For those of you who have been following me (or those of you just joining me) I wrote that I was hosting an exchange student from Italy this year. That is going totally well and I am enjoying having my student living in my house he's a great guy.
My other involvement in international exchange is my duties for EF Foundation for Foreign Studies as an International Exchange Coordinator. Sounds very glamorous doesn't it? Among the many duties this volunteer job has is checking up with our students and their host families in an every four week ritual that I call the monthly checkup.
Last year it was easy. I could just hop in the car and go see the A team and my student Lars who were only a few blocks away. I had one student and it allowed me to get used to the reporting system where we record our monthly contact logs.
The process should go like this. I speak with the student, alone , and ask whether or not things are going well and see what exciting things the student has been up to. Getting enough to eat, making friends easily , grades ok etc. Then I speak to the host family separately from the student. Similar questions. Is your student settling in to the family. Are they understanding your house rules. Are things going like you expected? etc. The goal of this is to keep the kids safe while they are here and head off any possible misunderstandings that might be brewing under the surface. Much easier to talk to me sometimes that host mom or dad.
I am that students first line of contact. If something is going down then I play mediator in the situation.
The reality (once you have more than one student) is far more hectic. I play a lot of phone tag. Trying to get everyone called or seen (we have to see the students at least two times per year after we greet them 30 days after they arrive) should be an easy task. With our busy lives that we lead now a days it's pretty hectic. Throw in a holiday and wowie !
Luckily All my kids are great and enjoy talking with me so they always call me right back. I am usually timing my calls between shift work, dinner and bedtime.
Some of the great things I am hearing this semester are : My student from Spain is doing so well with her studies they want to switch her to honors classes this next semester, My Japanese student is taking dance classes and loves them. My student from Hong Kong got to go to state with her Cheerleading team and my student from Thailand went deer hunting for the first time ever.
I love my second job !
My other involvement in international exchange is my duties for EF Foundation for Foreign Studies as an International Exchange Coordinator. Sounds very glamorous doesn't it? Among the many duties this volunteer job has is checking up with our students and their host families in an every four week ritual that I call the monthly checkup.
Last year it was easy. I could just hop in the car and go see the A team and my student Lars who were only a few blocks away. I had one student and it allowed me to get used to the reporting system where we record our monthly contact logs.
The process should go like this. I speak with the student, alone , and ask whether or not things are going well and see what exciting things the student has been up to. Getting enough to eat, making friends easily , grades ok etc. Then I speak to the host family separately from the student. Similar questions. Is your student settling in to the family. Are they understanding your house rules. Are things going like you expected? etc. The goal of this is to keep the kids safe while they are here and head off any possible misunderstandings that might be brewing under the surface. Much easier to talk to me sometimes that host mom or dad.
I am that students first line of contact. If something is going down then I play mediator in the situation.
The reality (once you have more than one student) is far more hectic. I play a lot of phone tag. Trying to get everyone called or seen (we have to see the students at least two times per year after we greet them 30 days after they arrive) should be an easy task. With our busy lives that we lead now a days it's pretty hectic. Throw in a holiday and wowie !
Luckily All my kids are great and enjoy talking with me so they always call me right back. I am usually timing my calls between shift work, dinner and bedtime.
Some of the great things I am hearing this semester are : My student from Spain is doing so well with her studies they want to switch her to honors classes this next semester, My Japanese student is taking dance classes and loves them. My student from Hong Kong got to go to state with her Cheerleading team and my student from Thailand went deer hunting for the first time ever.
I love my second job !
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