Exchange students

@Porcospino (31365)
Denmark
October 31, 2011 3:40pm CST
Have you ever had the chance to be an exchange student in another country? Or have you been the host family of an exchange student from another country? Would the idea of spending some time in another country appeal to you or would you prefer to stay in your own country? I have never been an exchange student myself, but my family has been the host family for two exchange students. One of them was a girl from Australia and the other one was a girl from New Zealand. The girl from Australia stayed with us in 1998 and we still keep in touch with her today and she also came back to visit us a couple of times. The girl from New Zealand stayed with us for 4 months, after those months she had to stay with another family, but we kept in touch with her. I found it very interesting to be a host family for exchange students, I learned a lot about their countries that way and I found some longlasting friendships. I would like to be a host family again
9 responses
umabharti
@umabharti (3972)
• India
1 Nov 11
Long lasting friendships are good,and making or hosting someone to be our guest is also a great thing. What is exchange student and how do u manage all that being a host family .
1 person likes this
Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
1 Nov 11
The the host families pay for the food that the exchange student eats while she or he stays with their family, and the exchange student receives pocket money from the club every month. The members of the club have to pay for their membership and the exchange students receive part of that money as pocket money. It is not a big amount of money, but they are able to buy things that they need need like shampoo, toothpaste and all those things.
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Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
1 Nov 11
My father is a member of international club and it was through that club that we got the two exchange students. The host families in the city where my parents live receive exchange students from the US, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. The Danes who are interested in becoming an exchange student in one of those countries are able to do that and they stay with host families from the country that they choose, so it is goes both ways. The exchange students live in another country for one year and during that time they stay with 3 different host families and they they participate in the classes at the local high school.
1 person likes this
umabharti
@umabharti (3972)
• India
1 Nov 11
okay understood,as it is an international club ,the students have to travel to other country and stay with some family in exchange another student from that country comes and lives in this country,however how do the expenses be.Means theres lot of difference in the fee structure and every single thing when there is a country change how do they and the families manage.
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Torunn
@Torunn (8606)
• Norway
31 Oct 11
I've been an exchange student for 5 semesters, I didn't live with a family though, I lived in a student home. However, I got quite a few friends that I still keep in contact with. I've got two exchange students/pupils in one of the classes I'm teaching now, and it's a bit difficult to relate to one of them. We don't really have a common language, and he doesn't seem interested in learning. Easier with the other one, a commmon language helps at bit :-)
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Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
1 Nov 11
In which country did you spend the 5 semesters as an exchange student? Did you have to learn a new language or did you already know the local language in that country? I can imagine that it is difficult to have student that you can't really talk to because of the language barrier. It is not easy when you don't have a common language. When I got a job in Estonia I didn't speak Estonian in the beginning. That was a challenge, but it got much better after a couple of months. I never learned to speak perfect Estonian, but I learned to understand what people said and express myself in basic sentences when I had been there for a while.
Torunn
@Torunn (8606)
• Norway
1 Nov 11
5 semesters in Vienna, and I already spoke quite OK German so that part was quite easy. My friends from Finland and the UK struggled a bit more, 14 of us shared a kitchen and we were a quite mixed lot. Some misunderstandings because of culture, and some misunderstandings because of language. The French bloke tried to tell me that we had Ameisen (ants) in the kitchen, but as he didn't pronounce the A, I heard Meisen (small birds) and wondered how that could be possible :-) It'll get interesting when I'm going to grade them, first test was OK but the next two chapters are more complicated + have much more text.
1 person likes this
maximax8
@maximax8 (31042)
• United Kingdom
1 Nov 11
When I was at university we were told we could go to study for four months in another European country. The choices were the Canary Islands in Spain, Norway, Austria or the Netherlands. Some students wanted to go to Austria but the other options were not popular. I decided to go to the Netherlands. I took a train to Brussels and then trains up to the Netherlands. I stayed in a house with other students: two German, One English, one Scottish and one Dutch. I attended a limited number of lectures so had much spare time and often went out cycling. I liked the Dutch students and they seemed a very friendly and helpful bunch of people. I would love to do a family exchange one day rather than go on my own. In my younger days I wish I had been an exchange student. I found my experience in the Netherlands very worthwhile.
