Reflections on the Impact of the International Visitor Leadership Program - Dorothy Riddle

I have experienced many life-changing events with visitors over the years. One in particular comes to mind, and this is with a young Japanese visitor who was a guest at our home for dinner.

I remember the evening as being one that was very relaxed, a lot of good conversation, a lot of laughter.

Towards the end of the evening, this young man said that he had been very impressed with the way my husband and I had worked together as a team in order to put on the dinner, that we had both been serving and removing plates.

He also observed the fact that we had a wonderful relationship. He said he thought it had something to do with the fact that we worked as a team and he said that he'd made a decision that evening, that when he went home, he was really going to make more of an effor to help his wife with tasks at home with the idea that he thought that would also produce a more wonderful relationship with his wife.

We were rather amazed that he had observed this and that he had been comfortable enough to even tell us about it.