"Being host parents is like being on holiday, without packing a suitcase," say Rosa and Xaver Mair from Immenhofen, who enjoyed and very often used exactly this "holiday". Music was their trigger to become host parents from the very beginning. Even at the very first Musica Sacra International Festival in 1989, it was clear to them that "we have to be part of it". In 1996, with guests from Lapland, the time had come and, with a few interruptions, they have remained loyal host parents to this day. Since then, they have hosted guests for the International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf and Musica Sacra International a total of 18 times. Guests from the USA, Sweden, Russia, Israel, Latvia, the Philippines, Switzerland, Ukraine, Kenya, Finland, Argentina and Germany.

There were never any language barriers, although Xaver Mair always spoke to the guests in the Allgäu dialect "and yet everyone always understood him", daughter Martina still wonders today. Even as a small child, she and her brother used to spend a lot of time with their parents' guests and later she became a volunteer at MODfestivals herself. Her mother Rosa still remembers vividly how the children learned English through play when international guests were in the house. Like when daughter Martina, at the age of six, asked her mother what midday means in English and then ran up the stairs to wake the guests with a loud "It's twelve o'clock".

Eating together with guests and family was also always an experience for the Mair family. When Rosa Mair picked and prepared lettuce from her own garden, the guests from Manila (Philippines) were most astonished by this "speciality". Devoutly, they told during the meal that "lettuce from one's own garden" is only reserved for the very rich families in their home country, as it is an "extraordinary and also expensive treasure".

The Mair family did a lot of house music with the Americans. "They loved to sit with us next to the tiled stove on the corner bench and sing and play the guitar together. General notes that everyone knew and English songs deep into the night were no exceptions. Mairs also remember the girls from Malmö (Sweden) very well. Their motto was "We can still sleep when we are old" and they turned every night into day. Everyone always wanted to stay in the tent until the end and "Mum and Dad", as they were always called as host parents, always had to be there. This usually went on until one of the guests said "Mum, Dad, we want to go home, we're hungry". Having a snack in the cosy farmhouse parlour of the Mair family with Allgäu sausage, cheese and beer - even at 3 o'clock in the morning - was always a highlight for all guests. The fact that Rosa and Xaver Mair were often dressed in typical Allgäu traditional costumes made them a much sought-after photo subject. "They were particularly impressed by Xaver's leather trousers," says Rosa with a smile.

However, they had already had quite different guests. They also came from Sweden and were about to take their final exams. They therefore used every free minute to study. "The poor people got on the bus straight after their last performance and went home. The very next day they had to write exams at home," said Rosa regretfully. The Mair family has also had guests from Regensburg. They were nice, but unfortunately very restrained," says Rosa, and they also went home immediately after the competition. That's why Rosa's conclusion as a host parent is: "The further away the guests come, the more comfortable they feel with us.

That's why she remembers very well a Japanese man who always loved to dance in the tent with daughter Martina (14 at the time). "They were about the same size," she says with a smile. Martina, who was always called "Mausi" because of her small size, was a bit taken with him and fell in love. That's why the family was supposed to go to the music academy to say goodbye to the Japanese guests, but unfortunately arrived too late. Martina was naturally quite sad because she couldn't say goodbye to her little dance partner. Martina went on to tell the story and remembers very well that she vowed at that time never to fall in love again with a man who lives so far away. Today, by the way, Martina has two children, her partner is half-Iranian and it feels like he is twice her size.

Caption:
All guests love the corner bench next to the tiled stove in the farmhouse parlour of the Mair family in Immenhofen. So did the 2017 guests from the USA from the Georgia State University Singers.

Photo: private