DisneyFan32WI
Grumpy Cat
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2008
He was from Kenya.
David drove on safari for tourists for a living, and that must be a very cool job to have!
Last edited:
Hosting a Foreign Exchange Student
- Thread starter JodyLynC
- Start date
He was from Kenya.
David drove on safari for tourists for a living, and that must be a very cool job to have!
Gumbo4x4
Note to the ladies who forgot to
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2012
JodyLynC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2001
Thank you to all who shared their experiences. Our background checks have cleared and we are waiting to hear back regarding school placements in our area. We have looked through the list of available students and have chosen our top three. I think the next step is to get more details on those students so we can make our final selection. We are very nervous and very excited at the same time.
Gary M
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 1999
A few years ago our daughter hosted 3 foreign exchange students at different times and 9 months each. All three were girls. The first was from Germany. She represented Germany in the Miss World contest a few years after her stay here. She was a beautiful and fun girl. She wasn't a problem at all.
The second girl was from Japan. She is now a medical doctor in Tokyo. Very sweet girl and also no problem. About 10 years ago I was in Tokyo and she came to visit me. She really grew into a very personable girl who really speaks English very well.
The 3rd. student was from Russia. She was the most interesting of the three. When she showed up at the airport she was 15 years old, real thin and looked washed out. To our surprise her English was perfect and she was a very intelligent person. She was from far eastern Russia, very near the China border. She was European looking. In the 9 months here she gained 30 needed pounds and became very attractive. She said she attended a school in Russia where they only spoke English and studied the USA. Even though she had never been out of Russia her knowledge of the USA was amazing. We took her to Las Vegas, New Orleans and WDW. She has been back to visit a couple of times. As far as I can tell her husband and her travel all over the world with no jobs, but live very well. She was a pleasure to have as were the others. She was so smart and her knowledge of the USA was very impressive, I wondered if she wasn't in a KGB school.
The second girl was from Japan. She is now a medical doctor in Tokyo. Very sweet girl and also no problem. About 10 years ago I was in Tokyo and she came to visit me. She really grew into a very personable girl who really speaks English very well.
The 3rd. student was from Russia. She was the most interesting of the three. When she showed up at the airport she was 15 years old, real thin and looked washed out. To our surprise her English was perfect and she was a very intelligent person. She was from far eastern Russia, very near the China border. She was European looking. In the 9 months here she gained 30 needed pounds and became very attractive. She said she attended a school in Russia where they only spoke English and studied the USA. Even though she had never been out of Russia her knowledge of the USA was amazing. We took her to Las Vegas, New Orleans and WDW. She has been back to visit a couple of times. As far as I can tell her husband and her travel all over the world with no jobs, but live very well. She was a pleasure to have as were the others. She was so smart and her knowledge of the USA was very impressive, I wondered if she wasn't in a KGB school.
teacherlisa1978
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2007
I am living this right now, so ask any questions you may have.
I'm hosting two Chinese 16 year olds. They attend the Catholic high school that I attended, and it's 5 minutes from the school where I teach. I take them to school in the morning and bring them home in the evenings. Most everything else they take an uber for.
I provide them with food to make their own breakfasts and lunches and I make dinner most nights. Wednesday nights is "fend for yourself" but I always have plenty of leftovers or easy to make food that they like here. Ramen, frozen pizza, sandwich stuff tend to be their go to items. And frozen chicken strips and fries. Usually on the weekend one or two nights they go out with friends so I don't have to worry about their dinner.
They do their own laundry, I provide the soap. The electric bill has tripled. But I found out the heat going to their rooms is very inadequate so I allow them to use space heaters. I'm working on figuring out this issue.
The challenges: I'm an introvert. It's really hard for me to have people here all the time. Really hard. I rarely hang out in my family room alone anymore, I retreat to my room for a bit of space.
Sharing the kitchen is hard for me. Even when they try, they just don't clean things up to my expectations and I'm constantly talking myself out of being upset. I know they are not purposely doing things to upset me.
Lack of personal responsibility. Yesterday one of them left the house and didn't close the door behind him. It was literally open! I've talked to them about the house next door being broken into last week and tried to emphasize that their stuff is more expensive than mine and it's what will be stolen. They have very expensive electronics, shoes, gaming equipment, watches, etc... I can't tell you how many "false alarms" with the security system they've caused and how many times they forget to lock up.
