Alex, Turner and I are excited to announce that we are adding a new addition to our family this year.....a FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT from DENMARK! You thought I was having a baby didn't you? I randomly saw a post on my city's Facebook page about needing host families for exchange students in our area. It immediately sparked my interest, and after a few emails and some conversations with Alex...we accepted a girl from Denmark who will live with us from August till December. We aren't compensated for hosting, but rather treating her like our own child by taking her to school, providing 3 meals a day, attending her extracurricular events, and taking her along on family trips.
In high school, I was usually the first person to befriend the exchange student. I was intrigued by their culture, language, style and I wanted to show them everything that Texas had to offer! First there was Benji, my great friend from France. I taught him how to rap really bad songs, and when his family would come visit, we would spend countless hours at the outlet mall. After Benji's exchange he ended up going to college in San Antonio and married one of my best friends from high school. Then there was Mignon (Minni) and Vega. Minni was from Germany and Vega was from China. I took them to their first american football game, explained what homecoming was, and sang lots of George Strait to them. Last there was Jessie. Jessie was from the sunshine coast of Australia, and she became such a good friend that she ended up living with me during her exchange. We were like sisters...and it wasn't confusing at all that we had the same name : ) I've kept in touch with all of them, and would consider most family. After years of learning about other cultures, I myself was able to go on an exchange to Poland for a year in 2005/2006. One of the best decisions I've ever made. I actually was able to visit Denmark with my Polish host mom, so I'm extremely happy I will be able to connect with our exchange student on that level.
I've known for a while now that I wanted to host exchange students in my home, but I didn't think it would be this soon. Most host families are older, more established, and have high school aged kids. I was a bit worried so I reached out to a good friend who has hosted numerous exchange students. He advised me that the student will adapt to any family as long as the family is excited to have them and accepts the student in to their family as one of their own. With that being said, Alex and I are extremely excited to have a new family member this coming fall, and we can't wait to show her a great time in Texas!
2 comments:
That's awesome. Brad's family hosted dozens of exchange students throughout his childhood and I envy the experiences he had with kids from all over the world. They still consider him a brother and call hits parents by Mom and Dad. It's my favorite thing about hits family.
That is awesome! I would love to do this one.
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