No one could contain the excitement that was abuzz at the Brady home on Saturday night. It was June 16, 1975 and school had just ended yesterday. Monday morning was the big day. Pippi Longstocking from Sweden would be arriving at the airport at 11:00 AM and moving in with the Brady Bunch for one week of solid fun. You see, the Brady children had a deal going with their parents. If they behaved, meaning no phone calls from teachers and no major fights anywhere, they would be allowed to take part in a summer exchange program with a student from another country.

Just two weeks ago, the Belmont Summer Exchange Program sent the Brady's a confirmation letter. A very young lady named Pippi Longstocking, aka Pippi, would be coming from Sweden to spend time with them. Here is a copy of the letter they received:

Belmont Student Summer Exchange Program

June 2, 1975

Dear Brady Family,

Welcome to the Belmont Student Summer Exchange Program! We are pleased to announce that a match has been found for your family. No doubt she will fit right in with your crew! Here is the only information we have. Now you can plan your summer fun with this exciting addition!

Name: Pippi Longstocking.

Gender: Female.

Country of Origin: Sweden.

Language: Swedish, beginner's English.

Age: 9 going on 29, or so she thinks!

Hobbies: Having fun and weightlifting.

Fact: Has no parents or siblings.

Ms. Longstocking will be arriving at Townsend International Airport on Monday, June 16, 1975 at 11:00 AM. Please be there to meet her at Arrivals' Terminal C3 at 11:30 next to baggage carousel 4. We have been notified that she is a "casual dresser", has lots of freckles, and braided red hair. Good luck in figuring out the rest!

If you should run into any issues, please contact us at 111-222-3333. Finally, please fill out the enclosed evaluation at the end of the program and send it back to us immediately.

Thank you and enjoy your guest,

The Staff at Belmont.

Belmont Student Summer Exchange Program Survey

1. How well did Belmond Staff match you up with your guest?

1 – poorly 3 – average 5 – great, couldn't do better!

2. Was the welcome letter thorough or were there any surprises? Please explain.

3. Were there any language barriers or misunderstandings at any point?

4. Would you recommend this exchange student to another family, and would you host this guest again?

5. What should we know about this student that would help for future placement?

6. Please list any comments or suggestions you have below.

Thank you in advance.

The Brady Bunch, a hardy crew of two parents (Mike and Carol), one housekeeper (Alice), three boys ages 7-15 (Bobby, Peter, Greg), and three girls (Cindy, Jan, Marcia), ages 8 - 13, spent the entire weekend getting ready for their new guest who would be arriving on Monday afternoon. No one could contain their excitement!

At 2AM, everyone finally settled in for the evening. The next day the family set out to meet their guest. Finally, finally, they got to the airport and went to meet Pippi at the designated spot.

One by one passengers disembarked and walked through the gate. The Brady children kept their eyes wide open. After about the 100th person, Cindy, afraid of every insect and animal in existence, suddenly screamed with such fright, that security came running. There in plain sight, was a monkey, yes, you read that right, a monkey with a green shirt and green pants walking through the line clearly looking for his hosts. About two minutes later, a young girl with red hair and braids walked out into the sea of passengers calling "Mr. Nilsson, Mr. Nilsson."

"That's Pippi, over there, over there" yelled Cindy excitedly. "But why is she asking for Mr. Nilsson, doesn't she know she's our guest and we're the Brady's?"

"Pippi, Pippi" called the Brady's. Finally, this young girl with braids and red hair looked up to see nine people staring at her. All she could say was "Mr. Nilsson, Mr. Nilsson" over and over again.

Everyone looked around to search for Mr. Nilsson. Eventually, to the sheer amazement and utter shock of all those in the Terminal, Mr. Nilsson made his way over to Pippi. But, Mr. Nilsson did not look like any Mr. Nilsson might, no, he showed up with a long tail, and was none other than a monkey himself! What a shock!

