Sounds like an awesome experience for Lauren!

Good luck!

We have not hosted an exchange student, but
two of my sisters have. Both were from France.
This was about 10 or 11 years ago. One was a really
good fit and they still hear from the young lady.
The other sister's student wasn't as good of a
match family wise.....but over all I think that they
thought it was a good experience. One of my nieces
and my oldest daughter ended up being best friends
with an exchange student from Austria that same year
and all of the girls are still very close friends.
She was just one of those extra family members that
you end up with sometimes!!She still comes to visit
as often as she can!

That's a wonderful thing to do!! Hope you have lots of fun getting to know each other and showing them the points of interest in your area.

Good for you Kath! Hope it all works out.

My experience was only bad because our student was just excessively shy (sometimes rude) and it was just awkward. The funny thing is now she emails us, calls us Mom and Dad and is actually very friendly! I really did enjoy the "experience", but felt we would have been better off with a more outgoing student.

I actually have considered doing it again (and maybe even getting 2 like you are... since I no longer have a teenager in the house). Having a exchange student makes you get up and do things, go places... good for people like DH and I who spend too much time being 'homebodies'. :-)

Tips I would give are not to throw too much information at them the first week. Even though they will know English, they may not be used to hearing so much English! lol I know our student was overwhelmed for the first few weeks. Also the change in food may cause upset stomachs at first. Make sure they do understand what they will be responsible for paying for. If you go out will they pay for their own meals or will you pay? Will they buy their own laundry detergent, shampoos, snacks, etc.??

The best thing we did with our student was looking through the pictures she brought and asking her questions about the people or buildings/ect. in the photos. She'd look through albums of ours and ask questions. "Who's that? Where was this taken?" We took turns. It was the only time she really opened up to us. I guess we should have made it a weekly thing.

The only problem I see with your situation is that 3 is sometimes a crowd. Hopefully all 3 will get along great, so that 1 doesn't end up singled out.

It'll be a great experience for your family I'm sure! Hope you'll keep us updated on how things go.

I don't know anything about exchange students so indulge me. How long do they stay with you? What happens if they get sick or in an accident? Do you receive compensation for their food, etc? And most important, will you all be able to communicate?

I think it would be a fun thing as long as you could talk to each other.

Patti, I think they have their own insurance...I just got the packet with the insurance info in it today. In fact, I just got it out of the mailbox on the way to Krogers. They're supposed to come with at least $200 of their own money for their personal expenses. I think it's up to you whether or not they pay for meals out. I think it would be awkward to ask a "family" member to pay for their own food if we went out. You don't get any compensation, not a big deal since I'll really only be taking on one more than normal with Alex being out of the house.

They both have taken English for quite a few years, although, Johanna did say that she and Lauren were having trouble communicating still. They also both have taken French so they will have that in common with Lauren next year.

To help answer Patti's questions.
They usually stay the entire school year.
They have their own insurance to pay for any medical issues.
You do NOT receive compensation for their food (or anything), but you can ask them to pay for their own school lunches and even pay for dinner out when they go with your family if you do not want to pay. We did pay for our students food when we went out. Not sure if we'd do that again (reason being she liked ordering expensive entrees and never ever thanked us for a meal).
They must know English to take part in an exchange program. Our student was exceptional with her written English (and spelling) and fairly good with spoken English.

Just read Kath's responses. I hope your students do get money from their parents throughout the year... they'll want to buy lots of souveniers, go to movies and other places in your area. I know $200. wouldn't have lasted our ES long! lol

Whoops, Lydia, I meant $200 a month! Yes, they're here for 10 months, although, there was a couple on the list that were only here for 5.

Thanks Kathleen and Lydia. I always thought it would be a great experience for the student and us, but never had the room for extra people. You might be better having two than one Kath, after reading Lydia's post. I think if I were going to take on the responsibility of another family's child I would have to treat them as I would like my daughter to be treated--like family.

