Gearing up for next year.

I am working toward placing students in the Fall and looking for host families. As I read profile after profile, I am thinking of ways to meet the people who will be a great match for these teens if they only knew about them. I am always looking for new ways to advertise - being a nonprofit, our budget is quite limited. I make phone call after phone call looking for people who may be interested. I am placing signs on bulletin boards and asking everyone I meet if they have ever considered hosting an exchange student. 

What are the benefits? The main one is a life long friendship with people across the world. Not a day goes by on Facebook that I don't see one of my former students and their family and friends. I follow their lives - a young man who got his driver's license in Spain this week. Another with his college friends. My precious Brazilian from last year modeling for a local clothing store… Great memories of these children flood my heart and soul knowing that I made a difference in their lives. I helped make their dreams come true. I had a part in furthering their careers and bettered their future. 

I also see my new friends that I met because they hosted one of my students. One family currently has a son in Ireland studying in college. While I don't claim to have had a part in him going to Ireland, i wouldn't have know him or his family without the program. I have made many friends through this job and they make me smile.

The other, and  perhaps the most important thing is that people are people regardless of where they are from. You have all personalities within all races of people. And although we may carry ourselves differently, we are all human and we all want to be accepted. Understanding is what we try to promote through our exchange programs. If we live together, we can better understand where that person is coming from and promote peace. Stereotypes are not all true - An American high school does not conduct itself like "High School Musical" "Mean Girls" is not everyone's experience. Things aren't always as they seem, we need to dig a little deeper and find out where the misunderstanding is! 

I love what I do and I look forward to meeting the next family who hosts for the first time! I will walk them through and help make another student's dreams of America come true. 

Have you ever considered hosting?