— Photo by TIM MANDELL
Vaso Dolidze, from the Republic of Georgia, is staying with the Engelman family, of Monterey, as part of a foreign exchange student program. The whole clan, minus father Bernie, are from left to right, Grace, Ellen, Bernie, Vaso and Emma.

Vaso Dolidze traveled a long way to find Owen County. The 16-year-old left behind his home and family in the Republic of Georgia to spend a year in another country in a new home with a new family.
That journey brought Dolidze to Monterey, where he’s staying with the Engelman family as part of a foreign exchange student program.
“I decided when I turned 15, I wanted to see other countries,” Dolidze said. “I wanted to try somewhere else. I’m far away from my family, but I got new family here.”
The Republic of Georgia is located in Europe, bordered by Russia, Armenia, Turkey and the Black Sea.
Students in the Republic of Georgia graduate after their junior year of high school, and since Dolidze began school at 5 and skipped a grade, he has already finished high school and has turned his attention to college, where he wants to study law.
Living in America has allowed him to see and learn about another country, while getting a chance to speak the language on a daily basis.
“The main thing was to improve English and learn more English and see what kind of classes you can take in the U.S.A.,” Dolidze said.
For the Engelman family, the experience has allowed them to help Dolidze accomplish those goals, while learning about a country that’s close to their hearts.
Ellen and Bernie Engelman have long considered becoming involved in a student exchange program, and finally decided to give it a shot after seeing an advertisement at their church.
Ellen’s sister recently adopted a baby from the Republic of Georgia. Taking in Dolidze has allowed Ellen and Bernie, and their children, Emma, 11, Bernie, 9 and Grace, 4, an opportunity to learn about a country that’s now part of their family.
After the Engelman’s did some research on being a host family, they entered the program, and last August they welcomed Dolidze into their home.
In the beginning, the experience was rough for Dolidze.
After growing up in Tbilisi, a city with a population of 1,500,000, Dolidze found himself in a rural area of Owen County, living with the Engelman family who have plenty of land and few neighbors.
“That was probably the biggest shock to him, being in a small area,” Ellen said.
Dolidze’s lessons in rural America were an eye-opener, from mowing the lawn to hunting, two things he had never done before.
After spending most of his life in a crowded city, Dolidze has now become a big fan of the outdoors.
He also had some problems adjusting to the different styles of food in this country, but has since adapted.
He experienced a broken bone in his foot while playing for the high school soccer team.
And he’s learning American slang.
“I couldn’t understand what they were saying at school,” said Dolidze, who once asked host sister Emma to define the term “redneck.”
Dolidze, who speaks his native Georgian, as well as Russian, has steadily improved his English, despite the difference in alphabets.
Like most teenagers, Dolidze has a love for sports and music and has enjoyed making friends in school.
Even though Dolidze is the only foreign exchange student at Owen County High School, he has found others with similar experiences, after becoming friends with a Scott County High School foreign exchange student from the Czech Republic.
When the school year ends Dolidze will attend college back home.
For now, he’s enjoying his time in America.
“I like everything here,” Dolidze said.

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