Hosting exchange students with SAE
“Hosting exchange students with SAE for the past 3 years has been an amazing experience for our family! The program has given us the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with four amazing kids (and their families) from Spain and Germany and we have been able to continue those relationships even after the kids have returned home.
We are a small family of three, composed of myself, my husband, and our 8 year old daughter. As an only child, our daughter has been very excited to have older “siblings” and often refers to our exchanges students as her “Spanish sister” or “German brother.” Since the students have been coming and staying with us, we’ve seen our daughter really come out of her shell and be more confident in meeting new people and talking and listening with others. She also says that she is going to learn Spanish and go be an exchange student in Spain when she is in high school.
Having the students has also been a wonderful experience for myself and my husband as well. Each student has brought their unique personalities and interests. It has been such fun to get to know them and see our “normal” experiences through new eyes, as well as be able to do new activities that they suggest. Every one of our students has chosen to engage in Spartan obstacle courses with my husband and joined in on Black Friday shopping excursions with our extended family!
Things are not always perfect, and there are challenges (think sibling squabbles…they really do become like siblings for better or worse), but the kids that come to our home do become our extended family throughout the world. I would 100% recommend this experience and encourage you to be open to extending your own family internationally! “
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