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Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
2 Nov 11
It was nice to hear about the time that you spent in the Netherlands, it sounds like it was a very interesting experience. I haven't been an exchange student, but I spent some time at Italian language school. An Italian girl and I shared an apartment. In the beginning it was difficult to talk to her because she didn't speak English and I didn't speak much Italian when I arrived, but we used dictionaries and sign language. She was a very nice girl and enjoyed sharing an apartment with her. The language school that I went to was great, and I enjoyed meeting the other students from Switzerland and Germany.
greenline
@greenline (14838)
• Canada
2 Nov 11
I never was an exchange student and have not hosted any exchange student. But, one of my nieces was an exchange student, and she went to Denmark. Till today she keeps talking about how happy she was and how well her host family took care of her. She does keep in touch with the family all along too !
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Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
2 Nov 11
It is great to hear that your niece enjoyed the time that she spent in Denmark I enjoyed hosting the exchange students that we had from Australia and New Zealand. I didn't know that much about those countries before they arrived and I found it interesting to listen to the things that they told us about their countries and their lives at home. I was very happy when our exchange student from Australia came back to Denmark to visit us. I hope that I will also get the chance to visit her in Australia one day
jricky1
@jricky1 (6797)
• China
1 Nov 11
I think it's really great to be an exchange students.I could know more about local culture and living styles.I love to explore this experience.It's really nice of you to be a host family,if i have the chance to go your country to travel one day,would you be my host family.lol
1 person likes this
Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
1 Nov 11
You are welcome I love to meet my friends from other countries. Let me know if you ever get the chance to visit Denmark and I will make sure that the bed is ready I have never been an exchange student, but I think it must be a really interesing experience to live in another country for a while and get to know the country from the inside. I am very interested in other countries and cultures, and I find it exciting to experience a different lifestyle.
Mashnn
@Mashnn (4501)
•
1 Nov 11
I have not be a host or hosted but I have a friend who was on the exchange programme. I think it fun to learn other people culture though myself I wouldn't go for it.
1 person likes this
Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
2 Nov 11
I haven't been an exchange student either, but I think that it is great experience and a great chance to get to know another country. Our exchange students from Australia and New Zealand learned a lot from the time that they spent in my country. In the beginning it was a little difficult for them because they didn't speak or understand the Danish language when they arrived, but they went to language school and we also helped them learn new words. The girl from Autralia has visisted us a couple of times since she was an exchange students and we keep in touch with her through the internet.
ElicBxn
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
31 Oct 11
There was a swim meet in Austin and we hosted a couple of very sweet girls from Mexico. They sure could swim great! Couldn't share a word with them... well, a few Spanish words out of the English/Spanish dictionary and let them know that Cat's name was "Cat" "Gato" when she was really a "Gata"
1 person likes this
Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
31 Oct 11
Sometimes language barrieres make communication difficult. A dictionary is definately a good thing when you don't speak the same language. My parents once had an exchange student from Brazil. I didn't live with my parents at that time, and I never got the chance to meet her, but my parents have told me about her. She didn't speak English and my parents didn't speak Portugese, so communication was very difficult. The girl was a sweet person, but my parents never got to talk much to her because of the language barriere.
bulastika
@bulastika (5966)
• Philippines
1 Nov 11
I'm a shy type of person so I don't think I can be an exchange student even if theirs an opportunity. And same time our family is not that social type of person. But still if a person comes to our house I guess as an exchange student. I think its a good experience to know more other people countries and languages.
1 person likes this
Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
1 Nov 11
I understand that. I used to be shy myself and at that time I wouldn't have considered a going to another country as an exchange student, because it would have been too much of a challenge. When I started travelling and working abroad I was older and less shy. I think that it was a very good experience to be a host family for those exchange students. Before I met them I didn't know much about Australia and New Zealand, but they both told me about their countries and I learned a lot of new things that way.
kingparker
@kingparker (9673)
• United States
1 Nov 11
I never been an exchange student to another country, but that sounds interesting to me, because I definitely want to try, and learn something from other cultures. I currently don't have the resource to be host family to other exchange students. I hope that I can improve my current financial situation since I owe too much debt myself now.
1 person likes this
Porcospino
@Porcospino (31365)
• Denmark
1 Nov 11
Yes, I think that it can be an interesting way to learn something about another country. I have never been an exchange student myself, but I know that the exchange students who lived in our home enjoyed their stay in another country and that they learned a lot. I enjoying being a host family, and I would love to do it again. I don't have much extra money right now, but hopefully that will change in the future. I have debt, too, but I want to save up some money and get rid of some of that debt so that there will be more money left for other things. It will take several years, but it could be so nice to be debt free