I'd like to know how the interview goes--what they ask you, etc. I think it's really exciting!

Sounds very interesting. My hu8sband and I thought about hosting an exchange student years ago but we weren't selected. I've heard only good things-that you can learn so much from these young people. Sounds like a wonderful opportunity for you and your family!

Kath, that sounds great. Should be educational for all concerned. Your home will be sounding like the United Nations! Your background will be helpful in all kinds of situations, too.

BTW, where is Alex going to school? If you posted that I missed it.

Sue

Patti, I'll let you know. She said it won't take long so hopefully it won't be too bad. LOL! They have to check the house out too, yikes!

Sue, Alex is going to the University of KY in Lexington. I was hoping he'd go to KSU for at least the first 2 years (he got a full scholarship there) but he wants to go to UK with his friends.

DD and her DH got an exchange student last year and it was a disaster. Might have been better if they'd had a teen child instead of little kids.

The girl was a "cutter". They had to take her for counseling. She was all friendly with DSIL, his dad, my DH but didn't have much use for DD, her MIL or me. She also didn't like having rules to follow. She was treated like part of the family. All 9 of us (SIL's parent's too) went to Disney World for a week. We paid her way. We only got the smallest thanks from her. She was a brat to DD. DSIL punished her by making her spend 2 hours at Disney with DD. It helped soon. DD wasn't thrilled.

Not too long after we returned home she started telling lies at church about DD. She was asked to find somewhere else to live. She found a family with teens and as far as I can tell that worked out ok. Don't know if she had rules there or not.

This girl was from Ukraine. Her father was an abusive alcoholic and was no longer in the home. The mother worked but the kids went to school before she got up and got home in time for supper and then off to bed. The kids were basically raising themselves. No rules.

I felt sorry for her situation but didn't like her attitude.

Linda

I've had two but not at the same time. The first was from Germany and worked out good. She was a real part of the family and we continue to keep in touch with her. She was here in 2001 at the same time as the terror attacks. I know that was a very scary time for her family in Germany. The other was from Brazil and was here in 2005. She was a nightmare and ended up going to live in another state. This was her goal all along.

I found that most are from fairly wealthy homes which is why they can afford to come here in the first place. With the German girl, she told me that it cost her parents $18,000 alone for the program costs. She said that this covered her program in Germany (the one she pays to come here) and the program costs for the U.S. It also covered her airfare and her week long introduction course in New York. It did not cover her spending money. Her parents gave her $400 per month. We did not receive any money, but we knew we wouldn't. Also, we read thru many bios and picked the ones we thought would be a fit for our family. The info provided to us had written recommendations from their teachers, parents etc. We did have to do a little bio about our family but I will say that the one from Germany told me that if she would not have accepted us as her American family, then she would not have received another chance, in all likelihood.

I wouldn't tell you not to do this because there are great experiences out there. I will say though that if something doesn't seem right, do not hesitate to get the kids out of your home. Also, when it didn't work out with the Brazilian girl, I demanded that they move her out of our school district. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

I can't e-mail you Scissors, there's no link to your e-mail on your My Page link.

I just sent you an email. Sorry I thought I had it on my link. I'm getting off this computer for the night but I'll check my emails tomorrow night sometime.

We had mostly good experiences with our exchange students. A lot of it depends on the personality of the students. Our first one was from Russia and was just a delight. He became part of our family and even 2 years later still communicates with us at least once a week. Our student last year was from Mexico and he wasn't as personable and friendly. We rarely hear from him.

Most programs have a coordinator who checks in on the student and talks over any concerns and problems the family and/or students have. Our students were from the Rotary program and a club member had those duties. They would take the student out for dinner or something like that and then would discuss any issues with us later.

We treated the kids like a member of our family and would pay for meals out, movies etc. They money was used for things like clothes and gifts. Most programs also have their own insurance policy but make sure you have a form stating you can sign for any medical care, etc.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Lynda