Have you ever thought about hosting an exchange student??? We currently have over 30 students waiting to be placed. They come with their own spending money and insurance. All you provide is room, board and lots of love. Our family has personally hosted 2 students and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world. What a wonderful way to expose your family to another culture. Please contact me if you would like more information. 

How long do the students typically stay. A semester? A full school year? 

I had a neighbor who had many exchange students through the years. The Japanese students could never believe you couldn't walk outside the addition and get on a train. 

Hi! Thanks for asking! They stay for the school year. They will be coming in 2 days before school starts and leave a week after the school year ends. 

That would be an awesome experience that we would love to take part in some day. Not this year, however. Are they always from HS? College? What about transportation since yes, we don't have trains everywhere. 

The program I work with is OCEAN. Our students ads always in HS. As far as transportation they can take the school bus if you are on a bus line. Otherwise you can take them to school, they can walk or ride a bike. You treat them just like they are one of your own kids. Not all students are from a big city and expect public transportation. In fact most are from smaller towns and want the experience of America. We took our students on several trips. They also attended church with us and met a lot of friends there. They went to school dances, spent the night with friends, went to the mall and did what most teens do. 

I considered it until my sister in laws experience . The girl they hosted was a nightmare!! Surly, would sneak out at night and go partying with a bunch of friends she had met. They ended up having to ship her back home. It was horrible. my SIL said it was like having the worst teenager you always feared. Not even sure how the girl got into the program!!!! 

How DO they get into the program? Are they interviewed? By grades? I'm going to look into this. I am having Empty Nest Syndrome with no grand babies in sight! But I am going to have to double think about having another Teen in my house! LOL 

They MUST meet several requirements. Grades being one of them. They also much score very high on an English exam for both spoken and written. We do background checks which includes their social media accounts. They have to have letters of recommendation from teachers. They all know if there are any problems they can be sent home immediately. To my knowledge we have never had a student in the OCEAN program sent home. They truly are good kiddos. We have 16 kids left looking for host families. I am more than happy to come meet with you and answer any questions you may have or I can email you info on the students we have waiting. My email is momma2jackson@hotmail.com I have 3 kids I will be the area rep for this year. One at porter high school, one at KPark and one at new caney high school. 

Jack's Mom ... I sent you a PM 

Thanks Saturn. I sent you a couple of emails 

Jack's Mom; I haven't received them ... Try the email address I sent you in the PM. 

Jack's Mom ...

I found one email in my Spam Box and replied, however, that's the only one I received.