Advice For Host Families

Are you and your family going to host an exchange student? Congratulations - it's awesome!

Here is a list with of tips for you as a host family for the first time the student arrives to your home and inspiration for what you can do with them during their stay:

Before the student arrives:

Get in touch with the student - the sooner the better!
Be the one to break the ice and contact the exchange student first by E-mail. The student will be very excited to hear from you! 

Get hold of a flag
Get hold of the flag of your exchange student's country and greet the exchange student with it when you pick him/her up at the airport (this is obviously not required to do, but it is a very nice gesture). You can also bring balloons, a home made ''welcome'' sign, etc. 

When they arrive to your home for the first time:

Show all the rooms in your house

When you show the exchange student around make sure to show them all the different rooms in the house. Seeing the whole house makes the student feel more welcome in your home.

Make their bedroom nice

A made bed with chocolate on the pillow or a little welcome present can mean the world to a nervous exchange student arriving to your home for the first time.

Useful items to put in their bedroom 

- Drawers/hangers for clothes (or something else for the student's clothes)

- Trash can

- Tissues

- Mirror

- Laundry basket

- Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel

Give the exchange student room to breathe

Arriving to a new home is a lot to take in, so remember to let the student have some time to breathe and unpack at one point (perhaps after you have shown them around the house)

Talk about the practical stuff
Talk about all of the basic stuff such as:

- House rules

- What the student should do with laundry

- How to get to school

- Mealtimes (breakfast, lunch, dinner)

- Etc.

Great sentences

These sentences really mean more to the student than you would think. 

- "Make yourself at home"

- "This is your home"

- "Let me know if you need anything"

- "You are not a guest"

- "You are a part of the family"

Talk about the upcoming plans

You should obviously not tell the student about the plans for the next 4 months, but it is really nice for the student to know what the plans for the next day or the next week is.

Show the student the local busstop

Walk to the bus stop/train station together for the first time.

Don't make any wild plans for the first day

All of the new impressions you exchange student gets by arriving to your home will make them want to relax for the rest of the day. Therefore you shouldn't plan anything big for the first day.

Tips during the exchange student's stay:

Celebrate monthly anniversaries/100th day/200th day/300th day

Anniversaries = accomplishments and are a big deal to exchange students. Help them celebrate some of their monthly anniversaries/100th day/200th day/300th day. Buy ballons, a tiny present, cook a delicious meal or just sent them a short text. 

Engage in the life and things your exchange student do

This one is very important!

Have the exchange student cook

Encourage your exchange student to cook a meal from their home country. 

Keep doing stuff with them after they have moved out

One of the most difficult things during an exchange year is to change families. A thing that means a lot to the exchange student is to keep doing stuff with them after they have moved on to the next host family. Invite them to dinner, go to movie theatre, etc. 

Ask them the student how they are doing

Ask your student about homesickness or if there is anything he/she is sad about.

Remember to have those deeper conversations to get to know them better and to make sure that they are comfortable with you.

Do activities together as a family

- Go hiking 

- Go on a weekend trip

- Play games together (card games, cardboard games, PlayStation etc.)

- Watch movies

- Eat as many meals as you can together as a family
- Or simply just take the student grocery shopping

Introduce your friends and have them come over

It is really nice for the exchange student to get to know the friends of their host family, so don't hesitate to invite them over. 

Respect
This might seem obvious to some, but remember to be respectful to the exchange student's home country just as you expect them to be respectful to your country.