From 0 to 25: The Blinn Host Family
By Short-Term Programs Assistant Lexy Deutsch in collaboration with the Blinn Host Family
Home Town: Candor, New York
Previous Hosting Experience: None
Most Recent Hosting Experience: The Blinn family hosted two short-term students this summer, one Spanish group student, Javier Lajusticia Diez, and one French independent homestay student, Elena Giordano. On August 15th the Blinn family welcomed an Academic year student.
How did they learn about CCI Greenheart? Their daughter is close friends with a CCI Greenheart Exchange student at her High School.
A short interview with host mom Heather Blinn
CCI Greenheart: As a host what would you say was the most unexpected outcome from the short term hosting experience?
Heather Blinn: How quickly we would bond and how sad we would be when they left.
CCI Greenheart: Do you feel that your host student experienced a positive change as an outcome of this program?
Heather Blinn: Yes – they both had more confidence in speaking English.
CCI Greenheart: What was the most exciting moment, experience, or day of the program?
Heather Blinn: The best experience was coming together as a group in NYC. We all seemed to bond even more.
CCI Greenheart: What advice would you give to future host families?
Heather Blinn: Tell the students right away exactly what you expect of them when they are with you. You also need to let them know that you took them in for the experience. You are not being compensated. The student wants to go many places and eat out. They think you should entertain them and pay for everything as they have paid a lot of money to be here*.
*Heather brings up a key point here. Set rules and expectations for expenses accrued outside the home up front! We often hear that families feel uncomfortable asking for students to help pay for dinner when the whole family goes out to eat. Talking about the topic up front makes asking the student at a later time easier.
If you hosted a short term student and would like to share your hosting story please email Lexy Deutsch at adeutsch@ccigreenheart.org.
If you are hosting a year-long student, or have in the past, and would like to share your hosting story please email Jillian Sims at jsims@ccigreenheart.org
If you are interested in hosting an exchange student please submit an inquiry form here!