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Debbie Beauregard's kitchen is overflowing with teenagers, while the bedroom floors of her Bountiful home are strewn with inflatable air mattresses and bedding.
The dozen teens calling the Beauregard residence home may consider Debbie their mother, but only for the week. They are part of the Nessebar folk-dancing troupe from Bulgaria, just a few of the hundreds of foreign visitors hosted in Utah homes each year.
Whether for diplomacy, business, education or culture, Utahns seem to love hosting foreign visitors in their homes. And with several international exchange programs hoping to bring more folks from abroad, demand for host families remains high.
The Bountiful/Davis Art Center had to find families for more than 150 visiting performers as part of its annual Summerfest International. Some also perform in South Jordan's International Dance Days, necessitating two host families. The performers pay their own way to the festival, said BDAC director Emma Dugal, and staying with families helps offset the expense of travel. But host families agree to bear the expense of feeding visitors, and getting them where they need to be.
"They love to share their culture. They are so passionate about it," Dugal said. "Some have to save up for more than a year."
Beauregard became a super-host mother almost accidentally. A group of Spanish dancers came to Summerfest last year, and she heard of the need for hosts. The family had hoped to visit Spain, and they thought hosting would be a great chance to learn more.
Beauregard looked at her spare bedrooms, figured she could add some air mattresses, and told BDAC organizers she could take four dancers. After hearing they would sleep two to a bed, she agreed to take eight, but when no more host families could be found, she agreed to take the whole group.
"If you're having eight, you might as well have 12," she said, laughing. This year she prepared for a big group early on, lining up family and neighbors to loan camping gear and help her drive the dozen Bulgarian teens to their performances.
Finding families to host is an enjoyable challenge, Dugal said, and many families have made it a tradition. Finding hosts who speak a foreign language is easier in Utah because of the large pool of former Mormon missionaries, Dugal said, but groups from less-visited countries still manage to muddle along.
Irene Neilson, of Bountiful, hosted two Bulgarian teens, neither of whom spoke much English. The family relied heavily on Google Translate to make it through the week, but they managed to get the girls to all of their performances, and have some fun, too.
Groups got to experience such Americana as the Old West at Fort Buenaventura and a water balloon fight. Beauregard hosted a Dutch-oven dinner for the Bulgarians on their last night in town.
"When I'm in family, I can feel real style of life," said drummer Ivan Tsonkov, who has traveled through Europe, Asia and South America. Utah marks his first visit to the United States and his first stay with a host family. "I was feeling so comfortable. I was in my home."
Those feelings of goodwill play an important role in how Americans are seen abroad, said Alma Candelaria, director of the Office of International Visitors for the State Department. Utah is a major center for the home hospitality component of the International Visitor Leadership Program, which brings mid-career professionals from foreign countries to the U.S.
Participants, who are selected by U.S. embassies and consulates, spend a week in Washington, D.C., before heading out to see the "real" America and visit with their professional counterparts. A visit to Utah usually includes a dinner at the home of a host family.
"It's such a critical component of our program," said Candelaria, adding that the warts-and-all approach to meeting average Americans often changes the image foreign visitors have of America. "Ultimately, it's about mutual understanding."
Of the 5,000 yearly participants in the program about 500 stop in Utah, said Jennifer Hefti of the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, which runs the local program. More than 50 families hosted dinners in 2010, and families are so eager to host, the council has a waiting list.
"We seem to have an extremely welcoming, hospitable and kind community willing to open their homes and their hearts to international visitors," Hefti said.
Donna and Bill Vogel of Salt Lake City have hosted foreign diners many times over the years, starting with housing exchange students when their children were young.
"It was to expose our kids to the world," Donna Vogel said. "It's important for them to know other people and countries."
Their children are grown, but the Vogels continue to host visitors from countries as diverse as Croatia, Japan and Iraq for dinner — and stimulating conversation. Vogel has some strict rules for dining: no silver or crystal, invite thoughtful and interesting people for visitors to interact with, and all questions are allowed.
"It's a safe place to ask questions, and for them to ask us," Vogel said. "It's a wonderful learning experience you can never get reading a newspaper."
Hosting can also lead to opportunities for travel. Utah's Friendship Force chapter just finished hosting a group of Japanese visitors, many of whom have invited their hosts to come and stay with them, said president Nona Bressler. The club is planning an exchange trip to Cyprus in April, and a group of Australians will visit Utah again next year.
"It's surprising how close you get to these people in a week's time," Bressler said. "If everybody could have this experience, there might be less wars in the world."
Become a host
P There are numerous opportunities for foreign exchange and hosting in Utah. Contact one of the agencies below for more information.
Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy • Host dinner parties. Visit utahdiplomacy.org or call 801-832-3270.
Utah Friendship Force • Provide food and lodging for visitors on one-week visits. Visit friendshipforceofutah.org or call 801-277-6569.