They have a great deal of expendable income. I'm glad my son is 6. If he was also in high school I think it would be really difficult to see them constantly shopping and wearing expensive brands. We can't afford those things. Since he's 6, my son doesn't notice.
Chores are a real source of frustration. One student is great. He does what I ask when I ask, and if I need him to fix something done incorrectly he does. The other, not so much. It took me 6 weeks, and demonstrations using props, to get him to correctly take out the trash. Their jobs are to take out the kitchen and bathroom trash once a week on Sunday, and the other boy has to "ckean" their bathroom. It's really just a cursory wipe down. It's amazing how many times he can forget that I've asked him to do it.
The good: there is good, despite my frustrations. We've learned a lot about Chinese culture. I've added more Asian foods to the mix at home. My son is adopted from Korea and I liked the idea of bringing in Asian role models to our home. We've had some interesting conversations too, about cultural differences and expectations.
I receive a stipend every month. It more than covers their food and increased utilities. It's allowing me, a single mom, to pay my mortgage and take my son to WDW for spring break. My Chinese students will be traveling at the time. Honestly, the stipend is what keeps me going. I'm hoping to do this next school year as well and then reevaluate.
It works for me also because these guys are very independent. They like to do their own thing. I've invited them to family events, some parties, etc but they decline and I'm okay with that. I had imagined we would do more outings all together and that's not the way it's worked out. I know my son wishes they would interact more with him. He asks them to play uno, watch sports with us, etc... and they prefer not to.
I think our house set up also leads them to be more independent and the good and bad goes with that. It's a trilevel, with their half bath, (they come upstairs to shower in a full bath), laundry, garage, family room, office, and their 2 rooms on the lower level. On the main level is the kitchen, dining, and formal living. The top floor is the full bath, my son's room, and my room with my full bath. My son uses my bathroom now most of the time. If I'm going to keep doing this, I'd like to add a shower downstairs. It's nice that when they stay up late or are gaming or skyping I don't have to worry about their volume bothering us upstairs or keeping us from sleeping.
One tip-I wrote out a sheet of "what you need to know" with info about wifi, chores, meals, etc... and posted it in their rooms and the kitchen. When they first moved in, it was really helpful to go over and make sure we were on the same page about things. It's also been a good reference to go back to.
Good luck OP! Sorry for the novel. If you have any questions I can help with, just ask!
I'm hosting two Chinese 16 year olds. They attend the Catholic high school that I attended, and it's 5 minutes from the school where I teach. I take them to school in the morning and bring them home in the evenings. Most everything else they take an uber for.
I provide them with food to make their own breakfasts and lunches and I make dinner most nights. Wednesday nights is "fend for yourself" but I always have plenty of leftovers or easy to make food that they like here. Ramen, frozen pizza, sandwich stuff tend to be their go to items. And frozen chicken strips and fries. Usually on the weekend one or two nights they go out with friends so I don't have to worry about their dinner.
They do their own laundry, I provide the soap. The electric bill has tripled. But I found out the heat going to their rooms is very inadequate so I allow them to use space heaters. I'm working on figuring out this issue.
The challenges: I'm an introvert. It's really hard for me to have people here all the time. Really hard. I rarely hang out in my family room alone anymore, I retreat to my room for a bit of space.
Sharing the kitchen is hard for me. Even when they try, they just don't clean things up to my expectations and I'm constantly talking myself out of being upset. I know they are not purposely doing things to upset me.
Lack of personal responsibility. Yesterday one of them left the house and didn't close the door behind him. It was literally open! I've talked to them about the house next door being broken into last week and tried to emphasize that their stuff is more expensive than mine and it's what will be stolen. They have very expensive electronics, shoes, gaming equipment, watches, etc... I can't tell you how many "false alarms" with the security system they've caused and how many times they forget to lock up.
They have a great deal of expendable income. I'm glad my son is 6. If he was also in high school I think it would be really difficult to see them constantly shopping and wearing expensive brands. We can't afford those things. Since he's 6, my son doesn't notice.
Chores are a real source of frustration. One student is great. He does what I ask when I ask, and if I need him to fix something done incorrectly he does. The other, not so much. It took me 6 weeks, and demonstrations using props, to get him to correctly take out the trash. Their jobs are to take out the kitchen and bathroom trash once a week on Sunday, and the other boy has to "ckean" their bathroom. It's really just a cursory wipe down. It's amazing how many times he can forget that I've asked him to do it.
