When Marine Torres came to Texas, she envisioned a place where the sun would be shining, where she'd get to enjoy the high school experience and where she could expand her horizons.
She couldn't wait to spend an entire year in the Houston area.
But just two days after the French exchange student moved in with her host family, they had to evacuate. Harvey was unleashing its wrath on the Texas coast.
"It was a crazy experience," said Torres, who comes from a region in the northern part of France called Bretagne. "My host family tells me we have to live in a hotel for a few days because the hurricane has come. But I didn't imagine it was like this."
Her host family lost just about everything in the storm. She herself only had a few pairs of clothes she'd pulled out of her suitcase when they left — and she had no clue what she was going to do next.
That's about the time an English teacher at Mansfield High School named Marilyn Byrum learned that the storm had displaced many exchange students who were in dire need of a temporary place to stay.
Having hosted exchange students in the past, she and her husband immediately opened their home to Torres and another student from Germany.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"It was a no-brainer — absolutely we will take them," said Byrum. "They had the clothes on their back and one other set of clothes. So we immediately went shopping. And we've been trying to show them American culture and allow them to have a great exchange year because that's what they came here to do."
Since then, Byrum has taken them to a Baylor football game (the first time they'd ever seen American football), they've explored Downtown Fort Worth together — she even made sure they learned what a homecoming mum is.
"It's very good here," said Torres. "I love this city. And I feel good here."
It may not be the journey Torres expected, but it's one she says she'll remember forever — all thanks to the kindness of a stranger.
"It's a new beginning," said Torres. "And I think it will get better."
The program overseeing Torres' exchange year has found her a new, permanent host family in the Amarillo area. She'll finish out her year there.
