Lyn Zuberer's experience hosting exchange students started many years ago while she was still a youngster. Her family hosted a young man from Gabon, Africa, who had been studying in France. Her interest was sparked, "he was so interesting and had so much to share. My brother still stays in contact with him."
She was hooked, so when she had her own family and her children were in elementary school they hosted their first student and fell in love. Since then they have hosted many students and the experience has been wonderful.
Of course these days, the days of Covid, who in the world would want to host an exchange student? Well, according to Lyn, " we are trying to keep our life as normal as possible, having a student every year is our normal, and we felt if there was a student who was willing to come on an exchange during Covid, we would love to help make their dream come true and their year a little happier as well. We realize that Covid is very serious, but with proper precautions and following CDC guidelines it should be fine.”
As a single mom Lyn loves having more kids in her house. "As a host parent you provide a bed, bathroom, meals and all the love and support you can give. I cannot imagine not having a student here with us."
We were wondering, how does one go about choosing their exchange student?
According to Lyn, "first off, I only host girls. I try to look for family interests - pets, shopping, art and activities. I read their questions and letters a few times to get a feel for their life. I have to admit, I avoid food restrictive students because extra cooking is never fun."
We asked Lyn about the typical language barrier issue. She responded, " isn't that the joy of hosting? It's a puzzle or a game, it's a learning process and a chance to learn a new language. We use dictionaries, translators and closed captioning on the TV for a bit, but you manage. And we laugh a lot when you still cannot understand each other. As I tell the student, your English is WAY better than my (French, German, Spanish, Hungarian…).”
"When the student arrives, we acclimate them, by, as we call it, "baptism by fire".
We try to plan as much as possible, so the student does not get homesick and they can adjust to our crazy life. This past year we went to a museum for the day, out to eat, went to the beach, a sweet sixteenth birthday party and met the neighbors. I give them the house rules and start them on their chores immediately (I’ll do anything NOT to have to empty the dishwasher)!"
We asked Lyn how school was for her students. "The student will go to the school zoned in your area, in my case a huge, four-story, 4,700 student high school, and it can be very overwhelming. And, of course this year being so different - to say the least, both my daughter and my student came home in tears...which of course made me cry too. After we sat and talked, rearranged some schedules, and adjusted to school life with masks, the year got better. Now, my student is the manager of the volleyball team, on the soccer team, has lots of friends and is involved in clubs and is loving school. Everything takes time to adjust."
According to Lyn, "the best thing about hosting is seeing your world through the eyes of your student. Seeing Texas or Florida, as if I am seeing it for the first time. The wonder in their faces as you take them places you overlook daily. Their happiness of seeing the beach, the excitement of seeing people riding horses in a parade, the size of the high schools, the Christmastime festivities and trying American food. It all becomes a wonder.”
What's the worst part of hosting? Lyn does not mince words. "the worst part of hosting is always, SAYING GOODBYE."