Hosting a Foreign Exchange Student

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Hi Everybody,

We have looked into hosting a foreign exchange student and was wondering what your experience has been......age, what country and any other information you can share.

Thank you

 

[SookieStackhouse]

It can be a very rewarding experience, a lot of fun. When I was a teenager we had one who was like a year older than me. It took some getting used to (I was an only child and kind of territorial), but they become good friends. If I had it to do over, I would definitely want to do it all again.

The absolute WORST part is when they leave.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

We have hosted a few exchange students during the summer months. We had a 20 year old guy from Africa, a 21 year old girl from Russia, a 19 year old girl from Italy, and a 20 year old guy from Mexico.

I would never do it for longer than the summer months. By that time, everyone just wants to be back to normal. The only problem I had was the man from Africa. He expected his laundry to be done, food on the table, and he had a mentality that women should always be in the home. I worked full time so he really held that against me.

It can get very expensive to host someone. I always wanted to make sure that they saw it all while they were here in America. It was really my own fault for spending so much money on them. I have nobody else to blame.

The hardest working person I had in my home was Armando from Mexico. He cleaned dishes, did housework, and was the nicest, most caring exchange person we have ever had. The others more or less just expected everything else to be done for them.

 

[clori]

Way back when I was in high school we hosted a girl from West Germany (when it was 2 countries) and a year later a boy from Switzerland. They were both fluent in English for the most part. We actually did our first trip to Disney World with the first student. We traveled a bit but mostly locally. Both were nice, good students etc. Like many teens there were moments we didn't get along but most of the time it was great. I was never in a class with either of them. I think they were both 16 turning 17 when they came over and were placed as juniors at my high school. The girl had a much easier time making friends whereas the boy had 1 or 2 closer friends.

There was another exchange student from a different program from Norway I think living with a family in our city the same year as the girl from West Germany. I don't know what happened but her host family actually kicked her out when she had less than a month left to her program. She was friends with the girl staying with us. She came over crying. My mother called her host parents and next thing I knew they came over with all of her things. The exchange program was notified and they came over. In the end the girl stayed with us until it was time to go to the airport to go home and there were no issues. I never found out why her host family kicked her out.

The one thing I remember was that initially expect some food to be foreign to them. Another thing is that while fluent in English they may not understand idioms at first. For the most part if my parents paid for things for me like going to the movies she paid for them but anything I was expected to pay for myself they paid for themselves. Financially you may want to think about how you want to work things ahead of time.

 

[TDS'93]

We've hosted 3 times and had one not so good experience and two fantastic expreriences. Our girl from Japan was a stinker and was moved from our home half way through the school year. She was extremely immature and a handful. Our two boys, Chile ('89-'90) and Norway ('92-'93), were wonderful. Both of them were seniors and celebrated their 18th birthdays with us. We still keep in touch after 20 years. Our son from Chile, has become very successful and attributes his year here as a part of that success. He was given some opportunities after he completed college because of his knowledge of the english language, that he wouldn't have had otherwise. He's been to the states several times to visit and has brought his daughter as well. Our son from Norway is another success story. He's doing well and has been back to visit us as well. We'll have the chance to see him and his new wife in July, probably at Disney World. Can't wait.
My advice would be, make sure the organization you're going through has a good support system and you have a point person locally to turn to if need be. Also, treat your student like your own and not a guest. Very hard to do when they first get here but so much better for them and you in the long run.
It can be a such a great experience. Good luck.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We had an exchange student via the YFU program back in '77. She was 15 and a jr in our high school (same as me). My parents treated her like a daughter, and every month my mom had some type of celebration commemorating her arrival to our house. She & I became pretty much like sisters, and I spent the summer at her house when I graduated from high school. She passed away in '88, but I am still friends with her family. We never had another one because our experience with her was exceptional we didn't want to 'replace' that experience with another.

I later went as an international student when I was in college. Again, I had an exceptional experience.

I would have had an exchange student, but I was a divorced mom living in an area w/a school system that stinks, so I've never hosted.

 

[LisaR]

One of the hardest things for us was the language barrier. The exchange students have generally studied our language for years but just like American students that study from a textbook, they don't grasp the language completely unless they are speaking it regularly.

If they have done previous stays in the US, I found they understood us better. For those that were here for the first time, we would talk in our normal, fast paced language and realize we were getting blank stares.

I agree it can get expensive. I can't imagine bringing a student into my home and doing nothing more than sitting around watching TV. We take them to the zoo, theme parks, plays, fairs, etc. It isn't cheap!

We have never had a horrible experience but we have had a few that weren't so great. I would never have a student for more than the summer.

 

[adkkev]

We've had two, through AFS, both boys were from Germany. One was from Hamburg, the other from Bad Waldsee in the south. First time was an excellent experience, and one reason why we did it the second time. However the second boy was a bit of a problem from time to time but we stuck it out for the whole "year".

In our experience we've found that most of the AFS exchange students come from upper middle class (or very well off) families. The South American kids seemed to be from very wealthy families. Both our "sons" had doctors for fathers.

We were fortunate to have a very strong local support group in our school, as well as a very supportive area AFS chapter. They organized several get-togethers for the exchange students and their host brothers/sisters.

Was it expensive? Probably no more than having another teenager in the house.

We still keep in touch with our first student, and he was with us 18 years ago. Hard to believe it was that long ago!

 

[SookieStackhouse]

Now that I am an adult, I would like to do it. It is not something I am really in the position to do for a long term thing because my DH would NEVER go for it, and we don't have kids, (so that would just be really awkward for the student being w/adults and no teenager to be around in the house). We have entertained a relative's exchange student for like weekends before and it is so much fun. You get to re-experience even the simple things and see the excitement in their eyes. I know a weekend is FAR different than a long-term commitment. It is a still great idea though.