Host a Student

TIPS ON HOSTING EXCHANGE STUDENTS

Hosting a student from another country is a challenge and an opportunity. It is an opportunity to learn more about another culture and to give that student an opportunity to learn about typical American families. The experience enriches all those involved. You share in international understanding and fellowship.

The Cape Cod Sports Ambassadors, Inc. exchange program began in 1968 and continues to this day. The student you will host comes from a family in a small city called Kortrijk (Kor-trick) Belgium. In Europe, students do not have school sports. They belong to clubs. These students belong to the Kortrijk Sports Ambassadors basketball club. The organizer, Tom Ghiesmans, modeled his program after ours.

The families who belong to the KSA are much like our own community members – they participate in club functions, raise money for their trips and events and are a close-knit group. We know many of them personally during our years of travel back and forth.

Basketball is the common language or ice breaker that we use to introduce students to other cultures. The underlying goal of the program is the international exchange. You will share your everyday lifestyle. It doesn’t mean elaborate changes. We want these young people to see what they can’t find in movies or television – ordinary American families. We are different, but we find we are mostly the same.

Enclosed in your host package is a copy of our Bylaws and our Statement of Purpose. We want you to know who we are and what we stand for. When Jon Fuller incorporated the CCSA, he was coaching Nauset Regional Middle School boys’ basketball. Parents and students knew him well and the program didn’t need to be explained. Now that he’s been retired for some time, we feel the need to re-acquaint the community about the CCSA.

We urge you to contact your student by email as soon as you are assigned as a host family. This will help their parents feel more comfortable. Their climate is similar to ours, so their clothing will probably be the same as your own students. They will almost all speak English very well as they start taking it early in school. Some may hesitate due to worries about pronunciation, but they will soon realize it’s not that hard.

Some basic differences may be challenging. For instance, in Europe these teenagers will not be driving cars. However, they are allowed to drink beer and wine with their families at around age 15 or 16. They will be surprised to learn they cannot drink here until they are 21. They will often insist that it’s okay. This is one of the cultural changes they have to learn. Breakfast for them may consist of fresh bread from the nearby bakery with sliced ham and cheese. We find they love our American breakfasts, though. The Belgian menu is very similar to our own, so unless your student has a dietary issue, whatever you cook for your family is perfectly acceptable.

Think about what you would want if you were staying in a strange home and you can pretty much decide how to welcome the student. Let them know any important rules up front so there’s no confusion. Each morning, the students will meet in a central location for the day’s activities. If the activity will run into the time for games, we will advise you so they can bring their gym bag. Their group leaders will make sure they know where and when they are supposed to be each morning. You will receive a detailed itinerary as soon as it is complete. Contact phone numbers for leaders will be on it. We will develop a phone tree so that when we are returning to a pickup spot, we will call the first number on the tree and that way everyone will quickly find out when to be there.

While we urge families to plan in advance, we know sometimes there are glitches. We assure you no student will be left alone at the pickup location. An adult leader will be with the student at all times. Some host families take more than one student. This is fine, but we suggest you make sure the students do not spend time together speaking to each other. Part of the reason their parents send them here is to immerse them in American language and culture. Engage them in your family activities so they don’t hibernate.