Anna leaving our house for the last time.
May 13th was a tough day for us. We had to take our exchange student, Anna, to the airport and say goodbye. My husband and I never in a million years would have thought that it would hurt us so much to say goodbye. But it did. We have hosted before and we loved them also but something different happened to our whole family this time when Anna arrived.
I remember when I first saw her photo on her application; I saw the spark in her eyes. We all looked at her application and essay and agreed that she was the one and we never looked at any others. I did place other students with other host families and we got close to those students also. But not like we did with Anna.
The moment she stepped off the plane last July we knew we were in for a treat. She had a bounce in her step and an “I can do anything because I have just flown half around the world to get here” attitude. We were driving back home and she was taking in the country side and making observations about things and the subject of the internet came up. My husband asked her if they had high speed internet in Armenia and she looked at him and said just so matter of fact, “We are not cavemen you know.” Scott said she had him at the point. For me it was a few days later as I watched her enjoying a BBQ chicken sandwich on one of our first little day trips. And so our adventure began
Hosting an exchange student can be a great experience for everyone. The student exchange program is a program in which a student chooses to live in a foreign country to learn, among other things, language and culture. These programs are called 'exchanges' because originally the goal was an exchange of students between different countries. No exchange is actually required, so a student is allowed to go to another country without finding a counterpart in that country to exchange with. Students live with a host family, who are unpaid volunteers and can be a traditional family, a single parent, or a couple with no children at home. Host families are vetted by the organization coordinating the program and the Department of State conducts a criminal. background check.
The exchange student typically stays for 6 to 10 months and sometimes they receive academic credit for their school time here. Some countries don’t accept the credits earned here and those students have to repeat that school year upon their return. The student do have that year of living here as an American which helps to increase their understanding and tolerance of other cultures, as well as improving their language skills and broadening their social horizons. Students are expected to integrate themselves into the host family, living as a natural child would, immersing themselves in the local community and surroundings, and upon their return to their home country are expected to incorporate this knowledge into their daily lives, as well as give a presentation on their experience to their sponsors and to other students that are thinking about coming to America with these programs.
I am not going to tell you that hosting an exchange student will be like a Disney Fairytale. For some people it is not. There are times when there are just unrealistic expectations on both sides. Things like culture shock and not realizing that life in America is not like the movies can come into play and most kids don’t have a clue as to the size of the US and they don’t understand why they can’t go to Disneyworld one day and the Grand Canyon the next. And our own ignorance of what life outside the US is like comes into play also.
That aside, I do heartily recommend that you try hosting a student one time at least. AYUSA is a great organization that we used and the Regional Representative live right in Vardaman. Truthfully I can tell you that for now our hosting days are over. This time it hurt too badly when we said goodbye. We have had a wonderful 10 months with a very extraordinary young woman named Anna from Armenia. She will live forever with us in our hearts.
Anna's plane taking off from GTR.
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