Tag: exchange student

I guess that we have become exchange student hosts. For me, it goes way back to my youth where we first hosted a Japanese exchange student for a couple of weeks. A few years later, we had a French exchange student. Later in my married life, we had another Japanese exchange student for a few weeks. Then we had our Spanish exchange student for a year 2019-2020. And finally, we sent off our German exchange student a couple weeks ago (with my son).

It is hard to build connection when they are only with you a couple of weeks. Generally speaking we have lost touch with all of our short term students. Granted those were all pre-social media experiences. I am relatively sure that we have a lifetime bond with our Spanish student. It is because we were able to spend enough time to really build a relationship. Since he left, we have visited Spain and he has visited us.

I am not sure how I feel like hosting without kids. Plenty of people do it; we are already on the Rotary hit list for the next long term exchange. This year didn’t work out because the targeted student has pet allergies and one of the program coordinators is a veterinarian. But kids are able to relate at their level. They often have the same schedule (like summer vacations) and are likely open to showing off to make a new buddy.

When we were kids, we didn’t have a lot of means but we had kid ingenuity. We built forts, picked blackberries, rode bicycles around, shot basketball and sword fought with sticks. Our French student was a Boy Scout so he joined us for a week at summer camp. Those weeks really flew by and it was over before we knew it.

Our second Japanese exchange student had daily classes. That meant that we had to take her to school during the week so that part kind of took care of itself. But, what would you do if you only had three weeks to provide a crash course in your culture? Easy, do what you do.

First of all, all those kitschy or things you have seen a million times are new to an exchange student. So, while on any given weekend you may not pick these places spend your time, they are easy targets. For instance, we usually plan a trip to the beach which is only an hour away. A whale watching trip is $25/person and two hours long. That makes it economically approachable and even the motion sensitive people can bear that duration. And even if people are from some tropical location, our beach is very different.

Speaking of different. you usually get some sort of profile before accepting the student. It is a good if you can match some of your entertaining with their interests. If they like hiking, you can walk the dog around the neighborhood if you are not a hiker, but it is pretty likely you can find some sort of short arboretum trail or city park. If you interest are congruent, you need to consider that these are kids. I wouldn’t recommend a two week backpacking trip because you don’t know if their idea of hiking matches your hard core pursuit.

McDonald’s is not the novelty it used to be. I remember that we got a tour at the local McDonald’s with our first exchange student but now it is really everywhere in the world. Culinary experiences are great gateways however. Have them help cook, pick berries or even just suggest recipes that you can try to make. I also suggest planning meals that bring out Americana like barbeque and fruit pies. Since I like to cook, I am up for anything but I also try to focus on things that I think are American (or Mexican because my wife is Latino).

I would highly recommend not always cooking at home nor eating out. You want a mix of what is a restaurant experience and what is a home experience. When our Spanish student came a month or so ago, he had a list of all the places that he wanted to eat. Sadly, nothing on his list was our food, but it sure made the busy time go easier.

If permitted, I like to play into the world stereotype. A lot of people have visions of America being cowboys, especially in the west. That is running around and shooting things. Most programs have restrictions against any kind of risk behavior (this is for insurance reasons). But the Rotary does not. So we went on a boys camping trip that featured some target shooting. This is one of the few things that is nearly uniquely American.

Go to the Friday night concert in the park or the county fair. It is not all about creating one of a kind, whiz-bang experiences but the ability to compare and contrast what they think of pizza versus what we think it is. Especially sensory experiences such as food leave lifetime impressions whereas the history of the Alamo gets forgotten within months. Don’t not do the Alamo if it is close and convenient but just know that they are not likely recall every detail.

End Your Programming Routine: The Rotary program says don’t go out of your way to pack every day with fun. Do what you do. That being said, I would say that you want to try and make things a little special. A couple road trips and some local events provide a well rounded peak in a short term exposure. Hosting an exchange student is a very enriching process and I highly encourage doing it.