Raising Global Citizens by Hosting Foreign Exchange Students

Thank you to AFS Intercultural Programs USA for sponsoring this post and for educating our community on the impact we might make by hosting a foreign exchange student. 

Traveling abroad witLady Guiliah small children simply wasn’t practical for our family. It was difficult to explore safely on our limited budget and accessibility. My husband and I wanted our children to do more than just see the world, we wanted them to experience different cultures, ethnicities and religions. Our duty to help raise a global citizen meant teaching our kids to go beyond tolerance and show them how to embrace basic human understanding. So we began expanding our global family in 2008 when we hosted our Italian daughter, Giulia (Julia). Since then, we opened our homes (and our hearts) to our German daughter, Linda, and our Lebanese son, Nazih (Nah-zee).

Raising a teenager can be an exciting time – coupling that with the fact that our “instant-teen” children spoke English as a second language was even more stimulating. Many people think of Long Duck Dong from the 1980s cult classic  Sixteen Candles when they think of hosting an exchange student. In the same way, but reversed, many foreign exchange students believe that attending a public school for a year in America is like the Disney movie High School Musical. Both of these perspectives prove to be amusing. One of my favorite memories of Nazih, was when I picked him up after school he started begging for what he said was the most delicious snack ever—chocolate fried rice. I thought to myself, that sounds absolutely diSir Nazihsgusting, and it took me awhile before I realized that he meant Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats! We laughed so hard that I had to pull the car over! Perception and assumptions are often based on miscommunication.

Hosting an exchange student was a great way for us to bring the world to our children. It was also a trial run for us as we had not raised a teen before—we’d actually never really a “typically developing child” before. Cell phone and Wifi restrictions and curfews became part of our daily routine. I am not going to lie, it was not all sunshine and roses, but overall, we fell in love with these ready made son and daughters. They very much became part of our family. We were not expected to be their tour guides or entertainment, we were their parents—away from their parents, and our kids were their siblings—away from their siblings. We taught them some domestic responsibilities like laundry, cooking and baking with non metric measuring devices. We learned how to cook their favorite recipes from home and listened to their music. Our students taught us about their traditions, government and history of their regions. We discussed current eveLady Lindants late into the evenings and discovered how very much alike our countries and often cultures are in more ways than not. We helped one another grow as individuals and a family. When our daughter, Mia, passed away in October of 2013, our girls were on the first plane “home” to be with us. We still hear from each of our kids frequently and visit as often as we can. The bonds we made are for a lifetime.

Hosting has changed all of our lives, for the better. Our family and students had an amazing organization behind us. Volunteers helped us identify a good candidate that would fit our family lifestyle and dynamics. Volunteer staff from AFS also trained all of us on how to communicate effectively with our new family member and how to manage our expectations of our year together with the AFS program. We met often and freely with our assigned support staff volunteer throughout the year so we were never alone in our journey—student or parent—even siblings! Hosting is easy and life changing. To learn more about hosting an AFS exchange student,  contact Crystal at 316-250-4117.


AFS_LogoAs an AFS Host Family, you’ll welcome a new family member into your home, share your everyday lives, and grow as you get to know one another. You’ll be surprised at how much you learn about yourself, your family and community. AFS has been arranging student exchanges for more than 65 years. As a non-profit organization, AFS has a network of close to 100 volunteers across the state of Kansas, many of whom have hosted themselves or studied abroad with AFS. These local volunteers support families, students, and schools in gaining the most from the hosting experience. Take your first step toward a life-changing experience and call 316-250-4117 to learn about the students that will be coming to Kansas in August.

Scholarships for study abroad available through the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program, funded by the U.S. Department of State.

Rachel Banning
Originally from the Wichita area, Rachel’s greatest adventure began 20 years ago when she married her husband. Together, they have one living child with Asperger’s (Dylan, ‘03) and one heavenly daughter with cerebral palsy (Mia, 2000-2013). She is a homeschool mom and business owner. Rachel is an unapologetic advocate for children of all abilities, a bookworm, and she will find any excuse to use her Kitchen Aid and wear Junior League red.

1 COMMENT

  1. Thanks to this post, my husband and I were inspired to host a foreign exchange student this year. We now have a “daughter” from Thailand! We live in Valley Center – as I saw in another blog post that you do as well – and she just started school at VCHS. So thank you for sharing your experience and inspiring us to embark on this, so far, awesome journey!

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