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We hosted a German student last academic year (2006-2007) and the experience was absolutely awesome. We are still close to Hanna and her family... we visited them in Germany last October, then she and her parents came to visit for 2 weeks at Easter, and Hanna herself just left last week after visiting for another 2 weeks. She even helped us to move! I'm sure we'll be friends for life.
Anyway, onto your question: Don't plan anything big for the day he arrives; he'll be exhausted. Prepare to have what you might think is a pretty big language barrier the first few weeks. They learn British English, first of all, and their accents can be pretty strong. Besides that, this will be the first time he'll be surrounded by NO ONE who speaks German. It's scary and bewildering for him, and it will be a little alarming to you as well. Don't worry, though! Within a couple of weeks of starting school, he'll be more understandable, and by Thanksgiving, he'll be nearly fluent. When Hanna left, she spoke much like a native English speaker, with only a bit of a German accent. To help him acclimate more quickly, encourage him to limit his contact with people at home. Of course he should call home when he arrives, but after that, ask him to only call home once per week. He needs to speak English almost exclusively in order to learn English!
As far as homesickness went, Hanna said that the first two weeks were very hard, but after that it got a lot easier. So I'd plan on having him be a little mopey for a week or two. (Though maybe boys are less likely to get a bit emotional in the evenings when they're homesick?) After that, he'll probably be in school and should get involved with sports and friends and other activities. (If he does not take the initiative, I'd insist that he pick some extracurricular activity to pursue... it really does help them make friends!)
Show him around right away. Show him where the shampoo and toothpaste is kept, where the extra toilet paper is, where towels go after he showers. Expect to have to remind him at least once or twice, since it's a lot to absorb the first day! Make sure his room is ready. Plan to give him a snack when he comes in, and plan something fairly simple for dinner the first night. (I made a whole chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables... something that I'd consider "comfort food," and nothing spicy or very different from what she was used to eating in Germany.)
Many Germans don't have microwaves, so in the first few days, you should show him how to heat things up. Keep an eye on him at first with the microwave so he doesn't burn things! Most German teens don't have to do their own laundry, and even if he does, the machines are different there, so you'll need to show him how to use yours. I wrote down instructions and taped them to the dryer to help Hanna remember what to do.
Right away, I'd say something like "help yourself to anything you want to eat or drink. Here are the glasses, here are the plates, here are where we keep snacks." (Assuming that's the "rule" in your house!) It took me a couple of days to assure Hanna that she could help herself, and she was asking if she could get a drink of water.
Remember that he'll be jet-lagged and that the time difference is 6 hours, so he might want to go to bed right after dinner. Assure him that that is okay!
Also, let him know if your family is typically up at a certain time on weekends. (During the week he'll have to be up early for school.) Also, you might want to write down any other "house rules", like what time dinner is normally served (and if everyone is expected to eat together!), when he can do his laundry, when he can use the computer, etc. Ask him if he prefers to shower in the morning or in the evening, as bathroom times can get hectic with an extra person in the house. (Just a caveat: we did not have this issue at all, but I had heard from friends that some European students did not shower often enough... asking what time he prefers may give him the hint that it's culturally appropriate to shower daily! If not, you may need to say something, if it bothers you.)
Oh, I"m so excited for you!! I can't wait to host again (my husband's job situation changed and we ended up moving out of state this past year, so it was not doable, and now my kids are too big to share a room (boy and girl), so it will have to wait until we either buy a 4-bedroom house, or until they're old enough to share with the student)! We had the best exeprience, and I hope you do too! If you need any help or advice, or if you just wanna chat, feel free to DM me.
How old is he? And do you have other kids in your home? And how long is he staying?
He's 17. We have 2 kids, a by and a girl. He'll be with us 5 months, then we both decide if he stays the 2nd 5 months with us or anther family. (Most kids stay the whole 10 with the 1st family).
