swimmermom3 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 If you have had an exchange student, would you please share your experience and any tips you have to help the time be as successful as possible? In one week, we will be picking up our exchange student from Spain. He will be here for three weeks and is the same age as my youngest. They have already been exchanging emails and talking politics. He will be in class during the first part of the day while my ds is at work. We are hoping their schedules are similar and that they can ride mass transit home together. Ds would like to get a couple of days in for camping as well as a trip to the coast and possibly up to the mountains. A good sailing buddy will also have a Spanish exchange student, so the two sailors are hoping to get their guests out on a boat for sailing and maybe a picnic afterwards. My oldest son moved out this weekend, so our guest will have ds's room and he will move into his older brother's room which is a bit lacking in furniture. I am not sure what to expect other than I think we will have a good time. We used to host international swimmers, but that would only be for a couple of days and they were busy at the pool nearly all of the time. We just had to feed them and drive. 2015 update Post #22 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalLynn Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 We have hosted Japanese students two different times, for 2 weeks each. They were very busy most days, and even on 1 day each weekend. Our first experience was fantastic. The young man was a talented musician, as is my husband, so they just hit it off. He was very outgoing and easy to get to know. He actually made dinner for us one night, and we played games and went bowling with him. The second boy we hosted was not as interested in interacting with us which made it very difficult to get to know him. The most difficult thing with both of them was the food issue, but both sides were aware this might be an issue and we just did the best we could. All in all we enjoyed it very much both times.I think what you have outlined sounds really wonderful. Your son and his friend have some great activities planned for the boys. Enjoy! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugs Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 We've had two Basque students stay with us at different times. They had different personalities, but I think it worked out best when the student shared a room with my dc (obviously same sex). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Why yes, have quite a bit of experience. :) We hosted an exchange student my senior year of high school, and then I went to live with her family for a year (in Germany), so we were together two years. She and I got along fine, but didn't have much in common. We both had a wonderful time anyway. I'll actually visiting her and her family in just a few weeks. More recently, we hosted an exchange student from Spain for a month in the summer. She was really lovely. The only caveat ended up being that she was from the Basque country and Spanish wasn't her native tongue. And we have an exchange student right now (from Germany). She's been here since last August. She's really become part of the family, and she gets along great with my girls, which is wonderful. We're kind of freaking out that the year has zoomed by so fast and she's leaving in a week! We're all a bit sad. One dd is going to stay with her family for the summer. My mom was also an exchange student, with a boy from Mexico. They are still in touch and visit - I visited their family myself when I was a teen. What to expect depends a lot I think on the program they come with. Some have the kids busy with group activities and classes, and you're like a hotel. I haven't had experience with that kind of group (or the kind where you get paid - we never have). All the students we've had just come live with us. The Spanish student who was here a shorter time did have a couple of group outings, but otherwise was just with us. We did a lot of sightseeing with her. With the longer stays, they've come on their own and just become part of the family (although we still try to show them around). I just took her down to NYC for a weekend, and we took her on vacation with us down south in April, including tossing in a day in Williamsburg and another in DC. I obviously think it's a great thing to do! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Like others who have posted, we've done this a few times with a German exchange student for a year and French exchange students (3) who would come for 2 week time periods. All had great times - or at least told others they did. The German student was very interested in perfecting her English and very interested in trying our foods, customs, etc. She was with us 14 years ago now and we still stay in touch (she just sent us pics of her new daughter actually!). The French students - probably due to being here for a shorter period of time - were less interested in perfecting English and none of those we hosted were very good with the language. It helped me practice my French. ;) They were visiting with their school group, so had other activities they did most days, but they did leave a few free - mainly weekends - for their host family to have experiences with them. Ours learned to shoot rifles (a BIG hit that their peers were jealous of), ride ponies, and just hang out with our boys - mainly