DANVILLE — When Richard and Susan Drake’s third son out of four left for college this fall, they didn’t waste any time in filling up their household with more high-school-age boys.

The Drakes welcomed two new “sons” for the 2009 academic year — Dogus Dirik from Turkey, and Yeon-Tae Park from South Korea.

Both young men are Youth for Understanding USA exchange students and are attending Schlarman High School, where Dogus is a senior and Yeon-Tae is a junior. They are among the nine exchange students at the school.

The Drakes have a son of their own, Anthony, who is a senior at Schlarman. Because they weren’t aware of the registration deadline and applied on the last possible day, their two students arrived at Willard Airport in Champaign within a few days after the Drakes signed up.

“After raising four boys, we’re pretty flexible and adaptable,” Susan said, “so it’s no big deal having two more boys in the house on the spur of the moment.”

“It’s because of Anthony that we even considered hosting international students,” Richard said. “Throughout high school, Anthony has always been a kind of ‘ring leader’ for the exchange students. He has the ability to make them feel comfortable in a new setting.”

That makes Anthony the designated “host” for Dogus and Yeon-Tae, while his parents provide them with a place to live, home-cooked meals, and adult supervision.

Both exchange students have taken English classes for a number of years in their home countries, but they hope to improve their use of the language exponentially during their stay in America. The students agree that mathematics is the easiest class for them, and subjects that require a lot of reading are naturally the hardest.

“It’s amazing how fast the exchange students learn the language when they’re immersed in it every day,” Anthony said. “By the time that Yeon-Tae and Dogus leave here next summer, they will know English pretty well.”

For now, Dogus and Yeon-Tae seem to be adjusting well to teenage life in America. Their favorite place to eat is McDonald’s; they spend a lot of time talking and texting on their cell phones; and computers are a big part of their lives.

Anthony plays varsity football, so without hesitation Yeon-Tae also signed up, even though he’s never played the sport before.

Wearing the SHS uniforms seems natural to them because the public schools in both of their home countries require high school students to wear uniforms. And Yeon-Tae even has to wear a coat and tie to class all day in Korea.

The Drakes want to show the students some of their favorite places in the United States. They plan to take them hiking at Turkey Run State Park, skiing and snowboarding in Paoli, Ind., during Christmas break, and to the Arch and Six Flags amusement park in St. Louis.

Dogus hopes to get a degree in agricultural engineering and take over his father’s farm in Turkey someday. Yeon-Tae is not sure about his future career path.

Anthony will attend a four-year college that offers a major in aeronautics. He’s already built and flown about 20 model airplanes while in high school.

Anthony is not surprised that nine exchange students are attending Schlarman this school year. He already knows that his school will embrace them.

“We do all sorts of things at Schlarman to make them feel welcome, including hanging their country flags in the school and having everyone wear name tags for their benefit.”

Because exchange students aren’t allowed to drive in this country, Anthony is their chauffeur.

“Anthony has always stuck to his curfew, so I don’t worry about these boys,” Susan said. “They will always be riding with him.”

Richard appreciates the value of studying abroad. During his senior year at the University of Illinois, he studied architecture in Versailles, France.

The exchange students will experience life in a big family while living with the Drakes because many members of the Drake family live right in Danville. “For example, we had more than 40 at our family picnic a couple weeks ago, so the boys could meet everybody,” Susan said.

“So far having the students here with us has been fun,” she added. “We laugh and have a great time together. One thing I’ve learned through the years is that teenage boys are basically alike, no matter what country they come from.”

Richard has worked in architectural woodworking at Th Snyder Co. for the past 27 years and Susan teaches fourth grade at Catlin elementary school.

The Drakes’ other sons, all grown, include Philip, Andrew and Vincent.

FYI

Additional information about Youth for Understanding USA is available at http://www.yfu-usa.org. Questions about hosting in the local community should be directed to Lisa Trimble at (309) 697-5199.

More than 2,000 American families open their homes and hearts to Youth for Understanding USA international students each year.