AFS student from Chile, Luis Figueroa, returns to Redfield after 30 years

By Shiloh Appel
During the last weekend of June 2018, after 30 years and a long 24 hour plane trip, Luis Figueroa, of Chile, and his son, Ignacio, finally arrived in Luis's American hometown of Redfield to visit his American family — the Kebsch's. Forty years earlier, when Luis first made the trip from his ocean-side town in Chile to the prairie home of Zelda and Bill Klebsch as an AFS foreign exchange student in 1977 (he visited Redfield again in 1988), he had little knowledge of how that year would forever change his life.
"Flying to the United States from Chile in 1977 was like going to the moon," said Luis. "I was a super star in my town. Coming to South Dakota, I was the only foreign exchange student, and in those times, I guess people from Redfield and the Dakotas didn't have too much relationship with foreign people, so I think it was  interesting for the community…"
Luis's first introduction to the foreign exchange program was through a large sign at his school advertising one-year AFS scholarships to the United States. He was 16 years old and eager for an adventure.
"I went to talk to the man in charge at the high school where I was studying and I said, 'What do I have to do to apply for this scholarship?' He said,'you have to write a paper. You have to sign and we will go through a selection process that lasts one year.' I said, 'okay, write me in.' Nobody knew at my house," said Luis.
As Luis went through the various activities that comprised the selection process, the number of AFS applicants from Chile were whittled down from 3,000 to 62. Luis travelled with the group from Chile's capital of Santiago to New York to meet with AFS students from all over the world and go through further selection. Finally, Luis was approved and a family was found for him two months later.
"They said, 'Luis, we found a family for you. Their name is the Klebsch family. They live in Redfield, South Dakota.' I had never heard of South Dakota, nor Redfield. So I started looking in the map saying 'where is this?' Then soon I got a letter from them and a picture. I sent a letter to them and sent a picture of my family also," said Luis.
With black and white photography still used by most people in those days, the Klebschs' black and white family photograph, taken during adverse weather, caused some confusion.

 "It was raining the day we took the pictures to send to him and my mom and dad had a little tiny camper and we were standing in front of the camper. They were taking our pictures and it was raining and real yucky and his parents thought we were black," said Klebsch. "So when he got here at the bus station we couldn't find him. Everybody else got off so they said you better go up to the desk and find out if he even got on. So I went up to the desk and the bus driver said yes, he is here. He was looking for you people, but he was looking for black people."
That was only the first bump in the road for Luis. Arriving in Redfield, he only knew two English words, "mom and Coke" according to Zelda. He could write in English, but speaking was still new to him. He had never been on a farm before, he had nobody around who spoke Spanish, and he was not able to call his family. The small town he was from had only one working phone and it was to be used only in emergency situations.
" It was very hard at the beginning for me. The first months were terrible. I couldn't speak. I felt bad," said Luis. "Then one day I started thinking it over. I thought 'should I stay, or should I go back?'…I decided there is no way I am going back to Chile defeated. My tears were going down a little bit. Then I said no way, I am going to do it. Then things started getting better."
Zelda acquired a Spanish to English book of phrases for Luis from the Redfield High School, and Luis began to excel at communication after the first three months. He helped with the farm chores, made friends, and joined sports. He began to make memories he would never forget.
"It was all new for me. There were a lot of fishermen where I lived when I was a young boy, but they never related in any way with farming," said Luis. "On Saturdays we made food for the animals. We fed the pigs and cows. We helped in harvesting. Zelda would bring us some sodas and sandwiches. That was a good thing, when we would see her in the field."
Luis was the kicker on the football team that year with his "American brother" Jim Klebsch, and the team enjoyed a winning season.
"We were champions that year," said Luis." I was the kicker because I kick in the soccer style and I kicked really good. "
Among many things, Luis learned what Easter was, experienced South Dakota blizzards and learned how laundry was done in the U.S. at the time.
"I was never getting any laundry from him and he roomed downstairs with Jim. And I said to Jim, 'what is he doing with his dirty clothes?' He said 'I think he is just sticking them back in the drawers'. I said 'well, you gotta explain to him that I wash the clothes.' He thought we went to the river and he wasn't going to make me wash his clothes in the river," said Zelda.
"In Chile, they didn't have machines there to wash the clothes, so the ladies would wash it in their hand, in a basket or something," said Luis. " It is a different world now. It is like here, they have machines for everything."
Luis said he grew up eating a lot of seafood and fish cooked, boiled, fried and in soup. Some things he had never had until living in America were peanut butter, hamburgers and roast beef with gravy.
"He went crazy over the roast beef gravy," said Zelda. "If I had just a little bit left, I would put it in a plastic bag and I would freeze it…then, I would take it out and he would put it on anything and everything that he ate."
By the end of the 1978, which was Luis's senior year, he had gained another language, another family, and a wealth of memories. He was a special speaker for the Redfield Lion's Club, Key Club and rotary clubs. He enjoyed the time in the field with his American father, Bill Klebsch, and time with his American siblings and friends. Since graduation, Luis has been able to look back and see how much that year impacted his life.
"I went to college, and then I was the manager of a chain of hotels. It was very good that I got the second language. It was a very good tool in my life. That tool opened a lot of doors," said Luis. "Now I have my company, a construction company. We buy the land, the section, we break it into lots and build and sell houses with a friend. We have been in that business for the last 12-15 years. We do it on the beach near Santiago. A lot of people want to run away on a weekend and go to the beach, so we are selling houses there."
Luis returned to Redfield in 1988 for his class's 10-year reunion and now, in 2018, he has returned again to a slightly different Redfield. He says 30 years ago was just like yesterday, but some things have changed.
"When I went to see my Redfield high school, it wan't there anymore," said Klebsch."And the farm is different with big machines…Today, we went to the cemetery to take some flowers for Bill Klebsch. He was a fine man, and very good with me."
Luis and his son, Ignacio, stayed with Luis's American sister, Karen Stephenson (née Klebsch) and her husband Robert Stephenson during their recent visit, sharing palmettos from Chile and remembering old times. Since Luis's high school graduation, the Stephensons have also visited Luis in Chile and toured Santiago and the coast with him. Luis said they were especially impressed with Chile's island of penguins.
"They are going back again. They want to see some more!" Luis said with a chuckle.
Luis and Ignacio have now returned to Chile, but their ties to Redfield, South Dakota will remain strong for many years to come.