trying to discuss the differences in their respective countries and schools. With one we had quite the political discussion - all friendly - and he left with a far better impression of Americans than he came with. Politics never came up with the other two. Food was a little more of an issue, as again, with just 2 weeks, they weren't so interested in trying much new. I recall being in Walmart and getting to translate for several hosting parents/students as to what was liked. ;) (I ended up cooking basic things many like - roasted chicken, pot roast, pasta, etc, and all worked out well for us. We also had plenty of snack foods here.) All of our experiences were good experiences - not a single bad thing I can recall at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 We hosted a French exchange student for 3 weeks one summer and then invited him back to our home for the following summer. He was interested in 2 activities, practicing his English and shopping. We had a grand time. His group took him and one of my son's to NYC, DC and Philly for a day each. Other than that we were on our own. We went to the beach, and did other activities like bowling, having a BBQ, walking in the park..... When asked what he would like to see or do during his visit his reply was a simple, I just want to do what you would do if I wasn't here. He was not interested in sightseeing. When I suggested that we go camping one weekend, an activity that we did do a lot at that time, he said no, he was not interested in that. Google was quite helpful when he/we had trouble with the language. I went into this thinking that my younger son, who had just finished French 2 with Potter's School, would have a chance to practice speaking French with him but, oh my, that did not work at all. *A* was highly critical of any attempt and wanted perfection on the first try. Awful. That was the only thing that did not work out. We enjoyed his visit so much that we invited him back for the following summer and he stayed with us for 4 weeks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 When I suggested that we go camping one weekend, an activity that we did do a lot at that time, he said no, he was not interested in that. LOL, our current student is the opposite. We don't camp (and I don't think she did back in Germany), but she has joined the outdoor club at school and a Venture Crew and decided she loves these activities and has been trying to find something similar back home. She's actually spending her last weekend here on a canoe trip and camp out (she's already almost all packed and thinks this will keep her mind busy so she doesn't get sad!) We're going to spend most of the weekend packing ourselves, as we're also headed off next week... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 We have hosted students for a few years. They are mostly university students here to study English, and we have hosted for periods of time from one week to one year. It sounds like your ds is already developing a relationship with your student. You are going to have an amazing experience. Really the best advice I can give is to just be yourselves. :) For a short stay, we try to find a balance between treating them like guests and treating them like family. Don't forget to spend some time doing your normal family life with him. We really haven't had a bad experience yet. Our current student from Saudi Arabia is a little challenging, but he's a kind and charming young man who tries. The most difficult part is saying goodbye when our students leave. Have fun! Cat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 We have hosted Japanese students two different times, for 2 weeks each. They were very busy most days, and even on 1 day each weekend. Our first experience was fantastic. The young man was a talented musician, as is my husband, so they just hit it off. He was very outgoing and easy to get to know. He actually made dinner for us one night, and we played games and went bowling with him. The second boy we hosted was not as interested in interacting with us which made it very difficult to get to know him. The most difficult thing with both of them was the food issue, but both sides were aware this might be an issue and we just did the best we could. All in all we enjoyed it very much both times.I think what you have outlined sounds really wonderful. Your son and his friend have some great activities planned for the boys. Enjoy! We just received our student's schedule and he will be very busy. My son was a bit chagrined to find that the program is going to do many of the things my son had planned. The students are in class from 9am to noon. They have an hour for lunch and then activities until 5:30pm. The kids arrive in town on Monday evening and turn around and have class on Tuesday. I expect they will all be very tired, but the program has a great activity for them the first day. The students will be going on a treasure hunt around the city and they will need to get to many of the places using their mass transit passes. They go in small groups and have to do things like go to the major sports arena and get a picture of someone wearing team paraphernalia. For another one, they have to go to a famous donut shop. What a cool idea and I can't think of a better way to figure out mass transit in a hurry. Other activities include laser tag, hiking in a very scenic area, going to the beach, white water rafting, swimming, and of course, shopping. I have been wondering about the food especially since he will need to take a sack lunch most days. I think I will ask his mom. We've had two Basque students stay with us at different times. They had different personalities, but I think it worked out best when the student shared a room with my dc (obviously same sex). My son can be a bit shy and I am not sure how our guest will be. I did figure if they have a really great time, my son can always move his air mattress into our guest's room. