UCR-IEP Host Families

Tales of Everlasting Friendships.

Honorio Komori: The Lopatynskis have been a constant in my life

Honorio Komori arrived in the United States from Brazil in September of 1998 to study English at UC Riverside Extension.

He chose to live with a host family because he knew he would learn English more quickly.
Jess and Kelly Lopatynski, who have been hosting students for 21 years, welcomed him with open arms. Honorio lived with them for 18 months.

Learning English in America
Learning English in America

Eight years later, Honorio is still here -- now working at UC Riverside Extension and attending graduate school.

And he continues to see the Lopatynskis almost every day. Kelly Lopatynski teaches English for International Education Programs. Honorio is the staff development officer for IEP.

“He’s part of my family,” Kelly Lopatynski said.

“The hardest feeling was missing my nephews and nieces,” Honorio said. “Kelly’s sister-in-law got pregnant. I held (her son) when he was 1-day-old. He’s like my nephew now.”

Learning English in America

Wally and Sharon Sneddon with host students Anastasia, from Russia, and Sung-Yung Kim, from Korea.

One child became many
Wally and Sharon Sneddon became host parents for UC Riverside Extension 23
years ago because they thought it would be a good experience for their
12-year-old daughter.
"We did it so our daughter would learn how to share and learn about
different cultures," said Wally Sneddon.
They took in two children at first. The neighbors across the street, who had
five children of their own, also hosted two children from UC Riverside
Extension. Between the two homes and nine children, the families never knew
who was where because the children visited each other.
More than 100 students later, the Sneddons now have surrogate children
scattered all over the world. Many students still continue to visit the
Sneddons bringing their new husbands and babies in tow. Their daughter has
visted her host siblings in Germany twice.
And yes, Wally said his daughter, now 35 with a baby of her own, did learn
how to share.

Martha Soriano travels to Brazil to be in host daughter’s wedding

In 2001, Martha Soriano opened her home in Perris to Brazilian student Leila Tensen. Leila, who was 20, lived with Martha for one year while she studied English at UC Riverside Extension.

The two became close – so close that when Leila got married, she asked Martha to be in her wedding. Last February, Martha flew to Rio Negrinho in Santa Catarina, Brazil and spent three weeks with Leila’s family.

"It was my first experience traveling to South America," said Martha. "Their culture is very different. The people are so gracious."

Martha was touched when Leila’s mother learned English to prepare for Martha’s arrival.

“She only spoke Portuguese and I spoke Spanish,” Martha said. Leila, her new husband, and her parents plan to come to the United States. Martha is looking forward to opening her home again to Leila and her family.

Learning experience

 

 

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