"The F in FIUTS stands for Family"
Longtime FIUTS host Nancy Bacon tells a story of shared global friendship...and geckos.
Post by Nancy Bacon, FIUTS host and former member of the FIUTS Board of Trustees
Lila and Nancy's shared geckos
Our family has hosted international students for at least fifteen years, and we have long said that the F in FIUTS stands for Family. Students arrive in our family and become a part of our extended global family by the time they move out into their own apartment or dorm. Our travel bucket list includes the home cities of past students, from Belgrade to Antananarivo.
Bethânia’s mother, Denize, and Nancy in a local restaurant
But I didn’t have to pull out my bucket list to visit the mothers of this year’s host students. We have long had an interest in Brazil, through family and my work with an NGO, Sou Digna/ I Am Worthy, based in the northeast of Brazil, Salvador da Bahia. I travel somewhat regularly to Salvador, and so I knew that there was a good chance that I would eventually meet the families of Bethânia and Juca, participants in an urban planning exchange program between the UW and the Federal University of Bahia in Salvador.
Denize, Nancy, and Rita (director of Sou Digna)
This past January, I met Bethânia and Juca’s mothers in two evenings of local venues and flavors. It turns out that my colleague in Salvador and Bethânia’s mother are old friends, and our evening in an old home-turned-restaurant gave them time to catch up on their work and lives. Juca’s mother, having heard about my love of moqueca—a fish stew made with palm oil—made a delicious dinner shared by family and friends.
Nancy with Juca's mother, Lila
I wrote to Juca later to tell him about the dinner, letting him know that his mother and I shared a unique characteristic. While relaxing on Salvador’s main beach the weekend before, I took a beach vendor up on a henna tattoo, and he painted a sweet gecko on my ankle. I showed Juca’s mother my new addition, and she laughed, showing me the tattooed gecko on her ankle. Mine has now faded away, but my memory of our laughter shared over a mutual love of geckos has not. The F in FIUTS stands for family and the fun we have expanding our families over food.