Since 1985, Greenheart has connected thousands of people of from different backgrounds through cultural exchange programs. These programs allow participants the opportunity to work or study in a new country, all while being immersed in its people and culture, leaving a lasting impact on their hosts and communities.
Greenheart’s partnership with Camp Center International (CCI) in the Czech Republic is just one of the many ways people are exposed to the possibility of going abroad. Its owner, Jana Rule, discusses her organization’s role in facilitating cultural exchange, while reflecting on her experiences in the United States when she was 15-years-old.
Ensuring successful cultural exchanges
The function of Greenheart is to sponsor the overall program and of course match the host family with the student. Whether it works out or not is in the stars and if the student is just a little ahead of it, I would say that I have a high success rate of students who do not change host families. The student is in contact with Greenheart’s Local Coordinator at least once a month, either by phone or at school or at home. The coordinator performs the same function for the host family.
Me, as a sending partner, by being in close contact with my students, I write every 6-8 weeks. I ask about how the family works, what they eat for breakfast, what they eat for lunch, who makes their snacks, if they do their laundry, how they do the cleaning, how and where do they spend their weekends, what they do in the afternoons, what kind of relationships they have with their classmates, how they get to school, how much money they spend, etc. Based on those answers, I assess whether the student is fine or if I feel that a problem has arisen.
Why do you think hosts choose to participate in student exchange programs?
I think they do it out of pure love for the students and their willingness to open their own house. The stock of the host family may be very similar to the environment from which the students come. This means moms and dads, usually between 45 and 60 years old, but many times they’re older couples who no longer have their children at home and they miss the very family member they could take care of. There are also many types of families where there can be a single mother, a single father, it can be a couple of the same sex, it can also be a family with, say, 10 children.
Based on the completed application, don’t judge or say that something won’t work, go ahead and try out how it works with the family, and that process of getting to know and communicating is exactly the reason why the student goes to that program and to that host family.
How often do you recommend parents speak with their children abroad?
I recommend that once every 14 days you agree on a specific regular hour where the student will connect with the parents by phone or via Facetime or via Messenger to share their impressions and experiences. The students who follow this adapt faster and integrate into the host family, because they don’t live a double life. They’re able to quickly understand cultural differences and share their heritage. They just live life to the maximum and use every free moment to make the most of their time away.
As a Sending Partner, what do you say to the parents of exchange students who worry about how their children will fit in with their host family?
I tell everyone that there is no such thing as a bad family and there is no such thing as a bad student, just that compatibility does not always work out. At 15, my first host family in the U.S. did not work out and they came up with the fact that they didn’t want to work like this anymore. They gathered the courage and started to solve it with the coordinator.
When the coordinator found a new placement for me, from the first day I felt like a part of that family forever. I am in daily contact with my host parents, they really treat me like their own child. Even my children are grandchildren to them. My would-be story, I always say that even the student can create lifelong relationships, and it has an impact, not only on the students, but actually on the children and partners as well, and that way you get that family across the ocean.
Thank you, Jana, for taking the time to share your experience and expertise with us! Our partnership with CCI has been a great addition to Greenheart’s mission of facilitating cultural exchange.
If you are interested in becoming a host family, learn more by visiting HostWithGreenheart.org