Hosting an exchange student

[ImJustKCClone]

Things are going pretty well. We just spent five days together in Nashville and stayed in a small VRBO. Nobody killed anyone.

One issue that we are dealing with is that her parents are separating (they were never married) back in her home country. She's thankful to not be near the drama but is missing her family. There have been tears a couple of times and we let her take a "mental health" day from school. We let her parents know that she was struggling and they've been helpful if even from a great distance. Her parents have been extremely thankful back to us for taking good care of their daughter. They are also going to try and shield her from some of the back home stuff going forward.

This poor girl can't get away from divorce/separation. Her original host family bailed on her because of a divorce. She stayed with the regional exchange program coordinator for a couple of weeks and the coordinator is now getting divorced. And now her parents. My wife and I are still married, as far as I know.

That poor kid...

 

[Colorado]

That poor kid...

Our ES has a friend that's also here with the same exchange program. The friend is staying with a single mom with two kids. The host mom switched jobs and now has much less flexibility in her schedule and was talking to the coordinator about possibly finding a new host family because she was gone so much. Then the host mom got in an argument with her friend from whom she was renting her home and is now being evicted. So now the friend has to temporarily go live with the coordinator...who is going through a divorce.

It boggles the mind what some of these exchange students go through so far from home.

 

[wxman1]

Our ES has a friend that's also here with the same exchange program. The friend is staying with a single mom with two kids. The host mom switched jobs and now has much less flexibility in her schedule and was talking to the coordinator about possibly finding a new host family because she was gone so much. Then the host mom got in an argument with her friend from whom she was renting her home and is now being evicted. So now the friend has to temporarily go live with the coordinator...who is going through a divorce.

It boggles the mind what some of these exchange students go through so far from home.

Is there some incentive financial or otherwise to hosting? Why would you as a sane person sign up to host someone when you think you are going to be going through a major life change. Divorces and job changes rarely just pop up out of no where.

 

[Colorado]

Is there some incentive financial or otherwise to hosting? Why would you as a sane person sign up to host someone when you think you are going to be going through a major life change. Divorces and job changes rarely just pop up out of no where.

Not with this program. We sign up to provide room/meals and reimbursement for additional expenses. There is no money just to host.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Not with this program. We sign up to provide room/meals and reimbursement for additional expenses. There is no money just to host.

A little expansion on your response, based on our experiences:

None of the programs we went through paid the hosts. It's usually on a volunteer, cultural experience basis.

Hosts are expected to feed the student, provide a bed (some programs require a private room), assistance in transport to/from school and extracurriculars.

Hosts are encouraged to pay for the student's portion of family activities (example, family going to a movie or out to dinner together).

Money for clothes, entertainment, incidental spending, specialized "equipment" like football cleats is generally expected to be provided by the student's parents.

 

[Colorado]

A little expansion on your response, based on our experiences:

None of the programs we went through paid the hosts. It's usually on a volunteer, cultural experience basis.

Hosts are expected to feed the student, provide a bed (some programs require a private room), assistance in transport to/from school and extracurriculars.

Hosts are encouraged to pay for the student's portion of family activities (example, family going to a movie or out to dinner together).

Money for clothes, entertainment, incidental spending, specialized "equipment" like football cleats is generally expected to be provided by the student's parents.

Pretty much this exactly. If she's with us out to dinner, we pay. If she wants to go shopping, she pays.

 

[CyberJJJ]

Have any of you ever done this? We weren't planning on hosting a student but the opportunity fell into our lap and now we are approved. A student had come into the country for orientation and her original host family backed out the day before she was supposed to move in. We've been working over the past week to submit paperwork, interview, etc. and now she's moving in on Thursday. We have a daughter and our daughter and the exchange student are the same age/grade and will attend the same school. We're all incredibly excited for this opportunity.

For anyone that has done this before, offer up any guidance that you might have. I'm open to tips/tricks/hacks/things to avoid. We are certainly aware of the obvious things so looking for the nuances that might make this experience even better.

Now I need to find some ISU gear for her to wear...

How is the exchange student experience going?