The good: there is good, despite my frustrations. We've learned a lot about Chinese culture. I've added more Asian foods to the mix at home. My son is adopted from Korea and I liked the idea of bringing in Asian role models to our home. We've had some interesting conversations too, about cultural differences and expectations.
I receive a stipend every month. It more than covers their food and increased utilities. It's allowing me, a single mom, to pay my mortgage and take my son to WDW for spring break. My Chinese students will be traveling at the time. Honestly, the stipend is what keeps me going. I'm hoping to do this next school year as well and then reevaluate.
It works for me also because these guys are very independent. They like to do their own thing. I've invited them to family events, some parties, etc but they decline and I'm okay with that. I had imagined we would do more outings all together and that's not the way it's worked out. I know my son wishes they would interact more with him. He asks them to play uno, watch sports with us, etc... and they prefer not to.
I think our house set up also leads them to be more independent and the good and bad goes with that. It's a trilevel, with their half bath, (they come upstairs to shower in a full bath), laundry, garage, family room, office, and their 2 rooms on the lower level. On the main level is the kitchen, dining, and formal living. The top floor is the full bath, my son's room, and my room with my full bath. My son uses my bathroom now most of the time. If I'm going to keep doing this, I'd like to add a shower downstairs. It's nice that when they stay up late or are gaming or skyping I don't have to worry about their volume bothering us upstairs or keeping us from sleeping.
One tip-I wrote out a sheet of "what you need to know" with info about wifi, chores, meals, etc... and posted it in their rooms and the kitchen. When they first moved in, it was really helpful to go over and make sure we were on the same page about things. It's also been a good reference to go back to.
Good luck OP! Sorry for the novel. If you have any questions I can help with, just ask!
Two of my neighbors hosted students from Europe (I don't remember which countries, I think Spain and France). The biggest complaint was that the students expected everything to be done for them. My next door neighbor hosted a male student the same age as her teen aged sons. He interacted zero with her sons. He just sat on the computer all of the time. The oddest thing was that he expected her to take him shopping for jeans at her expense.
The other neighbor hosted an older teen girl and she expected everything to be done for her. By the end the host was looking forward to the girl going home but she came down to breakfast and announced she had asked to stay longer. My neighbor had to explain that she was not welcome to stay.
The other neighbor hosted an older teen girl and she expected everything to be done for her. By the end the host was looking forward to the girl going home but she came down to breakfast and announced she had asked to stay longer. My neighbor had to explain that she was not welcome to stay.
daemom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2005
Our high school is approached every year to place multiple exchange students, with the same spiel "they bring everything they need--spending money, they have their own insurance, clothes, and they expect a family here to provide a bed". They have never offered any families a stipend though--that would probably get more people volunteering to house these kids.
For most people here, it is a very positive experience.
For most people here, it is a very positive experience.
thepicklebee
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2016
I have never hosted an exchange student, but I was one! I lived in Norway with a family for a year and am still in contact with them, 18 years later 
I never expected my host family to pay for things for me like for clothes or food, but they did pay if we went on activities and things. There will be disagreements and tensions, sure. That's to be expected. Overall, I had an awesome time.
Let me know if I can answer any questions for you!
I never expected my host family to pay for things for me like for clothes or food, but they did pay if we went on activities and things. There will be disagreements and tensions, sure. That's to be expected. Overall, I had an awesome time.
Let me know if I can answer any questions for you!
- Joined
- Dec 15, 1998
What part of Spain was your exchange student from?
Sorry, I just saw this. He was from Bilbao in the Basque country.
Both my SIL and good friend have hosted several and they always got paid to do so. Maybe it depends on the program?
Growing up my husband's family had a couple students.
Personally I have no desire to participate. I'm a private person and shy and the appeal of a stranger in the house is nil.
Growing up my husband's family had a couple students.
Personally I have no desire to participate. I'm a private person and shy and the appeal of a stranger in the house is nil.
Yes, there are two different types.
And, as many have pointed out the expenses will vary so cost is a factor before agreeing to host.
Some students specifically look for programs where the families are not compensated because they believe they are more enthusiastic about hosting (not just doing it for the money).
