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Foreign exchange students visit Castleton
Clyde, Kelly, Hannah and Josh Bennett have made new life-long friends. The Bennett family opened their home and hearts to two short-term foreign exchange students recently. Nine-year-old Ibrahim Jaka and 12-year-old Simran Banwani stayed with the Bennetts from May 14 to June 1. It was a great experience for the family. They learned a lot about the Indian culture.The children were from Mumbai, formerly Bombay, India. It is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is small in size but has a population of approximately 14 million which makes it the second most populous city in the world. The city also houses Bollywood. The name comes from putting Bombay and Hollywood together. Bollywood is the Indian version of our Hollywood (Hindi cinema) but does not exist as a real physical place. They love Hannah Montana.
The children are both Muslims. Muslims believe there is only one God (Allah). They are not big meat eaters. The children ate mostly veggies, noodles, rice, chicken, no pork. They brought some spicy Indian food, a hot curry dish, to share with the Bennetts. Bread is usually used like we would use our forks. Josh said they really enjoyed their trip to Kings Dominion. After all, kids are still kids, no matter where they are from.
The children said that they loved the trees and grass, as they come from a world of concrete. What they loved most about our area was the peace and beauty.
Indians are very communal and spend lots of family time together. The children were curious about the fact that Americans don't have all their relatives living together. They are not used to having animals as pets. They have little room for pets.
Ibrahim and Simran were participants in a program sponsored by Taj Global Understanding (TGU), a nonprofit organization (www.tajglobalunderstanding.org) that sponsors short term international student exchange programs to the United States. They have an incredible mission and philosophy. TGU offers more than just the student exchange program. Brad Baldwin of Culpeper, is president. Ten children (Muslim and Hindi) and one teacher visited. There were seven sponsor families, six in Culpeper and one in Castleton. TGU donated $1,000 to the Precious Blood Catholic Church Youth Ministry as a gesture of gratitude for their participation. All host families are members of Precious Blood Catholic Church of Culpeper. Kelly Bennett is the church's youth minister.
Benefit dinner
Castleton resident, Marvin Pearson, was severely burned in a brush fire accident on May 31. He suffered second and third degree burns when starting a controlled brush fire on his Scrabble Road property. The family of four is still struggling as Marvin slowly recuperates.
A benefit dinner has been organized to help raise money for the Pearson family. The dinner will be held on Friday, July 25, 6-10 p.m. at The Link in Sperryville. Tickets are $20 per person. Children under five are free. The price of admission includes a spaghetti dinner, DJ/dancing, and a silent auction. The items to be auctioned include a variety of handmade and unique, hard-to-find items donated mostly by local businesses. There will also be a raffle for a $100 gas card. Please call (540) 987-8005 for reservations, tickets, information, or to make a donation for the auction. Tickets also will be sold at the door.
If you cannot attend but would like to help the Pearson family, monetary donations may be sent to: Fauquier Bank, Marvin Pearson Fund, Attn: Retail, P.O. Box 561, Warrenton, VA 20188-9868.
Anything you can do to help the family is greatly appreciated.
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