An Intern in the House Makes the World a Smaller Place

“We had a great conversation and I decided to live with Kathy,” Cheng said.

“I don’t know how they paired us up,” Kolbo said, “but I was paired with an awesome intern.”

Every year, ACT employees open their homes to summer interns. Last year, four of the eight interns took advantage of the option. Many of the employee-hosts volunteer for the program year after year.

Kolbo plans to be among that group of regulars—she says she definitely will sign up to host another intern. Cheng highly recommends that future interns live with an employee. “I think it is a very good choice. I had a wonderful experience,” she said. Kolbo and Cheng’s summer together obviously lived up to the promise of that first phone call.

“Once we got past the introductory, getting-to-know-you week, we came up with a list of what we wanted to do together,” Kolbo said. “I was fortunate to be paired with an intern who had never ventured far out of her group of Chinese students at her university, so I had the opportunity to introduce her to a lot of American culture.”

Cheng, who grew up in a “quiet, small town” in China’s Anhui Province, was amazed by the size and spaciousness of many American homes, so Kolbo arranged for them to go on a Parade of Homes tour.

There is plenty of farming in China, but little of it is on the scale of an American farm, so Kolbo took Cheng to visit a friend’s large, conventional farm near Kalona, Iowa, and spent time touring the Amish countryside near there as well. Neither of the women had ever been to St. Louis, so they planned a weekend trip there together. With Kolbo, Cheng tried many things for the first time: swinging on a swing, living with a dog, and driving a car—“just a little bit,” Kolbo said.

Cheng added to the list: “We did tons of things together. We went camping and ate corn on the cob. We attended concerts and went to the farmers market and the outdoor Shakespeare Festival. We visited an Amish farm, a cheese factory, and a modern farm,” she said. “I very much enjoyed all of the activities, but if I were forced to pick a favorite, I would have to say camping and eating corn on the cob.”

“Ying had never been swimming, so we went shopping for a swimsuit and went swimming. She is very courageous. She is not afraid to try new things,” Kathy said.

Among the new things, of course, were new foods, including quesadillas, deep dish pizza, and rhubarb pie. “Kathy taught me to make rhubarb pies. I don’t think I would have learned this if I didn’t live with her,” said Cheng.

Cheng introduced some Chinese cuisine to her host, too. “But I was much more timid,” Kolbo said.

Her timidity about the food isn’t holding her back from learning about other things Chinese, though. “Hosting an intern makes the world a whole lot smaller and much more interesting,” Kolbo said. “In two months I learned so much about China, and now I want to learn so much more.”

Cheng is happy to help. She hopes to host Kolbo someday in her home. “We’ve been talking about Kathy’s trip to China for a long time.”

Kolbo is looking forward to it. “I have made a new friend from the other side of the world by hosting an intern.”