Host Family Decisions: Choosing a Student
The “matching” of an exchange student with his or her host family is a key factor in the likely success of student’s exchange year in the U.S., and program coordinators around the country take the process seriously. This isn’t a 2-3 week vacation visitor, after all. It’s a person who will live in your home for […]
Host Family Decisions: Choosing an Exchange Program
Families have different reasons for why they choose to host. Reasons include a desire to expose one’s children to other cultures, building long-term relationships, changing the dynamics of children’s relationships in the family, and learning how to prepare for when your own kids become teenagers. Welcoming an international student into your home can spark your […]
Getting to Know You: Ten Topics Exchange Students and Host Families Can and Should Talk About
As the year begins, there are many things exchange students need to know in order to adapt to and fit in with their host family. Most students will have been to an orientation in their home country before leaving for their exchange, but it’s impossible to remember or cover everything. In the U.S., exchange students have […]
Tips For New Host Families: Make it a Mix of Rules … and Fun!
This is part 3 in our series on host family tips; part 1 is about contacting your student before arrival and part 2 talks about a few thoughts about pre-arrival preparation. Today we’ll share a few thoughts on setting expectations when your student arrives. “Expectations” includes both the do’s and don’ts as well as fun […]
Tips For New Host Families: Pre-Arrival Preparation
This is part 2 in our series on host family tips; here is last week’s tip. Today, let’s think about some preparation ideas for before your exchange student arrives. Here are a few suggestions that have worked for our host families.Set Up The BedroomYou do not need to remodel or get new furniture, but you […]
Tips for New Host Families: First, Contact Your Student
It amazes us every year to see the lengths that families go to welcome their students: taking them on excursions around the community, showing them the local high school, and just spending time with them. We’re always in awe with how much people are willing to do! Bringing a student into the host family home, however, […]
Send Us Your Exchange Stories
Dear friends, We would like to include on this website from time to time people’s own stories about cultural exchange, both from students’ and families’ point of view. We’re not just looking for families and students to tell us this was the best experience they have ever had. We know you can get that elsewhere, […]
Host Family Tips: Before Your Student Arrives
June and July are strange times for those of us working with international students. Our students who have been here for a semester or school year are returning to their home countries — yet at the same time, we’re looking for host families for the coming school year and beginning to reach out to our […]