Couple welcomes students into home
Russ Hagerman

Staff Writer

Welcome to the Caf  International, a quaint out-of-the-way coffee house for international students.

In reality, Caf  International is a private home owned by Mark and Tess Pinkerton, Carl Junction. The Pinkertons offer their home to international students attending Missouri Southern for a chance to get away from the campus, have a cup of coffee or two and be welcomed in a comfortable setting.

Pinkerton is a pain management specialist at St. John's Regional Medical Center. He graduated with an M.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and did his medical residency at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He is from North Platte, Neb. Tess Pinkerton holds a bachelor of arts in psychology and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She hails from Clay Center, Neb. They have two children Emily, 14, and Isaac, 13. They have lived in Carl Junction for two years.

The Pinkertons are not new to offering their home to people. From 1990-1996 while living in Omaha, they headed up a spouses  program for the wives of international students attending the University of Nebraska-Omaha. They would have 20-25 spouses every week in their home. Eventually, the Pinkertons had to seek another place to host their guests. A local church offered them a place to hold the meetings.

"It grew because of the refugees from Bosnia," Tess Pinkerton said.

The current meetings are open forum and informal. Everything can be discussed. There were students from Austria, Finland, Kenya and Libya represented at the first meeting. As diverse as this group may seem, only women attended.

"Guys need to come," Mark Pinkerton said.

Snacks are served as well as coffee, and the Pinkertons shuttle students to and from the residence halls.

 This is pretty nice; we get to interact with each other, and the cheese cake is good,  said Christabel Misiko, freshman international business major.

Mark Pinkerton said Muammar Qadhafi was a student in the United States and was mistreated. He was never invited to anyone's house for a cup of coffee.

 What would have been different if Muammar Qadhafi had been invited to someone s home?  Mark Pinkerton said.

The Pinkertons would like to see people get to know each other's cultures.

"We want it to be in an American home,  Tess Pinkerton said.

Students interested in information about the Caf  International may contact the Pinkertons at 649-6406.

 It is nice to know people from other countries,  said Eddah Tole, sophomore mathematics major.

Russ Hagerman/The Chart

Rahlia Kahn, sophomore physics major from Lybia, Vanessa Pichler-Lewis, senior French/German and literature major from Austria, Terhi Kauppila, sophomore kinesiology major from Finland, and Trish Udell, instructor of intensive English, eat snacks during a Caf  International meeting Sept. 21.