LOWELL -- Becky Murray of Lowell was a teenager when her family hosted an exchange student from Chile in 1972. The bond created from the experience now spans 44 years, three generations and more than 5,000 miles.
The granddaughter of Patricia Enriquez, the 1972 exchange student, is wrapping up a 2-month stay with Murray's adult daughter, Katie Creed.
"We love the family," Murray said. "We have visited them, and they have visited us throughout the years."
Together, the two families have celebrated life events, including weddings, Murray said.
Murray hosted Enriquez's daughter in 1992, and Enriquez's family hosted Creed in Chile when she was a teenager.
Montserrat Flores, Enriquez's granddaughter, wasn't expecting to make a trip to the United States, but several months ago, her grandmother called her with a surprise.
"I was getting ready for graduation, and she called me and said, 'Do you have something this week?," Flores, 16, said Wednesday. "I said 'no,' and she said 'OK, you have to choose Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.'"
Flores, who is from Rancague, Chile, said she was confused and didn't know what her grandmother was talking about. Then she learned that she would be traveling to the United States, and she had just a few days to get ready for the trip.
"I was anxious and in shock, and I couldn't breathe," Flores said. "I like to organize and make lists, and she told me a couple days before."
The experience has been life-changing, Flores said. Spending two months with a family makes you feel like you are a part of it, she said.
"You know the real person," she said.
Flores has now visited multiple attractions in Northwest Arkansas, including the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Amazeum in Bentonville, and sites in Branson and St. Louis. She also attended a youth group retreat in Little Rock.
Creed's husband, Travis, said it has been interesting to see that Flores is just like an American teenager.
"Sixteen-year-olds in Chile are just like 16-year-olds here," Flores said. "They live on their smartphones."
Katie Creed said Flores was a toddler when Creed was an exchange student in Chile. Now Creed has children. They range in age from 1-8, and some of them are already saying they want to visit Flores in Chile when they are older.
Murray said each of the women in Enriquez's family has come to the U.S. with a better understanding of English than the generation before. She said Enriquez knew very little English when she got here.
Other changes have made Flores' trip different from that of her grandmother. Enriquez's only communication with her family and friends back home in Chile was through letters. Flores can communicate online.
Social-media sites also make it easier for the families to stay connected, Creed said. She said Facebook also will make it easier to keep up with Flores' life once she returns to Chile.
Metro on 01/24/2016