Sounds cool. I lived in Germany for a year so my two cents:
Germans are much more formal than we are. There is less of the casual interactions that we Americans take for granted. To a German, a friend is a friend, someone you have known for years. Now, that is not to say he will be a stiff. Just something to remember.
Also, I do not know how you feel about alcohol, but by 17, Germans are very used to it and consider it normal. Not so much binge drinking, but simply having a beer or two with meals.
Germans sometimes say it is difficult to travel as a German. What they mean is that everyone asks them about WWII. While this topic is inevitable, I would save it for when you have developed a rapport.
Some other things- while you probably have a dryer, Germans often prefer to line dry their clothes. Perhaps make sure he is able to do this. Also, Germany is very environmentally conscious and they recycle everything. So do not hesitate to show him the bins. Along those lines, you will probably want to help him procure a bike.
I would think his English will be fairly good. Do not hesitate to let him watch alot of tv at first as it will help him learn vocabulary.
We hosted a German student last academic year (2006-2007) and the experience was absolutely awesome. We are still close to Hanna and her family... we visited them in Germany last October, then she and her parents came to visit for 2 weeks at Easter, and Hanna herself just left last week after visiting for another 2 weeks. She even helped us to move! I'm sure we'll be friends for life.
My family hosted Joanne, from Australia, for a year when I was 12. We're still like sisters and visit as often as possible.
Anyway, onto your question: Don't plan anything big for the day he arrives; he'll be exhausted. We have friends who wanted to plan a welcome dinner. We asked that we wait until Saturday for just this reason. Sounds like we made the right decision.Prepare to have what you might think is a pretty big language barrier the first few weeks. They learn British English, first of all, and their accents can be pretty strong. Besides that, this will be the first time he'll be surrounded by NO ONE who speaks German. It's scary and bewildering for him, and it will be a little alarming to you as well. Don't worry, though! Within a couple of weeks of starting school, he'll be more understandable, and by Thanksgiving, he'll be nearly fluent. When Hanna left, she spoke much like a native English speaker, with only a bit of a German accent. To help him acclimate more quickly, encourage him to limit his contact with people at home. Of course he should call home when he arrives, but after that, ask him to only call home once per week. He needs to speak English almost exclusively in order to learn English!
As far as homesickness went, Hanna said that the first two weeks were very hard, but after that it got a lot easier. So I'd plan on having him be a little mopey for a week or two. (Though maybe boys are less likely to get a bit emotional in the evenings when they're homesick?) I hope so!After that, he'll probably be in school and should get involved with sports and friends and other activities. (If he does not take the initiative, I'd insist that he pick some extracurricular activity to pursue... it really does help them make friends!)
He has already asked about sports, clubs, etc. I think he'll b joining as many as he can manage.
Show him around right away. Show him where the shampoo and toothpaste is kept, where the extra toilet paper is, where towels go after he showers. Expect to have to remind him at least once or twice, since it's a lot to absorb the first day! Make sure his room is ready. Plan to give him a snack when he comes in, and plan something fairly simple for dinner the first night. (I made a whole chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables... something that I'd consider "comfort food," and nothing spicy or very different from what she was used to eating in Germany.)
Good advice- hadn't thought about these things too much. Makes sense!
Many Germans don't have microwaves, so in the first few days, you should show him how to heat things up. Keep an eye on him at first with the microwave so he doesn't burn things! Most German teens don't have to do their own laundry, and even if he does, the machines are different there, so you'll need to show him how to use yours. I wrote down instructions and taped them to the dryer to help Hanna remember what to do. Already done.
Right away, I'd say something like "help yourself to anything you want to eat or drink. Here are the glasses, here are the plates, here are where we keep snacks." (Assuming that's the "rule" in your house!) It took me a couple of days to assure Hanna that she could help herself, and she was asking if she could get a drink of water. Got it.
Remember that he'll be jet-lagged and that the time difference is 6 hours, so he might want to go to bed right after dinner. Assure him that that is okay!
