[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       TRIBUTE TO THE EXPERIMENT IN INTERNATIONAL LIVING PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 19, 2000

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, last weekend more than 450 alumni of the 
Experiment in International Living, a global student exchange program, 
gathered for their first-ever annual reunion in Brattleboro, VT. The 
reunion commemorated the Experiment's 68 year history of helping young 
Americans break down national and cultural barriers and forge 
relationships that have sustained them over years and across thousands 
of miles.
  Founded in 1932, the Experiment in International Living is now a 
program of World Learning, a widely respected international educational 
services organization. Every year, Experiment students travel to 
countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania as part of 
a summer abroad program. Through this exchange, Experimenters are 
immersed in the daily culture of a single place and its people as they 
embark on journey of cultural and personal discovery.
  Mr. Speaker, I am personally invested in the success of the 
Experiment in International Living in part the program made a personal 
investment in me over 25 years ago. In 1973, I traveled to Yugoslavia 
and spent ten weeks with a host family through the Experiment in 
International Living program. Even as a 19-year-old college student, I 
recognized the life-changing effect this experience would have. Today, 
as a member of the House International Relations Committee, I can trace 
my strong interest in the Balkans in particular and international 
affairs more generally to those wonderful ten weeks. It is my great 
hope that I, along with my colleagues in the House, can help make it 
possible for thousands more young Americans to join the Experiment and 
participate in the life-changing journey that it embodies.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate World Learning, 
the Experiment in International Living and its alumni for their 
remarkable success in forging international connections. As attendees 
of last weekend's reunion can attest, the Experiment in International 
Living teaches young people to understand the differences that 
sometimes divide us while recognizing the common bonds that make us all 
part of the human family.

                          ____________________