program. I was in seventh heaven.

I continued to host students at least twice a year for many years, while I continued to teach music, and work for the homestay company. In 1985, I went to Japan for the first time, to attend the wedding of Hiroaki, our first Japanese student. I stayed at his parent's home. I arrived two weeks before the wedding. During this period, I traveled all over Japan with him, and with many of the other students I knew from my groups. After the wedding, my Japanese son and his bride returned to America with me, and spent their honeymoon at my home. They spent 2 weeks before they returned to Japan.

One evening I received a telephone call from a different homestay company, one that was located in Japan and in Los Angeles, and dealt only with Japanese students. The man on the phone, who was one of the corporation owners, told me that I had been brought to their attention by two Japanese girls who had been on one of my homestay programs the previous month. The girls told him they had a well organized, wonderful experience on the East Coast, and had excellent host families, who took very good care of them. The man on the phone asked me if I would be interested in working full time for them, opening up, and running the East Coast. He told me they had been looking for someone with a lot of experience with homestay programs, and had requests from potential homestay students who wanted to be placed on the East Coast, but he could not accommodate them. He told me he was impressed with what the girls had told him, and the paperwork they had shown him. I was very surprised by his question, since he had never met me, and although I was familiar with many different homestay companies by this time, I had never heard of his company. I asked him to send me the company's literature, and I would get back to him after I reviewed it. Two nights later, I received another call, from the woman partner in this company. She invited me to Mexico to a meeting. She asked me to meet the company owners and other employees, and familiarize myself with their programs before I made any decision. I was very nervous, from a safety standpoint, but I went. I fell in love with the company's policy, and the owners and employees, and agreed to work for them. I also loved the fact that they worked only with students from Japan, since Japanese culture was the one closest to my heart.

Within three months of joining the company, I was given a two week trip to Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. I had the opportunity to extend into Japan if I chose, but that part would be at my own expense. I took that opportunity, and extended my trip. I needed little money, as I had many different homes in Japan where I was able to stay. I only needed money for gifts I bought for my very generous hosts, and my family members back in the States. My homestay students, and their families would not allow me to pay for anything.

These glorious trips to foreign lands, were given by the company, as incentives for the staff. We always stayed in 5-star hotels, ate in 5-star restaurants, and everything about the trips was always 5-star 'all the way'.

Some of my duties were to hire, train, and supervise people up and down the East Coast, to coordinate, teach, and recruit host families in their local areas. If any problems occurred, or enough host families could not be located within a given time, it was my job to troubleshoot, or to recruit additional families. I trained the ESL teachers in Japanese culture, to enable them to work with the students. I often taught English to groups that were placed in my area. I taught Japanese culture to the families that were hosting for the first time. It was a very hectic, busy schedule for me, but I loved every minute of it.

The trip to Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, was also given to one of the East Coast coordinators that I hired. Since this company's program was new on the East Coast, the names of all the employees I hired, were put into a hat. A name was picked, and that person went with us to the Far East. All future trips were earned by my employees.....their names were no longer picked out of a hat. There was always one major trip a year for my top coordinator, and several major trips for me (one of many great perks). Some of our travels were cruises, others were air and land trips. I have been to the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and multiple times to all different parts of Mexico. There was Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan. I could go on and on. All in addition to the many, many business and training trips I continually made up and down the East Coast, and the numerous trips to California to the U.S. office of the company. I lived out of a suitcase, for the most part.

Thanks mainly to that company, I have traveled all over the world. My travels literally cost me nothing. It was a wonderful experience for me in so many ways. I have been to Japan many times, and consider it my second home country. I have attended several weddings of students who I hosted over the years, and some whom I didn't host, but taught. When I traveled to Japan, I lived in their homes, or their parent's home. Each time, upon my arrival, large groups of students would meet me at the airport. They always had a welcome party for me the day after my arrival, and when it was time for me to leave again, there was always a big sayonara party the night before my departure. Large numbers of the students would be at the airport to bid me farewell and bring me gifts.

Over the years, I have given a great deal of myself to these wonderful students, from many different countries, but what I gave was so insignificant in comparison to what they have given me. I can never repay them, and I will never forget a single one of them. I think of them every day. They are my children, almost as much as my biological children.

Unfortunately, I no longer do this work. When the economy went bad in the United States, Japan soon followed. There is a saying in Japan......"when America sneezes, Japan catches a cold". Students could no longer afford to come to the East Coast, and the numbers who went to California dropped off sharply. It was a very sad time for me. I could have worked with another homestay company, but I would not have had the privilege of working with Japanese students. As I mentioned earlier, I've hosted students from many countries, but the Japanese are, by far, my favorite.

At the point of losing my job working with Japanese students, I had to find another job. Luckily, even though I came from a small town, where we were all called 'stump jumpers', 'clam diggers', or 'hicks', I had managed to get a good education. I attended college during my adult years. At one time, I worked in the property tax office. I had also worked in the medical field. I had a lot of experience in working with people, handling large amounts of money, good organizational skills, and councilling skills, so I was offered a job as a welfare director. That seemed to be a perfect job for me, so I took it. It was an opportunity to use all the skills I had acquired over my lifetime. I worked with welfare until my retirement in 1998.

All the students I hosted are grown now, and have families of their own. I have not had the opportunity to meet any of their children. I know them only from pictures and letters. It makes me sad to think I may never see them in person. I hope these young parents will afford their children the same opportunity they had by allowing them to come on a homestay program to the U.S., although it frightens me, with all the crime in this country nowadays. I wonder how safe they would be here, especially the Japanese. Japan is a very safe country, and crime is virtually unknown there. Japanese people are very vulnerable when they come to this country. It's sad that we all know crime so well in our otherwise great country.

Nowadays, my 'significant other', Ed, and I, travel whenever we can. Although I enjoy all of my travels, I hope that someday while I am still on this Earth, I can return to Japan. Whenever I return there, it is like going home again. I would never have dreamed that a little, small town girl like me, would have the opportunity to have such wonderful, life-altering experiences.