A YFC Travel adventure sparked a friendship that has grown for over 15 years, despite the 1000 miles separating them. Stacey Archer from Derbyshire travelled to Austria in 2009 and has remained in close contact with the family she lived with.
Setting off on her first solo trip was "terrifying" for Stacey Archer, but she didn’t let that stop her from embarking on a YFC Travel adventure to Austria. After hearing so many great things about YFC trips, Stacey was determined to experience one for herself before her time as a member came to an end.
“It just occurred to me it was my last year, and if I was going to do it, I needed to get on with it," said Stacey who was also a teacher at the time, so chose a trip that took place during the school holidays.
Little did Stacey know that the family who welcomed her at the train station in Austria back in 2009 would still be a part of her life 15 years later.
“It was really late at night, it was about 10.30pm and they’d been at a family party when we met, and it was maybe 45 minutes back to their house,” recalled Stacey. “So, I was sat in the middle of the back seat of this car with two little girls – Rosa and Lena. They sang the songs they learnt at school in English to me all the way home.”
Rosa, who is now 24, still remembers when they first met. “I loved her from the beginning.
Our mum was pregnant with our little sister and Stacey did everything with us. She went swimming with us and baked the best cookies.”
When Stacey first met Robert and Sylvia, they were expecting their third child, Marie. The couple, both former members of Llandjugend (Rural Youth Austria), had volunteered to host someone from England. As fellow teachers, Sylvia and Stacey quickly discovered they had a lot in common, forming an instant connection.
“I was obviously at the top end of the YFC membership age and they were only in their early 30s, so they didn’t feel much older than me. We just kind of had a lot in common.”
The family lives on the edge of a village, where they once managed a dairy farm—much like Stacey’s own family—along with a few pigs. Now, they've transitioned to growing vegetables and have sold all their livestock.
“Their house is amazing. When I first went, they were still in the process of building it. It's on one of their fields and inside has lots of woodwork all done by joiners,” said Stacey who was intrigued by all the traditional Austrian furnishings such as a curved heated tiled seat, that would warm you in the winter. “I've never seen anything like that.”
Stacey is still amazed by the lack of hedging around the fields' borders in Austria and how the locals instinctively know whose land belongs to whom. It's a striking contrast to the well-defined boundaries she's used to back home.
“My husband goes out there now and he gets lost for hours in the fields with Robert,” laughed Stacey, who has also taken her mum over to see the family.
After spending time sightseeing with the family on her YFC Travel trip, Stacey was shocked by her reaction when it was time to return home.
“I was really sad to leave them. I was at the train station with tears streaming down my face,” she remembered.
It was two years later before Stacey would see them again. They came to England and left their eldest daughter Rosa with Stacey for a week to help her learn English.
“Rosa was so homesick, she just followed me all over,” said Stacey. “They’re really keen on the children being fluent in English so they started to organise visits year on year.”
The homesickness subsided as the years went on, with Rosa eventually spending three months in the UK for work experience on farms—including Stacey’s—as part of her agricultural studies.
Rosa’s relationship with Stacey has grown over the years and she is now godmother to Stacey’s five year old son Alfie.
Rosa said: “Stacey is like a big sister to me, because she is always there for me and has an open ear for me (she will give me some advice). I am so happy to have Stacey in my life and her whole family. They are not just friends they became family for me.”
The two families see each other every year and most recently Stacey’s family went to Austria for Marie’s confirmation. Marie has also spent three weeks with Stacey over the summer for the last five years.
Stacey now has two children of her own Eleanor, eight, and Alfie, five, and would like them to enjoy similar cultural experiences to the Austrian children.
“I think Eleanor would happily go over there on her own now, to be honest, as she knows them so well,” said Stacey. They have taught Eleanor to ski. I live in landlocked Derbyshire. My kids would never have learnt to ski in a million years! Eleanor already speaks some German as well.”
While Stacey enjoyed her first trip to Austria, she admits she probably wouldn’t have got to know the country as well as she has if it hadn’t been for the family she was placed with. Their relationship turned a one-time visit into a lifelong bond.
“I probably would never have gone back to Austria, but I've been so many times now. We have a connection with Austria that I never thought I’d have," she said.
The feelings are mutual for the family in Austria, and Rosa describes England as her second home. She said: “When you ask my little sister where she wants to go on holiday, she will always say she wants to go to England. I can remember when mum asked me where I wanted to go for my graduation trip, and I said that I wanted to go to England to visit all the farmers I have worked for and of course my family in England.”
YFC Travel is open for applications until 1 November 2024. More information here.
