Why host a high school foreign exchange student?

Rymmel Lovell, Chapter Chair of Gorge, AFS-USA here in The Dalles, and Deidra Baumgarten are inviting local families to host a foreign exchange student. Learn more about it here. Lovell traveled herself on a teacher exchange to Australia and sent her daughter Deidre on exchange to Kiruna, Sweden for a school year. Lovell now helps other local students go on exchanges and assists many Columbia Gorge families in welcoming exchange students into their homes.

By Trudy J. Lupkes

Hosting an exchange student means more than providing a bed and meals.

As an AFS Host Family, you will welcome a new member into your home, share your everyday life, and grow as you get to know each other and share your cultural perspectives.

You’ll be surprised at how much you learn about yourself, your family and your community.

Have a life-changing experience in your own home!

AFS-USA is a conduit for students and to experience other cultures as they travel to other countries and attend school. The mission: to build a more just and peaceful world. The Columbia Gorge AFS chapter is currently seeking host families. Interested? Please contact Rymmel Lovell at (541) 296-6546 or tlovell@netcnct.net

How to get involved

In the Columbia Gorge, AFS-USA has a chapter based in The Dalles. Rymmel Lovell is the long-time chapter chair. For more than 30 years she has participated in International exchanges; traveling herself on a teacher exchange to Australia, sending her daughter Deidre on exchange to Kiruna, Sweden for a school year, helping other local students go on an exchange and assisting many Columbia Gorge families to welcome an exchange student into their home.

Timeline

AFS exchange students typically arrive mid-August and return to their home country in mid-January or mid-June. AFS-USA is thinking positively for 2021arrivals in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, percentages will be down and schools will be open for in-person learning for the start of school in the fall of 2021. To this end, AFS-USA is moving forward in our search for host families. As the time for student arrival draws near, AFS-USA will communicate with local volunteers, host families and students on travel & school conditions.

It takes all types

All types of families are encouraged to apply; there is no “typical” host family. Families can have small or teenage children at home, be empty nesters with adult children or be couples with no children. Single adults and single parents are also welcome to apply. Hosting an international exchange student can be a highly rewarding opportunity for your family. The chance to discover a different perspective than your own and to share your own culture with an international student is a daily lesson in cultural understanding. The bonds created span continents and can last for many years to come.

Please contact Rymmel at (541) 296-6546 or tlovell@netcnct.net
Also, learn more at www.afsusa.org/host

Background on AFS-USA

AFS Intercultural Programs began as the American Ambulance Field Service, a volunteer ambulance corps created in April 1915 by A. Piatt Andrew. In 1947, AFS was transformed from a WWI and WWII wartime humanitarian aid organization into a groundbreaking international secondary school exchange, volunteer, and intercultural learning organization with a noble vision: to help build a more just and peaceful world by promoting understanding across cultures. AFS International works to honor the legacy of its founders.  AFS empowers people to become globally engaged citizens by delivering meaningful intercultural experiences that provide the knowledge and skills needed to help create a more just and peaceful world.

Uncover a deeper appreciation

Hundreds of thousands of people have gone abroad through the AFS program. Uncover a deeper appreciation for different cultures and our shared humanity by welcoming an AFS International exchange student into your home for a year or a semester. Grow your family and create lifelong bonds that span cultures and countries. Your chance to change the world begins at home!