Hosting International Students? Yes, Please!

I stood at the international gate at Logan Airport for two hours waiting for our international student to come through customs. He came through the doors, lugging a suitcase larger than himself, looked at me and asked, “Are we all set to go home now?”

When our children were in elementary school, friends of ours in Peterborough, NH were hosting exchange students from VeraCruz, Mexico. “It’s no big deal,” my friend Karin mentioned in passing,” it’s just like having another kid in your house.” Three years and four international students later, we can say without a doubt, hosting students is the greatest adventure our family could take.

Our most recent students, all from China, joined Applewild School in Fitchburg as 7 th graders. While Applewild has accepted international students for many years, the school formalized the process and starting working with placement agencies over the past three years. While it’s common for students to have a parent accompany them, visa restrictions can make it complicated for families to stay in the States.

The families of our latest students, Lessenmiao (David) and Zitao (Dylan), opted for a placement agency to find a host family in the United States. The placement agency stayed with the boys for the two years they lived with us. Checking in with them monthly, hosting events, taking them sight-seeing, and making sure our family was also supported, especially during the first few weeks while the David and Dylan transitioned to life in the United States.

As it turns out, my friend’s advice was right; it is just like having another kid in our house! We helped with homework, drove to drumming lessons, and attended parent/teacher conferences. David made friends at Applewild who lived in Acton and he learned to take the 20 minute ride on the commuter rail and we hosted sleepovers and camp-outs in our front yard. David and Dylan learned to shovel snow (not a favorite activity!) stack wood, and bake. They shared with us their favorite recipes from home and made dinner for us at least once a week. Embracing their school community, they ran for Student Government, became student ambassadors and gave school tours, worked on the year-book, joined the Cross-Country team, played basketball and learned lacrosse. They took their first skiing lessons at Wachusetts’ and later skied Mount Sunapee, Crotched Mountain and Mount Snow, they learned to SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard), learned how cold the Atlantic Ocean can be in August, went sailing in Maine, became involved in animal rescue, and David joined a “Learn to Hockey” program.

Dylan received support as an English Language Learner at Applewild. Dylan was cautious about speaking in English when we first met him, and he used simple sentence structure for the first few months he lived with us. It was a joy to watch him on stage at Applewild's Eleanor Crow Public Speaking Contest just to see and hear the confidence he gained in speaking in English. David, on the other hand, came to Applewild with a stronger base in English and did not receive language support. Asked once about what he did not expect as an international student, he answered “Romeo and Juliet.” Chinese students are taught in classes of 60 to 70 students where working collaboratively or thinking creatively are not encouraged.

At Applewild, they adjusted to working in classes with 15 other students (or less). For David, learning to work collaboratively and think critically were some of the hardest lessons. In China, students learn by rote memorization leading up to the Gaokao. Their results on the Gaokao determines where and if a student will go to college. For these reasons, Chinese families send their children to the United States, Canada, England and Australia for an education.

For David and Dylan, the transition worked. This year they won the Regional History Contest and went on to the State level, and at the End-of- Year Recognition Day, David received the Band Director’s Award, the Elaine Kahan Mathematics Award, and the First Place award for the American Mathematics Competition 8 taken at Applewild.

For our family hosting worked. While our son is now a senior at The Winchendon School and our eldest is at Wheaton College, having international students forces us to have dinner together more often as a family, we planned more family time together in the way of family game nights, and we resurrected some of our family traditions that we had dropped as our own children had gotten older (family bonfires and s’mores anyone?).

Now that David and Dylan have graduated from Applewild, we find the house too quiet. We’ve opened our doors again and we’re looking to host our fifth student.