KGWN –Cheyenne, WY– Scottsbluff, NE News,Weather, SportsLearning How People Live

Learning How People Live

Jimmy Carter once said that if you say good night and good morning in the same house, you really understand a lot more on the basic values of the people you are staying with.

Friendship Force President of Lethbridge, Canada Barb Clarke said, "That is the key component to really understanding people."

The Friendship Force is an international organization that was started by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.

Clarke said, "The basis of it is to make friends world wide to promote world peace by cultural understanding."

It consists of 58 countries and 350 clubs worldwide. For one week club members travel to other clubs around the world, spending time learning the culture of each place, like an exchange program

Clarke said,  "We learn how they live, their values and how we all have common humanity therefore we can all be friends."

This week the club from Lethbridge, Canada is staying with Cheyenne club members.

 "We already have wonderful friends in Cheyenne because they came to visit us 3 years ago, so many of the people hosting us were our guests when they came to Lethbridge."

Now they are in Wyoming, seeing Fort Laramie and taking Cheyenne's own trolley ride.

Cheyenne Friendship Force member Eleanor Hanson said,  "We are going up to Encampment and to Snowy Range. We're trying to show them how we live and some of things that are important in our area."

Surprisingly, they say the two places aren't that different.

Clarke said, "This part of Wyoming is very similar to Alberta we are very comfortable with the wind blowing our hair around."

Without the Friendship Force Eleanor Hanson says she would have never done the things she has been able to do.

"Never, never I've not only had great experiences around the world I've had wonderful guests that have been in my home from Japan, Germany, England."

And she believes the best is yet to come.