Classic Plumbing PLUMBER of the Month: Delaney Smith

BY DANI TIETZ
dani@mahometnews.com

Delaney Smith has a new appreciation for people, their lives, their culture and their world.

Smith spent a month in Finland as part of the States 4-H International Exchange Program.

An eight-year member of 4-H, Smith’s focus has been on show horses and livestock, but after traveling internationally, she is exploring a new approach.

Smith began the process of applying to the International Exchange Program online in early winter 2019.

By February, she was placed with a family in Finland. The Smith family also applied to host an international student upon their daughter’s return.

Not knowing much about Finland, the 16-year old left the states, flying with 16 other exchange students for the first time without her parents.

Upon landing in Helsinki, the group spent two days near the Baltic Sea learning about the Finish culture so that the teenagers would not offend anyone. Smith said the Finish hold their silverware differently than Americans and eat different cuisine.

“It was just to give us a little more prep before we were sent off to our host families,” Smith said.

During her two-and-a-half week stay with her host family, language wasn’t much of an issue, but the differences between American and Finish culture were eye-opening.

“They teach English at a younger age; they are so much more fluent,” she said. “Everyone in my family knew some English.”

Smith was impressed with their educational system.

She liked that when students are transitioning from their primary to secondary education, they are required to shadow professionals so that they understand what the job really entails.

“That would save a lot of money,” she said.

Smith said she wasn’t surprised to see Finish homes similar to those near her home, but the emphasis on family, having many generations nearby on one property helped Smith learn about the importance of close bonds.

She also said that marriage as Americans know it isn’t something that couples in Finland abide by. While couples will make a commitment to each other, and raise a family together, “they don’t like labels,” Smith said.

“Getting to live somebody’s else’s life every day, it teaches you so much about them, about their culture and about who you are,” she said.

Before taking the trip, Smith explained that she may have been judgmental of certain parts of the Finish culture, particularly towards marriage, but after being there and experiencing who they are, Smith said that she is interested in learning more about how relationships work in other cultures, too.

As her time abroad came to a close, Smith joined students from across the globe at Bornholm for a week. Smith said there were seven different countries represented.

“The theme of it was Unity Across Borders, and that fit in really nicely,” Smith said.

“This was the first year Americans had been to that camp, so it was exciting for everyone.”

Smith said it was great to learn about other cultures while the Americans were also able to help them understand culture in the United States.

The topic of conversation as others approached the Americans was President Donald Trump.

“They had their own opinions about him,” Smith said. “It seemed like they knew more about him than I ever would know about him.

“They seemed more interested in and involved in news in other countries.”

Smith was more interested in learning about how other countries handled their 4-H project submissions, though.

While she has had to follow fairly specific guidelines and procedures, some other countries allow their students to choose any project they would like to do.

“They could say, I want to grow grass, and that’s their project. it’s not a specific book that they complete; they get to choose anything,” she said.

The trip has helped Smith reconsider her future role within 4-H.

Smith said she will sell her horse, then continue to expand more into her poultry project, which she has found success in.

In the second year as President of her 4-H club, Smith said she wants to find different ways to get involved with States 4-H.

“I feel like with my club, I’ve always been very involved in it,” she said. “I think it’s time to let younger kids come up and start leading that.”

While traveling more is something Smith plans to do as she prepares for a trip to Spain with the Mahomet-Seymour High School foreign language department, she is also interested in hosting more students in her home through States 4-H.

Smith enjoyed showing the exchange student the Smith family hosted from South Korea around Illinois when she returned from Finland.

The Smith family took their student to the Illinois State Fair, showed her what it’s like to live on a farm

“She lived with us for four weeks, and she even got to come to school with me for the first day,” Smith said.

“She did not want to leave.”

Smith said before going back to Korea, the student said she would rather live without her cell phone for the rest of her life if she were able to stay in America.

Looking forward to next summer, Smith is hoping to be accepted into the States 4-H International Exchange Program again. She would like to travel to Romania.

Traveling helped the Mahomet-Seymour junior learn a little bit about herself.

“I became a lot more confident than I ever had been,” Smith said.

The trip marked the first time Smith had been on a plane, and she did it solo.

“Four thousand miles on my first plane flight,” she said. “That was a little scary and stressful, but totally worth it.”

She also learned more about her culture on the trip.

“Seeing that difference between their culture and our culture just opened my eyes to problems we have and the big scheme of things,” she said.

“I don’t think I ever thought I’m going to leave and go learn about another country like this, and when it happened, it just makes me think now I want to go learn more about everything else I don’t know about.”

In Delaney’s Words:

Boarding a plane for the first time and travelling 4,400 miles from home might be a small cause for worry and stress, but that is exactly what I did this summer and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! 

Through the States’ 4-H International Exchange program, I spent three weeks immersing myself in the Finnish culture. I lived with my host family, the Luomala’s, just outside Pihtipudas, a town not so different from Mahomet. New foods, new people, new places to explore and the daily sauna time top my list of lasting memories I will never forget. My trip was capped off with a week at Nordic Camp on Bornholm, a Danish island in the middle of the Baltic Sea. The camp’s theme was Community Across Borders, fitting for the participants from seven countries that attended. 

There simply isn’t enough room to print all the great things I can say about my journey. The outbound exchange program opened my eyes to cultural differences, grew my self-confidence, and deepened my understanding of who I am. I feel more open to and accepting of differences because of this program and in the future, I will always be able to draw on the time I spent in Finland to give me a boost of confidence.

I highly recommend visiting the States’ 4-H website to learn more or I’d love to tell you all more it too! Hei hei!