Dominique and Christian Scholz moved to Marktoberdorf in 2007 and were guest parents at the International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf for the first time in 2008. Since then they have been participating every time. They hosted guests from Finland, USA, Sweden, Hungary, Philippines, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Germany. Especially at Whitsun, the Scholz family was always busy. With two children, three cats and sometimes even up to four guests, it was a big family atmosphere.

Christian Scholz was already working as a volunteer in the MODfestivals team when he was still studying medicine in Munich. At Whitsun, he always took the time to come home to his parents in Marktoberdorf to help with the festivals. When he finished his studies and moved to Marktoberdorf with his wife, it was clear to him that he would remain loyal to the festivals. As the festival doctor, he was always the first point of contact for the team, while his wife at the time, Dominique, also helped out as a choir supervisor. Only when children came along and the two daughters Katharina and Franziska (now 8 and 10 years old) were born, was active participation out of the question for Dominique. "But we wanted to stay involved in any case, so we became host parents," Dominique says happily.

"For us, it was always something very special to host guests from foreign cultures and live with them for a few days," says Dominique. And they did that very intensively every time. They accompanied their guests at as many performances as possible and cheered with them at the choir competition. Whether at a choir party, in the tent at MODEON or at Café Musica in the Bavarian Music Academy, they were always by their guests' side. And as soon as there was time with the host parents, they went on excursions, went shopping with them or simply spent time at home cooking together.

Dominique remembers Ukrainian guests very well. They wanted to celebrate properly in the evening, so they roasted sausages they had brought from Ukraine as a "base" to enjoy with the whole family. "With vodka, of course, it was always there," Dominique says with a smile. She also remembers very well a wonderful trip with Rod from the USA, where the whole family showed the guests the castle ruins of Eisenberg and Hohenfreyberg. Rod was excited and visibly enjoyed the family trip. Dominique also remembers a guest who was a little homesick and always enjoyed sitting in the family kitchen and petting the cats. "He also had a cat at home and that took away some of his homesickness," Dominique Scholz said.

Dominique Scholz also likes to tell the story of a guest from Finland. He walked from the music academy to the Scholz family's house and promptly got lost. On top of that, he had saved the mobile phone number of his host parents incorrectly and was therefore unable to reach anyone. When the host parents noticed that a guest had "gone missing", the family immediately sent out a "search party" and soon found him. The Finnish guest did not know what to do, but did not panic, but calmly sat down on the kerb of a pedestrian walkway and waited.

All around, Dominique Scholz only ever had very positive impressions as a host family. All the guests were accommodating, very nice, understanding and always extremely grateful to have been integrated into the family. The interesting experiences one has as a host parent are therefore something she would definitely not want to miss. "The insight into foreign cultures, how people live there, what they eat, how they celebrate, all these things are simply priceless," Dominique enthuses. However, she is also well aware that she is always providing a socio-cultural insight into the home world for the guests as well. "Especially for the children, the active experience of hospitality and tolerance is enormously important," says Dominique. She also always prepares a little for her guests in advance. When she greeted the Finnish guests with a few Finnish phrases she still knew from the Finnish school exchange, they were delighted. In the Scholz family, not only is English spoken fluently, but also a little French and Italian. When guests from the USA arrived, they first avoided bringing up the contentious topic of "Donald Trump" so as not to disturb the harmony. "When the guests brought it up of their own accord, we spent a long evening with very interesting and quite profound conversations that gave us an intense insight from a completely different perspective," says Dominique Scholz.

Her enthusiasm as a host family has already spread to other families, so that now her best friend has also hosted guests and is also raving about it. "We are always happy to meet new people and spend a few intense, beautiful days with them, listening to music and living a harmonious family life," says Dominique Scholz. She definitely wants to be there again this year. The two music-loving children Katharina and Franziska can also hardly wait until it is finally Whitsun and new guests come "from as far away as possible" to join them and the three cats at home. Therefore also their pressing question "Will it take much longer...?"

Caption:
Host parents' trip with Rod from the USA to the castle ruins of Eisenberg and Hohenfreyberg with Dominique Scholz and daughters Katharina and Franziska.

Photo: Scholz