We love hearing inspiring hosting stories that our host families share with us. This time we take you to Michigan. Our host family, Lisa and Joe Peterson in Michigan give us a picture of their hosting experiences since 2019.
My hosting experience has been everything it should be and more. In 2019, my husband and I hosted our first exchange student. At first, we were hesitant, not having any children of our own. However, we had the room in our house, and we wanted to help. We thought about fostering but that can be a challenge. We stopped by a Greenheart booth at an event, and met the Greenheart local coordinator, Lasha. She introduced us to a few exchange students who were attending the event with her. We spent time talking with them, learning more, and seeing how great they all are.
Lasha later visited us at home and showed us a few student bios. When I mentioned I had visited the Czech Republic when I was in school, Lasha was so excited. The reason was, they had a student from the Czech Republic looking for a host in Northern Colorado. We were the first family to see the video he created for potential host families. This student was perfect for us, and we signed up to host him on the spot. He was outgoing, smart, and very funny. We had a great time together seeing sights around the US. We took him to Utah to see the spiral jetty and drove across the country to visit family in Michigan. Covid sent him home early and we were not able to host the next year. We loved it so much though that we vowed to host again when we could.
In 2021, we decided to host a girl for the first semester only and we chose the Czech Republic again. She was great as well but there were a few challenges. It took her a little longer to adjust to being away from home, she was homesick. She came home from school crying one day because it was overwhelming for her. This was hard to see as a host mom. We encouraged her, and by the end of the semester, she did not want to go home. The best thing was seeing how much better her English and her confidence got over time. The next year in 2022, we hosted her sister for a semester.
Having three students from the same country led us to visit the Czech Republic in 2023. We met the students’ families. They were all very accommodating, not letting us pay for anything, since we took care of their children when hosting. We now have good friends for life and experiences we would not have had on our own. We were able to see things from a native’s view, instead of just a tourist view. And two of our students got to meet each other, now they are friends too!
We took a year off from hosting and moved to Michigan. After that, we decided our house was too lonely and wanted to host a FLEX scholarship student. This time, we chose a boy from Armenia who was so much fun. He was also willing to explore our new home state with us. We took him to Mackinaw Island to see the Great Lakes, to stay at our cabin, and we made a campfire and roasted smores. We have been able to try Armenian food and share our traditions with him as well.
A month later, we chose to “welcome” a YES student from Tunisia who worked hard for his scholarship. Although we knew it was only for a few weeks, we are now sad to see him go to his “permanent” host family. He is super grateful to be in the USA. He shared his customs with us and said he felt lucky to have two families to do this with. The welcome family experience is good too, even if only temporary.
Hosting offers a cultural exchange to both the students and host families. It is so much fun to see the students’ joy when they experience new things for the first time. It does not matter if you have children, are single, married, elderly, or have no kids. These exchange students just want a great family and a great American experience, and you can give it to them. We love hosting and hope you will too.
Are you interested in becoming a Greenheart Host Family for an international high school student and sharing U.S. culture? Or maybe you’d like to be a welcome family? Visit HostwithGreenheart.org to learn more and apply today!