Honestly, this may be another negative aspect of the programs where the families receive financial compensation. Some students may feel that they are being "paid" to take care of them.
Of course how the child is raised will be a big factor in that type of entitled behavior, but their socio-economic situation may also be a factor. The wealthier the family, the more the child may expect. Our "daughter" was absolutely wonderful and very grateful for everything we did (we treated her the same as our own children and took lots of extra trips during her stay so she would get to experience as much of the US as possible). But, her family does not have much money so they saved for a long time to be able to send her. Her entire family actually came to visit the year after her stay because we invited them to stay with us so it was a relatively inexpensive vacation aside from the cost of the plane tickets.
- Joined
- Dec 15, 1998
So funny. My cousin's son from Bilbao was an exchange student, but prior to 2014. He loved his experience.
tcufrog
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2012
When I was a kid we hosted an exchanges student from Japan and an one from Spain during the summer for a month. The Japanese student was really sweet and came with a wonderful group. She brought tons of gifts for the family and if we complimented her one something she tried to give it to us. We soon learned not to give compliments. She was happy to help with chores, taught us how to do origami which is a love I've passed on to my older son, and cooked us a Japanese meal before she left which she covered with ketchup since she fell in love with it during her visit. 
We loved her. The Spanish student we liked less. She was pretty nice but we could tell that she didn't think our home was nice enough for her. She also didn't like to help with chores since she didn't have them at home. She seemed pretty spoiled. My mom tried to be nice to her but I could tell she found that annoying.
She was happy to help with chores, taught us how to do origami which is a love I've passed on to my older son, and cooked us a Japanese meal before she left which she covered with ketchup since she fell in love with it during her visit. We loved her. The Spanish student we liked less. She was pretty nice but we could tell that she didn't think our home was nice enough for her. She also didn't like to help with chores since she didn't have them at home. She seemed pretty spoiled. My mom tried to be nice to her but I could tell she found that annoying.
JodyLynC
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2001
My daughters came up with a wonderful idea. They want to purchase a small photo album and take pictures of their school friends, some teachers, family friends, and some of our neighbors. They will give each person an index card to write a greeting then put the greeting next to the photo of the person in the album. The plan is to send the photo album to our exchange student at the beginning of summer so she has a chance to see some of the people she will be meeting when she comes to the U.S.
When we send the package, I would also like to include a little gift for her younger brother and sister, but I have no idea what to send. I would love some suggestions. I would also like to send a little gift to the parents as well as a note thanking them for allowing their daughter to stay with us. If any of you have suggestions, I would welcome them.
When we send the package, I would also like to include a little gift for her younger brother and sister, but I have no idea what to send. I would love some suggestions. I would also like to send a little gift to the parents as well as a note thanking them for allowing their daughter to stay with us. If any of you have suggestions, I would welcome them.
wilkeliza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2013
One thing I read is popular American children's toys (think Barbie, Lego, etc) are harder to find in China (crazy since they make them there) so try those. Stay away from video games or movies because electronics are coded to work only in specific regions and for China especially you don't want to send something that is banned.
I do agree it can become expensive. I have hosted a student from Taiwan and he never ate at home, his family would go out for every meal. Even on trips I would pack lunches and he would not eat them. Also yes exchange students do come with money but never is disused amount. But a few times i would say lets go fishes I would say it will cost this much and he would say ill pass this happend alot. I did not want him to miss opportunitys so we did pick up alot of unexpected cost.
mummabear
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 2, 2012
These are really good and important points.
This is actually what I do for work (I am the International coordinator at our local high school)
With people talking about it being expensive, are you not being paid? Or just not being paid enough? We pay $250 a week here which is enough to cover food, extra power/internet, necessities (like shampoo/soap) and to show them around a bit and still profit some.
Kerry Ferguson
Host Family Expert
- Joined
- May 14, 2019
Hello
I am the Host Family Expert in the UK. I can see there is a post about paying 250 dollars a week to host a student. In England we thought that all host families in the USA are volunteers. I would appreciate some feedback please
Kerry Ferguson
Host Family Expert for Study Abroad UK
I am the Host Family Expert in the UK. I can see there is a post about paying 250 dollars a week to host a student. In England we thought that all host families in the USA are volunteers. I would appreciate some feedback please
Kerry Ferguson
Host Family Expert for Study Abroad UK
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