Making The World Smaller One Person At A Time; Reconnecting 26 Years Later
By Jessica Wald
Twenty-six years ago, when she was only 17 years old, Marina (Carvalho) Werebe lived in Napoleon as a foreign exchange student for one school semester. Last week she was back in Napoleon and was able to visit her host family, friends from school, plus bring her boys along to see what North Dakota is like.
Mike and Marge Horner of Napoleon have hosted ten exchange students back in the 90’s and have kept ties with several of them, including Marina. They’ve met up a couple times since her stay in 1999; she traveled to Napoleon for a wedding, they met up in Iowa as Marina’s family was traveling there, plus, Horner’s surprised Marina by visiting her in Brazil when she got married in 2008.
Marina said they try to reconnect through email, text or video chat, but life gets busy, so when the opportunity arose for her and her two boys to travel to Napoleon to visit Horners, she said she jumped at the chance.
Marina said her boys, David (13) and Gabriel (9) have really enjoyed their trip to Napoleon and the area. “Oh, a lot! It’s something wow for the kids,” she said with excitement as she explained they’ve seen a cattle round up, soybean harvest, took in Sauerkraut Day in Wishek, the pumpkin patch in Bismarck, having a family meal with Horners, their kids and some grandkids, along with visiting other places throughout Napoleon and meeting up with former classmates from Napoleon High School.
“Plus, the best food ever; Marge’s! Oh, . . . .