Read the passage. A New Brother When my parents told me and my brother Mark that we would be hosting a foreign exchange student—a boy from New Zealand named Del—for the entire fall semester, I was enthusiastic. “He’s the youngest of four brothers,” Mom continued, “so it will be a new experience for him to be the oldest.” It would be a new experience for me, too, not to be the oldest, I realized. Suddenly I was a little less excited about having Del in our family. By the time the big day finally came, and we all were at the airport waiting for Del, my attitude about the situation had become pretty negative. The whole family was going on and on about this boy whose only accomplishment was flying halfway around the world just to go to school; why was I the only one who didn’t think the occasion called for all this celebration? My dad was holding a sign with Del’s last name written on it, as if he were a limousine driver. Mom’s sign said, “Welcome to America, DEL” and even Mark seemed to be thrilled about Del’s pending arrival. My mom noticed my expression and nudged me sharply, just as a tallish boy, dressed normally but with a foreign flair, approached our family. “How’s it going? You must be the Martins.” Mom broke into a huge smile. “We are. Welcome to the family!” Del looked happy to get such a warm greeting, but also slightly panicked. Suddenly, I started wondering how I would feel if our situations were reversed. Being thousands of miles from home, not knowing anyone, and having to live with complete strangers was pretty intimidating. This experience was going to be awkward for me, but at least I was still in familiar surroundings. I stuck out my hand. “Hi, Del. I’m Sam. I think we’re going to get along just fine.”