Would you suggest hosting a foreign exchange student, if so what are your tips?

Question

For instance; tips on calling home, dealing with "new" siblings, the driving issue, babysitting, etc.

Answer 1

We hosted one for a short time - about 2 weeks.

For calling home, we got him an international phone card. It works out to about 4-5 cents a minute. He also e-mailed a lot.

We have only one child, a boy who was about the same age as our exchange student, and they got along well. We had a spare room for the exchange student, so he had a place to go for privacy when he needed it.

He did not have a driver's license. In his home country, they don't get one until they are 18, so he was not allowed to drive here at all.

He was part of a group that came to our community. We host their kids on even-numbered years, and send ours over on odd-numbered years Our son went to his country for 3 weeks recently. Each group spent a couple of weeks with the host family, and a week in a big city, touring, visiting, learning. When with the host family, they spent part of the time going to school with their host student, and also some time visiting the local community. We were expected to treat the exchange student the same as our own kid as far as meals, etc. We paid for his lunches at the school when he went, and he ate with us for breakfast, supper, etc. He traveled with us on a weekend trip also. He had his own expense money, but we paid for the hotel room and so forth.

I don't know what you mean by babysitting. Do you mean, should the exchange student be expected to babysit your young kids? Maybe, but only after he's been there for several months, and knows your routine, rules, etc. That's up to you and the student to work out.

Answer 2

We just hosted one for a week (she went home on Monday)

It's great fun, and I really would recommend it.

For calling home, she either used our home phone or emailed, and she didn't stay on the phone too long.

For "new siblings" the only one she had was me - her exchange student, and I had gone to Germany, where she came from at Easter.

As for driving, she's not old enough - she was 15 and you have to be 17.

Babysitting . . . not sure what you mean by this - I don't have any siblings, and it wasn't like she needed babysitting.

Answer 3

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