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 We just received our student's schedule and he will be very busy. My son was a bit chagrined to find that the program is going to do many of the things my son had planned. I think that's pretty typical for shorter cultural exchange programs. The programs don't want to burden families with a lot of sight-seeing expectation in addition to transportation and housing. Is your son able to join them for some of the activities? When we've hosted with these types of programs, they encouraged the same-age American students to join the program for the fun outings. Really, simple activities like a picnic in the park, movie night, family game night, cooking a meal together, walking to the ice cream shop, bike rides....those are all great simple ways to spend time together. Our students usually want to shower and eat when they arrive. Then they fall into two categories, pretty distinctly. Some want to interact and see the house and neighborhood and talk with the family. Some want to sleep and unpack and get their bearings. I usually have a very simple meal ready (salmon with rice has gone over well with all students) and ask on the way to our house, "Are you hungry?" I show them to their room and show them the bathroom, including how the shower works. I feed them if they are hungry, then ask, "Do you want to shower and rest now?" Almost always they say yes. I tell them, "Please sleep if you are tired. We will be downstairs if you have questions or want to talk with us before you sleep." Some come down to visit with us, most go to sleep. He might experience some language fatigue the first couple days. You can kind of see it happen. The eyes glaze over and the student just isn't processing what you say. The brain just gets overwhelmed processing all of the new language and it starts to sound like gibberish. It's totally normal, and he'll adjust. Thought of something else: Food is a huge topic of conversation. What do you eat for breakfast at home? What is your favorite meal? Do you eat this in your country? I prepare a few traditional American meals: grilled burgers with potato salad and coleslaw and watermelon; Chicken with dumplings; apple pie or strawberry shortcake; macaroni and cheese. Chicken noodle soup seems to be a cultural constant--everyone knows this soup and every culture prepares it differently. At meals, I name and demonstrate everything on the table that isn't completely obvious. "This is chicken salad. It's cut chicken with apples and nuts. You put it on bread to make a sandwich. ( I demonstrate.) This is mashed potatoes. It's potatoes with garlic and rosemary. This is kale. It's a green leaf." And so on.....So much fun! :) Cat 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugs Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 With one of our students, I prepared a Thanksgiving dinner (the hottest week of the year :huh: ) and invited our friends whose kids were teens too. We dressed nicely, put together a large table with all the decorations and food, and discussed what we were thankful for. Except for the hot weather it was loads of fun - but then again Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I don't mind cooking for that one. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Why yes, have quite a bit of experience. :) We hosted an exchange student my senior year of high school, and then I went to live with her family for a year (in Germany), so we were together two years. She and I got along fine, but didn't have much in common. We both had a wonderful time anyway. I'll actually visiting her and her family in just a few weeks. More recently, we hosted an exchange student from Spain for a month in the summer. She was really lovely. The only caveat ended up being that she was from the Basque country and Spanish wasn't her native tongue. And we have an exchange student right now (from Germany). She's been here since last August. She's really become part of the family, and she gets along great with my girls, which is wonderful. We're kind of freaking out that the year has zoomed by so fast and she's leaving in a week! We're all a bit sad. One dd is going to stay with her family for the summer. My mom was also an exchange student, with a boy from Mexico. They are still in touch and visit - I visited their family myself when I was a teen. What to expect depends a lot I think on the program they come with. Some have the kids busy with group activities and classes, and you're like a hotel. I haven't had experience with that kind of group (or the kind where you get paid - we never have). All the students we've had just come live with us. The Spanish student who was here a shorter time did have a couple of group outings, but otherwise was just with us. We did a lot of sightseeing with her. With the longer stays, they've come on their own and just become part of the family (although we still try to show them around). I just took her down to NYC for a weekend, and we took her on vacation with