When my kids were younger, I loved going to children’s consignment sales. That’s when I first learned about the world of high school exchange students. I remember standing in line one spring morning and hearing two boys speaking French at a table nearby. It caught my attention because I had taken French in high school. I got to chatting with the friendly host mom manning the table along with the two French exchange students.
Their enthusiasm was infectious, and the seed was planted.
I had always told myself that I would teach my kids French and expose them to different cultures. Well, I hadn’t followed through on teaching them French, but maybe this was my chance to expand their little worldviews.
That night I presented the idea to my husband who thought I was completely crazy. Why in the world would we want another kid to take care of? We already had four: my oldest was seven, my middle child was five, and our twins had just turned two years old. We were already outnumbered!
I asked him to think about it and talked him into letting that friendly host mom come over. She gave us more information and answered our many questions. One of us was more convinced than the other, but we ended up hosting a wonderful girl from Germany that next school year. She was quiet at first but quickly integrated into our family.
By the end of that school year, it was just about impossible to imagine that she hadn’t lived with us her whole life. I will never forget my daughter asking to “speak to the manager” at the airport when it was time for Sara to leave to see if the manager would let her stay. In the car, on the way home, I jokingly said to my husband, “Well, should we host again?” His response, without hesitation, was “of course!” He was all in.
Since then we have hosted 10 amazing students from all over the world. My kids have grown up with an extended family of siblings.
They have tried different foods, played new games, heard songs in different languages, and lived with someone who might not look exactly like they do and learned that that is ok. They have learned about empathy, compassion, and acceptance. As a family, we have learned how to be more flexible and how to communicate more clearly.
Basics of Hosting an Exchange Student
We have also learned a lot about the hosting world. Hosting a student involves providing a welcoming environment, three meals a day, and a bed. Yes, they can share a room with a same-sex sibling. Generally speaking, host families are volunteers and do not get paid. Students have health insurance and their own spending money for incidentals. There are a handful of programs that do pay their families, but in my experience, that changes the relationship between the student and family and can sometimes even become a barrier.
The goal is for students to integrate into their family, school, and community so they can improve their English. This also fosters an opportunity for cross-cultural learning.
In order to come on an exchange program, the students register with a sending organization in their home country. Students must be in good standing academically and in their community. Most kids who choose to go on exchange tend to be outgoing, adventurous, and involved in a variety of interests, sports, and activities. The sending organization then partners with receiving organizations in the US, who in turn vet the host families, volunteers, liaisons, and coordinators–a process that includes interviews and background checks.
There are also checks in place for the organizations. A good place to start is the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bridge USA Program. Another entity that ensures the safety of both students and host families is CSIET (Counsel for Standards of International Education Travel). Yet another aspect to consider is whether or not the organization is a non-profit. Many organizations have varying degrees of volunteer vs contractor vs employee involvement. You may find that you prefer one over the other.
In my 10 years hosting in the Albuquerque area, I have experienced a variety of different sending and receiving organizations, all of them with good intentions. Our family is currently hosting with an organization that is almost completely volunteer run, and there is just a certain energy there that I appreciate. There are currently 22 different organizations cleared to host exchange students in the state of New Mexico. Below are a couple of the organizations that are most active in our state.
If you find the idea of international and cultural exchange exciting, there is surely a place for you!
We are always in need of host families as well as volunteers to support and mentor the students while they are here–someone to show them a little love. And just like the words of a famous song, “It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of, what the world needs now is love!”
AFS : American Field Services
- https://www.afsusa.org/
- Established in 1915
- AFS began as a volunteer ambulance corps created in 1915. AFS was transformed from a wartime humanitarian aid organization into a groundbreaking international secondary school exchange, volunteer, and intercultural learning organization with a bold mission: help build a more just and peaceful world by promoting understanding among cultures.
- Offering programs abroad in 40+ countries and hosting international students from more than 80 countries. True to the spirit of our founders, these life-changing intercultural learning programs are made possible by the dedicated work of AFS volunteers.
FLAG : Foreign Links Around the Globe
- https://www.flag-intl.org/index.html
- Established in 1989
- FLAG is devoted to the development of interpersonal, intercultural, and lifelong relationships around the globe. Their mission is to combine the experience, reliability, and reputation of a nationally recognized and fully accredited educational organization with the “personal touch” and individual care of a small agency.
- Offering cultural exchange through hosting students from other countries or studying abroad in France, Germany, Japan, Spain or Italy.
EF : Education First
- https://www.ef.edu/
- Established in 1965
- At EF Education First, they believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Since 1965, EF has helped millions of people see new places, experience new cultures, and learn new things about the world and about themselves.
- Offering academic study, educational travel, and cultural exchange.
ETC : Education, Travel & Culture
- https://edutrav.org/
- Established in 1999
- Their purpose is to promote international understanding and goodwill by providing high-quality educational and cultural exchange programs in the United States and abroad. ETC provides inbound program opportunities for high school students throughout the world to study in an American high school and live with an American family.
- Offering cultural exchange through hosting students from other countries or studying abroad in France, Germany, Japan, Spain or Italy.
Rotary : Rotary Youth Exchange
- https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/youth-exchanges
- Established in 1905
- Their mission is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders. In 1985, Rotary launched its PolioPlus program to immunize all of the world’s children against polio, one of the club’s primary focuses.
- Programs also include youth cultural exchanges. Long-term exchanges last a full academic year, and students attend local schools and live with multiple host families during that time. Short-term exchanges last from several days to three months and are often structured as camps, tours, or homestays that take place when school is not in session.
This is a complete list of CSIET-accredited organizations that are approved for working with students in New Mexico:
ASSIST | www.assist-inc.org
Ayusa International | www.ayusa.org
International Student Exchange | www.iseusa.com
PAX – Program of Academic Exchange | www.pax.org
AFS – USA | www.afsusa.org
South Central Rotary Youth Exchange | www.scrye.org
AIFS Foundation – Academic Year in America | www.academicyear.org
Council for Educational Travel, USA | www.cetusa.org
Education, Travel and Culture | www.edutrav.org
Education Resource Development Trust (ERDT/SHARE!) | www.erdtshare.org
ARISE USA | www.arise-usa.org
NorthWest Student Exchange | www.nwse.com
EF High School Exchange Year | www.efexchangeyear.org
Face the World Foundation | www.facetheworld.org
Foreign Links Around the Globe (FLAG) | www.flag-intl.org
Forte International Exchange Association | www.forteexchange.org
Foundation for Academic Cultural Exchange (F.A.C.E.) | www.facexchange.org
Youth for Understanding USA (YFU USA) | www.yfuusa.org
Greenheart Exchange | www.greenheart.org
Boarderless Friends Forever Foundation | www.borderlessfriends.org
International Cultural Exchange Services (ICES) | www.icesusa.org
International Experience (iE) | https://ie-usa.org/
It sounds like a very rewarding experience. Thank you for sharing. More families should consider hosting.
Rada P
Wow, what a wonderful experience you’ve had! Thank you for sharing your story and spreading the word on cultural exchange. It is perhaps needed now more than ever.