Edgewood Family Hosts Worldwide Students

At Cindy Bahn’s home, the whole world is welcome.

Through programs with the Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh and Rotary Exchange, she and her husband, Peter Evered, have been hosting students from around the globe since 2008. They started when someone simply asked them to be a host family.

“Our first student was from Japan and she was incredibly talented,” Bahn said. “In Japan, you get certificates for mastering different things, and she had one in sushi making and one in massage, so we learned lots and lots and lots.”

Their own learning experience sent the couple on an ongoing adventure, as they continued their involvement in the programs with students from Ireland, Taiwan, Brazil and others.

Currently, the couple is hosting two young men from Ireland who will be spending six weeks in a work program through Wider Horizons at Ireland Institute.

Later this year, they also will host Jessika Brannlund, an exchange student through rotary who is a junior at

“We learn things we never would have known otherwise,” Bahn said. “We had a Brazilian student last year who told us that you are allowed to vote when you are 16, but when you are 18 it is mandatory, which sounded like a great system, but when we said that, our student said, 'Except there are so many people who are illiterate in Brazil, and so someone will give them a piece of paper and tell them who to vote for.'”

Kevin McGrath, who is working at McNeely Automotive during his six-week stay in the states, said the differences between Ireland and Pittsburgh abound. He is looking forward to experiencing Light Up Night downtown and Thanksgiving.

“The city itself is so different with the big tall buildings and the flashy cars,” McGrath said.

Matthew Rennick, another young man from Ireland, is spending his time working at City Controller Michael Lamb’s office. He decided to join the Wider Horizons program to improve his work resume and gain life experience.

“It was exactly what I want to do,” he said of his first day at work. “I don’t want to leave until I have seen and done everything.”

He agreed that the cultural differences between America and Ireland are many.

“It’s nothing like back home,” Rennick said. “Everyone seems to be in a big rush here and back home they are really laid back. We’ll be the slowest people walking down the street.”

Their list of to-dos in Pittsburgh includes taking a trip to the incline, taking a Just Ducky tour, taking classes one day a week at Duquesne and more.

Evered said hosting people from around the world as they learn how others live is fun.

“There has not been a single bad experience,” he said. “It’s been a very rewarding experience and hopefully someday we can return the favor and visit them.”

Brannlund is gaining a different kind of stay as she has a year of school at Woodland Hills. Bahn said Brannlund hasn’t stopped smiling since she arrived to Pittsburgh.

“It has been great—I really enjoy it and it is so much fun,” Brannlund said.

In Sweden, going to school is more of a choice.

“It’s more of your responsibility to go because you do not have to be there,” she said. “Here, it’s more of a rule. In Sweden, you can go wherever you want. The schedule is different every day in Sweden and here it is the same every day.”

While Bahn said she has experienced so many different students who have shared their talents with her family, she looks forward to sharing the local joys with her current and upcoming guests.

For now, the excitement builds as another adventure begins—for both the young travelers and the host family.

“Matthew is in love with Pittsburgh already—it was love at first sight,” she said.