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OFM_ForeignExchange_3_19_ExpDept 2 / 22 / 19 2 : 54 PM Page 1 ESTYLE Hosting foreign exchange LIFstudents has allowed some Central Florida families to not only share what life is like in America but to broaden their own horizons as well . Cultural Exchange by Brittany Ann Morrisey Mark Weatherly was listening to the radio when he heard a commercial that seemed to be speaking directly to him . It was an ad seeking families interested in hosting exchange students or young people from other countries coming to the United States to experience the culture and study at American high schools . The timing was kismet . Just the day before Weath - erly had been on a flight from Europe chatting with a Polish family that had two sons of which one had been an exchange student and the other was just about to be . The conversation got him thinking about the possibility of being a host . And as a single dad to a 5 - year - old , he figured it would be a positive experience for his son . That was 20 years ago and looking back today , Weath - erly says he’s glad he made the decision to open his home to exchange students because it allowed him to forge life - time relationships with so many people that he would have never met otherwise . And it gave his son access to cul - tures unknown to many American children . “ [ My son ] grew up with exchange students and the expectation that people are different and speak different languages and come from different cultures , ” he says . “ I think he has a bigger view of the world than a lot of kids who didn’t have that opportunity . ” Lifetime Relationships To date , Weatherly has hosted 38 young people from places all over the globe including South Korea , Sweden , France , Bulgaria , Latvia , Brazil and Australia . Having 12 ORLANDO FAMILY march 2019 ORLANDOFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM
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OFM_ForeignExchange_3_19_ExpDept 2 / 22 / 19 2 : 54 PM Page 2 enjoyed the exchange of cultures , he’s continued to host students even as his son is now grown and out of the house . Currently , he has two students living with him ; one is from Norway and the other is from Spain . Weatherly isn’t alone in this . Each year , scores of families welcome exchange students into their homes . According to Susan Farris , Florida regional coor - dinator with EF High School Exchange Year , people choose to become hosts because they want to learn about other cultures just as much as for - eigners seek to learn about America . “ The thing that unites all of our hosting fam - ilies is their belief in the mission and power of cul - tural exchange , and that good things happen when people from different backgrounds come together in mutual understanding , ” she says . He keeps in touch with many of them . Weath - erly visited the students he’s hosted in their home countries and they’ve also come back to America to visit him . “ I have students who are 37 years old now and I’ve got five grandkids through exchange stu - dents , ” he says . A number of companies arrange exchange expe - riences but the process for becoming a host is gen - erally about the same : The host parent fills out an application and then an interview and a home visit are conducted to make sure it is a safe environment . Additionally , these companies pay stipends to hosts families for them to fulfill certain daily requirements including providing meals and trans - portation . Communication Kristin Chapman has hosted five exchange students so far . They’ve come from such countries as Slovenia , China , Russia and Germany . Chapman began hosting 12 years ago because she herself had done an exchange program in high school . She spent a year abroad in Australia as a sophomore and says the experience was life - changing . She still keeps in touch with her Australian friends and host family . Chapman says one of the biggest misconcep - tions people have about hosting is that the students will be hard to understand . But for her , that hasn’t been the case at all . “ Their vocabulary may expand while they’re here , ” she says . “ But I’ve not had any exchange stu - dents that we weren’t able to communicate with . ” Although , one peculiar thing she has noticed is that students she’s hosted are generally not taught English cooking terms — words like chop , stir or mix . But those are easy to teach , she says , and students learn them while helping out with the cooking at home . Weatherly agrees that most exchange students are proficient in English . In fact , it’s more often cul - tural differences that hinder a mutual under - standing . He recalls a situation with one European student that at first threw him for a loop . “ In Bulgaria , when you mean yes , you shake ORLANDOFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM march 2019 ORLANDO FAMILY 13