Comments on: Bring Culture Home: Host An Exchange Student

By: irekin2

irekin2 — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 02:56:38 +0000

Let me tell you about the organization that I work with! PAX, is certified through the CSIET which is mentioned above – and we place both ‘regular/paid’ exchange students, and also the FLEX and YES students from the State Department programs that you mention in the article.

I personally try to promote the State Department leadership programs above all others – the Student Ambassadors from those programs compete against tens of thousands of their peers for the opportunity to come here – making it harder to qualify for these programs than a top ivy league college! The kids have to give cultural education and presentations to their classmates and have to work doing community service hours — it’s a win-win-win program for our schools, families, kids! We are helping to develop strong, resourceful, U.S.-friendly leaders among the youth of the world – at the same time providing our own children with international friends who are very well managed, very motivated, and considered to be potential leaders in their countries! What a great way to ‘be the change that you want to see in the world – just by ‘sharing your America’!! http://www.PAX.org

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:14:15 +0000

We did dinner, and then played a board game:). Another time we had other students bring pictures from home. One time I brought 3 exchange students home for THanksgiving from Latin America and they helped me shovel the driveway of snow- they had never seen snow and wanted to help!!! 🙂 Sometimes we invite 2 at a time so they are not the odd man out- they like to share with each other things about their cultures as well. Have fun!!!

By: discoveringtheworldthroughmysonseyes

discoveringtheworldthroughmysonseyes — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:33:16 +0000

I’m going to inquire about this at the university where I work at. Should I just cook dinner? Then what else to do? My son is 4 yrs. old, and I’d love for this to be a learning process for him. Thanks!

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 22:17:36 +0000

In reply to Aisha G of HartlynKids. Especially in NYC where there are so many exchange students:).

By: Aisha G of HartlynKids

Aisha G of HartlynKids — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:53:01 +0000

Hmm – never really thought about doing this until now!

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:01:06 +0000

In reply to discoveringtheworldthroughmysonseyes. I worked at the Office of Int'l Student Affairs at a large university, and we would frequently have families "request" to invite a student over to their homes for dinner. The students LOVED it!!! My dad works at a uni. now, and we've invited over students of his from China for dinner, as a role model for my son (adopted form China). So now I just contacted a university nearby, and they actually have a program you can sign up for, where you "host" the student a couple of times a year in your house, so they can learn more about American families:). I love it!

By: discoveringtheworldthroughmysonseyes

discoveringtheworldthroughmysonseyes — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:44:53 +0000

This is a great idea! I work at a university, and this didn’t even cross my mind! Thanks for opening my eyes! I can’t host an exchange student, but I will certainly contact our international students office to have a student come and visit us.

By: kidworldcitizen

kidworldcitizen — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:24:08 +0000

In reply to Maria. I've had friends who have hosted through AFS: see their site http://www.afs.org/ for more info. I never knew that you worked for them in Spain María!:)

By: Maria

Maria — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 17:48:12 +0000

My family hosted Japanese students when I was about ten. They only stayed a couple weeks but I think it was very eye opening for me to come into contact with those teenagers when I was young. Later we had the opportunity to host a student from Costa Rica for several weeks. It is a wonderful opportunity and a beautiful chance to teach children about other cultures. AFS is another non-profit that organizes exchanges all over the world. I am a volunteer now with them in Spain and it has also been great fun (even though at times it is stressful for the visiting students).