us down south in April, including tossing in a day in Williamsburg and another in DC. I obviously think it's a great thing to do! You do have a lot of experience, which is so cool! I love that you are still in touch with your exchange student from your own high school days. What a fun trip. Many of the kids on my ds's sailing team have had exchange students. One of our sailors was talking with the exchange student who was staying with a family across the street from her. It turned out that "Ramon" was a sailor! He sailed with our team all year and was a wonderful addition, especially since he is a shrewd tactician. Occasionally, language issues made for some amusing anecdotes when he was skippering, such as in the heat of team racing, yelling "Don't sail, don't sail!" He is a delightful young man and the team will miss him. All of the kids that have had exchange students are very enthusiastic and a couple have done like your kids are doing and have gone to visit the student in their country. Listening to them talk about their experiences while I was driving for a regatta is what got us thinking about having a student. If this works out, we'll probably go for a longer term. One issue in getting a student for a school year is of course, that my student is not at school much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 Thank you all for the wonderful advice. Our guy arrives this evening and we are so excited. Do you think it's karma or something that everyone who as seen a picture of our guest exclaims, "He looks just like (Sailor Dude)!" He's taller, but the resemblance at least in photos to our youngest is uncanny. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Thank you all for the wonderful advice. Our guy arrives this evening and we are so excited. Do you think it's karma or something that everyone who as seen a picture of our guest exclaims, "He looks just like (Sailor Dude)!" He's taller, but the resemblance at least in photos to our youngest is uncanny. I hope you have a great time together. It sounds like you will! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Exchange Student Rule #1: Make sure you bring the right student home with you :tongue_smilie: There were 70 students arriving from Spain last night at the airport and the host families all had signs with their student's name. A young man came up to us and introduced himself as "X" - just like our sign. We did introductions and started walking towards baggage. I trailed behind looking at the other students because I had seen pictures of our student and I wasn't sure we had the right one. Sure enough, we got down to baggage and I saw our guy. We helped the original "X" find his host family and our guy find his luggage. He is a very personable young man with a definite penchant for politics. Sailor Dude is pleased with that aspect and I do think they will have a great time together. Both boys looked pretty tired this morning. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Exchange Student Rule #1: Make sure you bring the right student home with you :tongue_smilie: There were 70 students arriving from Spain last night at the airport and the host families all had signs with their student's name. A young man came up to us and introduced himself as "X" - just like our sign. We did introductions and started walking towards baggage. I trailed behind looking at the other students because I had seen pictures of our student and I wasn't sure we had the right one. Sure enough, we got down to baggage and I saw our guy. We helped the original "X" find his host family and our guy find his luggage. He is a very personable young man with a definite penchant for politics. Sailor Dude is pleased with that aspect and I do think they will have a great time together. Both boys looked pretty tired this morning. So... did they have the same name or did you just look like a more promising family with "first come, first served?" :lol: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 So... did they have the same name or did you just look like a more promising family with "first come, first served?" :lol: I'm guessing the same name. :) Unless things have changed drastically in the last 20 or so years, the Spanish are not particularly inventive with names. When I was there on exchange, we used to joke that it seemed like all the women were named MarÃa José, and all the men José MarÃa. Of course, not really. ;) Although MarÃa especially is (or at least was) so common there are countless nicknames made up to tell everyone apart. I remember once we met four guys together. Their names? Antonio, Antonio, Antonio, and Juan. Swimmermom, where in Spain is your student from? