Armel Nibasumba ‘16, Burundi
I met the Franklins in my second month at Middlebury. We had been matched through the Friends of International Students (FIS) program hosted by the Office of International Students and Scholars. Coming from Burundi and having spent my two last years of high school in Swaziland, I was eager to connect with the community around Middlebury. However, I never expected a caucasian Vermont family to become a real family to me and provide a home I have grown to love and cherish.
As their first official host student, I was surprised by how approachable and welcoming the Franklins are. I later found out that they had always informally hosted other international students from Middlebury and beyond. Their great spirits and love explained my ease and comfort in our interactions and our introduction phase. As a first year, I truly enjoyed meeting a Vermont family and just having a meal with other people that are not students. I was trying to make sense of this new place that had to become home for the next four years, and Middlebury College was a bubble. Every interaction I had with Annette and Tim and their kids made me feel comfortable around them. They valued my lived experiences in a non-condescending and very humanizing manner. As a Burundian, I was used to people asking me about how it was growing up in war and all the other offensive, uncaring and ill-informed stereotypical questions about Burundi and Africa. The Franklins were never like that. They cared more about my culture, my family, my experiences living in different parts of the world and most importantly what I care about and how they can be there for me. They always made me feel validated. On a campus that welcomes diversity but doesn’t always provide the adequate support system for students of color, I found a home in them.
As the years progressed and the college life caught up with me, they were there in every step of the way. They wanted to know what classes I was taking, how I am doing, what activities am I involved in on campus and if simply I wanted a break from campus and a hot meal. As a Christian, Middlebury College was a challenging campus to be on. However, it reassured me to know that I have parents that are praying for me and willing to partner with our student ministry. The Franklins let me into their family and I know I am their Burundian son and brother. They always came to my acapella and dance performances and took me with them when Elliot was showing his stellar vocal abilities or graduating from college in Chicago, when Olivia was being a wonderful theatre showrunner, or even when Emma had a soccer game or a concert. For an International Student, that gave a picture of what an American life can be and what a loving home-away-from-home can look like. I always admired how they always strived to bridge racial and cultural barriers to learn about the others, carefully take the time to listen and appreciate experiences that are foreign to them, and constantly affirm the beauty and depth in them. They have always showed me what truly loving one another means, challenged me to be a better person. You would be surprised what a simple home-cooked meal or a simple game night can mean to a Middlebury college student, especially with the heightened stress levels and homesickness that most of us experienced daily.
I always bragged to my friends that I had the best host family and truly, I was blessed. I started bringing my friends along and the Franklins are now a family to many international and American students. I have never met anyone who was turned away from their home, who didn’t love the culturally diverse foods that Annette makes, who didn’t feel welcome and didn’t enjoy the laughter that fills the house. Plenty of us have stayed on their couches and in the basement they furnished to make room for more people they wanted to host. At my graduation, they welcomed my mother and my brother in their home. They even threw a graduation party for us. My two worlds met. I could read my mother’s appreciation for these strangers that had taken in her son, gave him a home and had taken me as their own.
The Franklins have laughed with me, listened to me complain about social injustice, helped me deal with my anxiety, held my hand as my family was suffering with the political unrest in Burundi, wiped my tears several times, fed me with incredible Annette’s cooking, taught me to bake, invited me in their family jam sessions, let me in their family, and always told me that I mattered and that I was loved. I know I have found a family in them and a home wherever they will be. They hold a special part in my heart.
