HIGHFILL -- Friendship is often defined as a relationship of mutual affection between two or more people. All over the world, 100,000 or more new friendships are forged every day. Some last a lifetime, some last only a few months. One Decatur exchange student would find out firsthand how strong the ties of friendship could be.
Chalisa Airbus Dungsungnoen arrived at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport about 7 a.m. to check in for her long 8,854-mile flight home on May 22.
Twelve of Airbus' closest friends from Decatur High School, along with five teachers and friends, gathered in the lobby of XNA near the main entrance around 6:30 a.m. to see her off as she travels home to Bangkok, Thailand.
Everybody was focused on the main entrance and sidewalk leading into the terminal. No one was watching the east entrance to the terminal. Someone in the party spotted her and sponsor Anita Warren entering from the east. The 17-member farewell party tried to duck behind chairs and tables in the lounge area but it was too late. Airbus already spotted the group.
The group jumped up and yelled "Surprise," but Airbus had only one thing on her mind at that moment, checking in.
After what seemed like forever (only 15 minutes), Airbus was finally able to join her friends. They spent 30 minutes saying their final emotional goodbyes to the friend they came to love.
When Airbus first walked through the front doors at DHS Aug. 14, fear began as she wondered just what she had gotten herself into.
"On the first day, I wanted to go home so bad," she recounted. "I would go home (in Decatur) and cry because I didn't think I could fit into this school."
After about a week, she adjusted to her new surroundings and did eventually "fit in."
But now it was time to leave her friends behind as she stepped onto the up-escalator leading into the security area. As she and Warren ascended the moving stairs, Stephanie Sandoval ran over to the escalator and followed behind the pair. Soon everybody was making the trip to the second floor.
One more round of hugs, a very emotional goodbye between Airbus and Warren, and she entered the security area.
Those in the farewell party moved to the security exit for one last glimpse of their friend. They all watched as Airbus walked up to a monitor to confirm her gate assignment, turned and started walking toward the boarding area. Just before she disappeared out of sight, she turned and, with one final wave, bid farewell to the friends she interacted with for nine months. Then she was gone.
Dungsungnoen's stay in the United States was sponsored by the Foreign Exchange Program. For the past nine months, she resided with her Decatur sponsor, Anita Warren. Warren, a teacher at Decatur High School, lives in Siloam Springs and commutes to Decatur daily.
The story does not stop here. The friendship Airbus forged in Decatur will live on forever. One of the signs that Desi Meek and Paige Vann held up as Airbus Dungsungnoen departed for home says it best:
"How lucky are we to have known someone who is so hard to say 'GOODBYE' to."
Note: Airbus arrived in Bangkok on the afternoon of May 23 after spending the night in Tokyo, Japan.
Friends attending the sendoff included Desi Meek, Abby Tilley, Deysi Rubi, Jocelyn Revolorio, Jackie Herrera, Paige Vann, Kaylee Morales, Emmy Lee, Heidi Rubi, Stephanie Sandoval, Alex Lee, Sammie Skaggs, Ashley Riggles, Tajhe Turner, Ladale Clayton and Mike Eckels.
General News on 05/30/2018