Mike and Carol couldn't believe it. What! We thought we had an exchange student but now, we have an exchange monkey as well! The kids, aside from Cindy who was nothing but petrified at this point, were so doubly excited that they started hugging Mr. Nilsson and offering him piggyback rides. Meanwhile Pippi collected her large, extra heavy suitcase full of gold coins from the carousel and put it down. Mike, being the gentleman that he was, tried to take it to the parking lot but alas, it would not budge. Again and again, he tried to the point that heads started turning. He was stuck but Pippi picked up the 185 lb. bag and singlehandedly carried it out while placing the tearful Cindy on her shoulders. She held Mr. Nilsson's bag in her other hand.

Stop 1

The Crunch Plaza Ice-Cream Parlor!

The Brady's were so excited about their new guests and begged to stop at Crunch Plaza for ice-cream. "Okay," said Carol, "I guess we can show our Swedish friend an American ice-cream parlor, but how are we going to explain Mr. Nilsson?"

Now Pippi, new to America with just a "smidgen" of English, knew that ice-cream had something to do with noise. Why, she thought, would they take us to a place where we have to make noise? When they arrived, she instructed Mr. Nilsson and the Brady kids to start screaming with her. Eyes turned and a very angry manager threw them out. The embarrassed parents were shocked but it seems Pippi had an explanation that kept everyone in fits of laughter: she thought ice-cream meant "I scream!"

Before anyone could utter another syllable, Pippi and Mr. Nilsson ran back to the parlor. Mr. Nilsson grabbed a paper hat and an ice-cream scooper and climbed up behind the counter. Pippi offered the fuming manager two gold coins and proceeded to take over the shop that afternoon. Flash forward only 15 minutes, and the lines to get in zigzagged around three city blocks! A monkey serving ice-cream behind the counter and a red-haired 9-year-old at the helm of it all! Wow! Turns out that The Crunch Plaza made more money that afternoon than they had in the past five years! Pippi and Mr. Nilsson made the paper the next day, and thankfully, all's well that ends well!

Stop Two

An Unplanned Detour to the Exclusive Diamond Mall

Short of being politically correct, tactful, discreet, or of the likes, what the Brady's could not have known about their guest is she arrived with a suitcase full of gold coins and not much else. So, the casual dresser was a real understatement. Her tattered clothing, shoes twice her size, and mismatched stockings that go above the knees, was all she really had. Even Mr. Nilsson dressed better than that!

This got Carol, Alice, and the girls thinking. "If we could just get Pippi a new dress, we could go to our favorite upscale restaurant tonight. She would love that, and so would we, and maybe we could sneak Mr. Nilsson in under Daddy's jacket. Hey, ain't that a cool idea? Man, we're rockin' here!" No one is sure how, but the girls managed to coax their father and brothers into a trip to Lavender Mall, known for its exquisite shops and restaurants, before heading home.

Upon arrival, Pippi looked around in bewilderment as if to say, "What on earth is this place? Why are we here?" Her beginner's English wasn't that good but her nonverbal communication said it all. Unfortunately when they walked into the mall and started heading toward the Diamond Dress Shop, they were stopped by security guards. Crowds were everywhere and the situation rapidly turned unruly. The Bradys had no idea what was happening. It was only when Alice overheard someone say that a fashion show was due to begin in 15 minutes but the models were stuck in traffic and hadn't arrived yet. The agitated crowds, holding their $50 tickets, were anxiously waiting by the runway. Finally, at long last, the emcee got up to announce that the show would have to be postponed. Not understanding what was happening, Pippi and Mr. Nilsson saw the empty runway and quickly raced toward it swiftly making their way down the glittery aisle to the utter disbelief of the emcee, but to the sheer delight of everyone else around!

Cartwheels, handstands, leaps and bounds, and all kinds of somersault moves kept the crowd glued to the show. Encore after encore! What a sight it was and what an evening of fun for everyone! The crowds cheered as this bouncy tattered clothing clad girl with a well-dressed monkey in green kept the energy going. In fact, these stars were asked to come back the following day to give another performance. Tickets sold out after 10 minutes and the manager of the mall could not thank them enough. It was dinner on the house for the Brady's, Pippi, and Mr. Nilsson, who managed to save the day once again!