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 I am not sure how promising we looked as many people had wildly elaborate signs and we had printer paper with first name and last initial. The boys had the same first name and the first guy's family was late so in an odd way it was okay, because at least he was greeted too. :D I believe our student is from Viso del Marques in Ciudad Real. Hopefully, I can confirm that tonight. My task for today since I have an empty house is to research Spanish politics as there is a lot going on there right now and I want to be able to ask questions. The boys were already talking about fascism and renewable energy last night, so I expect the conversations to be lively. As we experienced before with our Canadian swimmers, our guests seem to know so much more than we know about them, that sometimes it is embarrassing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I've never hosted an exchange student but our d-il's family has and we got to meet him. He's from the Netherlands. The host mom said he was trying to extend his visa as long as possible and his own mother came to see him recently, he's been with them for almost a year. I enjoyed chatting with him but found I didn't understand him a lot; he has a heavy accent. A "normal" 15 year old. I think it is wonderful for families to do this and wish you many happy experiences with him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Exchange Student Rule #1: Make sure you bring the right student home with you :tongue_smilie: . Oh no!!! Once our Japanese student was so late that the program delivered the students.....to the wrong homes! Poor girl was shy and too exhausted to tell us we had the wrong name. It all got sorted out in the morning. :D Cat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 I have to tell you all that our exchange student is perfect for our family. He is gracious with a good sense of humor and fits right in with family banter. Even our shy, old cat approaches him for attention. The not-at-all shy young female cat slept with him on his arm the second night. Other than a slight problem with dairy products, he is very rewarding to feed and an overall pleasure to have around. Yesterday, dh drove the boys to the coast to spend the night with a sailing family. Another sailing family with a Spanish exchange student was staying nearby, so they all got together to hang out. It's a beautiful area and the kids can safely have a lot of freedom. If the rest of the visit goes as smoothly, we would definitely consider having another exchange student for a longer period of time. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 The 2015 version: In less than one week we will be picking up our French exchange student. He will be with us one week before Sailor Dude and last year's exchange student arrive from Spain. One of Sailor Dude's friends, Sailor Girl, is traveling as well, and her French exchange student is all by his lonesome at her house, so I will be borrowing him to go with my student to the beach, the amusement park and Shakespeare in a cemetery. Two days after the guys get in from Spain, we are all going camping for three days where the kids can spend all their time on the river or take a quick drive to the beach. We hope to add a few sailing friends to the camping mix. Our French student is also a sailor, so I know sailing and swimming are on the agenda. Our oldest son is home temporarily, so it will be a house full of boys and that will mean lots of cooking and cookies. It's all good. :D 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 We hosted the three-week exchanges a couple of times. Our first was a terribly-homesick German young lady whose English was not good Since my German is non-existent, it was easiest to have the young lady just follow oldest DD around when they weren't at a scheduled event or school class. The second student was from Austria, spoke about four languages fluently and was really easy to have around. DS had a rough school schedule that semester, but the exchange student was fine going with him or hanging out at our house with other kids from the exchange program and their hosts when DS was busy. It was a great time and we still hear from him occasionally - he ended up going to college in Arizona. The trickiest part was food. They were used to eating on different schedules and styles than we do. I ended up leaving lots of food out on the table for snacking on when they got hungry - sandwich stuff, cookies, fruit - as neither student felt comfortable with "help yourself" if the food was in the fridge or cabinet but were fine if it was set out on the table all the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 We hosted the three-week exchanges a couple of times. Our first was a terribly-homesick German young lady whose English was not good Since my German is non-existent, it was easiest to have the young lady just follow oldest DD around when they weren't at a scheduled event or school class. The second student was from Austria, spoke about four languages fluently and was really easy to have around. DS had a rough school schedule that semester, but the exchange student was fine going with him or hanging out at our house with other kids from the exchange program and their hosts when DS was busy. It was a great time and we still hear from him occasionally - he ended up going to college in Arizona. The trickiest part was food. They were used to eating on different schedules and styles than we do. I ended up leaving lots of food out on the table for snacking on when they got hungry - sandwich stuff, cookies, fruit - as neither student felt comfortable with "help yourself" if the food was in the fridge or cabinet but were fine if it was set out on the table all the time. We found the food situation to be similar last year. Our charming Spaniard was not enamored with eating dinner at 7pm when he was used to eating at 11pm. Now our son thinks that (11pm) is a brilliant time to have dinner. It will be interesting to see when our French student likes to eat. You are so right about leaving the food out as opposed to encouraging them to help themselves from the fridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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