Host Families Needed

by Eric

The American Cultural Exchange Services is looking for host families for international high school students this upcoming school term. Students will come from South Korea, Japan, China, South America, Europe or Thailand, and arrive in August to attend local high schools, according to a news release from the nonprofit organization. All visiting students speak English. Host families are not required to provide an individual bedroom for their visitors. The students can help with chores and participate in any family activities. Visitors are expected to be treated as a member of the family, not as a guest. The students have their own spending money and complete medical insurance. Not just nuclear families are able to host – couples with no children and single adults are welcome to volunteer. ACES Area Coordinator Kevin Foster said host families and the students both get something out of the experience. Host families get to learn about a different culture and facilitate a life-changing experience for the teenagers. Students experience a different society than their own, and get a quintessential American experience in the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, Foster said. “Now more than ever, let’s promote world peace by hosting a foreign exchange student,” the news release states. ACES is a nonprofit education exchange organization designated by the U.S. Department of State to administer the high school exchange program. Those interested in hosting a student this school year can contact Foster at 806-335-5857, or call the ACES national office at 800-661-2237 or on the website exploretheworld.org.

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