Also, let him know if your family is typically up at a certain time on weekends. (During the week he'll have to be up early for school.) Also, you might want to write down any other "house rules", like what time dinner is normally served (and if everyone is expected to eat together!), when he can do his laundry, when he can use the computer, etc. Ask him if he prefers to shower in the morning or in the evening, as bathroom times can get hectic with an extra person in the house. (Just a caveat: we did not have this issue at all, but I had heard from friends that some European students did not shower often enough... asking what time he prefers may give him the hint that it's culturally appropriate to shower daily! If not, you may need to say something, if it bothers you.)
Oh, I"m so excited for you!! I can't wait to host again (my husband's job situation changed and we ended up moving out of state this past year, so it was not doable, and now my kids are too big to share a room (boy and girl), so it will have to wait until we either buy a 4-bedroom house, or until they're old enough to share with the student)! We had the best exeprience, and I hope you do too! If you need any help or advice, or if you just wanna chat, feel free to DM me.
Steffen will have his own room.
Thanks again for taking the time to write such a helpful post. I may be writing you again.
Sounds cool. I lived in Germany for a year so my two cents:
Germans are much more formal than we are. There is less of the casual interactions that we Americans take for granted. To a German, a friend is a friend, someone you have known for years. Now, that is not to say he will be a stiff. Just something to remember.
Also, I do not know how you feel about alcohol, but by 17, Germans are very used to it and consider it normal. Not so much binge drinking, but simply having a beer or two with meals. Youth For Understanding is the program coordinating his stay. Their rules include no driving, alcohol, etc. The German rep. has gone over that with him so he knows he can't drink here.
Germans sometimes say it is difficult to travel as a German. What they mean is that everyone asks them about WWII. While this topic is inevitable, I would save it for when you have developed a rapport.Of course. Thanks for the tip, though. Can you imagine? "Nice to meet you, Steffen. So, how 'bout those Nazis?"
Some other things- while you probably have a dryer, Germans often prefer to line dry their clothes. Perhaps make sure he is able to do this. Also, Germany is very environmentally conscious and they recycle everything. So do not hesitate to show him the bins. Along those lines, you will probably want to help him procure a bike. We were told most of this. Hadn't thought about getting him a bike, though. Good idea!
I would think his English will be fairly good. Do not hesitate to let him watch alot of tv at first as it will help him learn vocabulary. We have spoken on the phone. His English is very good, but I'm sure it will improve dramatically once he starts school. I hope he doesn't like, start to like, you know, speak like all the like, kids on, like, you know, My Sweet Sixteen.
Hi. We had an exchange student from Denmark stay with us for a year when I was a kid. Well, as much as we would have liked to have given him a soft landing, it didn't happen. We loaded the poor guy up in the car with us (Dad, Mom, Brother, me) and drove my brother cross country to Texas where he was to begin college. On the way, we stopped at my grandmother's house and then at some family friends' house. He's still friends with the family 20 some years later. I think it's great you want to provide a nice transition, because not everyone is as easy-going as our Dane was. It was a fantastic experience for the whole family. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. I'm sure we'll do a similar thing when our kids are older.
I was an exchange student twice, both times in Japan.
Please remember that things we may take for granted here, are not necessarily the norm in other countries (like the above poster said about microwaves). I will always remember my first time in Japan, I did not understand how to flush the toilet (they are high tech over there, and that was 10 years ago!). Also, try to be flexible! In Japan it is normal to take a shower and then a bath every night. I need to take a shower in the morning to wake me up and my host family understood this and did not even think twice (it seems like a small thing, but it was a rather important issue for me!). I would also make sure you set out some rules- how late is he allowed out? Will he be doing his own laundry? Both of my host families were great and treated me more like a daughter than a guest. Best of luck!!!
My kids suggested we start a family blog to ease him into our daily life, friends, etc. That helped with some things, but we'll still need to remember basics like where we keep the towels
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