We hosted a young man from the (then) newly independent Georgian Republic for a whole year. It was a wonderful experience all around. He was sponsored by the Senator Bradley's program to bring kids from former Soviet countries. They had to compete accademically for the chance to come so they were well prepared and very bright. He loved to play basketball (biggest hero was Michael Jordan) and soccer. He was well liked at school and an accademic achiever too.

Our daughter, a high school senior at the time, was ambivalent but accepted him as a family member. We had no problems and still talk with him from time to time. One day we plan to visit Georgia and meet his family.

I've heard that success can depend on the agency mediating the exchange and the circumstances under which students are selected. For some, it can be a way for monied students to spend an "unsupervised" year away from home. I think a selection process based primarily on accademic merit is important. Naturally the student and host family must be fluent in some common language.

I think it's important for host family members to be completely together on the decision before starting the process. Host families also need to treat the student as family, not as a guest. That means the same love, respect, travel, gifts, parties, accolades, and oversight that other family members receive. Don't make your student feel like an outsider in any way. Some host families find out too late that they are not truly prepared to make room in their hearts and lives for a new grown person.

Oh, and it's going to be expensive. We didn't ask our student to pay for extra things that we would normally provide for our own children. To do so would have set him apart in an awkward way. Sometimes he asked to be allowed to contribute and when he did that, we generally, though not always, accepted.

Hope this helped.

      - Mark