Married A Horn said:

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I'm about to have a hot tub installed... I'm starting to reconsider. lol

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Hey, FYI, I spoke to some exchange students in DFW that were from another group. They had some interesting things to share. I generally help some of the Dutch or German kids, so I was put in touch with and had lunch with one that shared some interesting stuff


There were some odd things about the management of the other program, based on what the students told me.
1- If they wanted to choose a particularly city or region, they could pay about 2k more in euro.
2- the host family had a business and sometimes the exchange student worked in it, talk about bs, LOL. I don't think the scrutiny of host families is particularly detailed from programs other than EF.
3-they organize some trips for all the exchange students in the US, Disneyland, etc

5 students were sent back for various reasons just in the past few months....

Interesting stuff, I'm biased towards EF, I think they've always been more transparent.

Wow - our students are strictly prohibited from working, other than maybe a couple of hours a year on an odd job or something.

EF highly vets us - including background checks and multiple home inspections. Kids can list states they prefer, but idk if they pay for that or it just limits their selectability. Idk

EF does have 'exchange student trips' without host families. Some host families cannot afford trips and this is a way for the student to go on some.

I have heard EF is the best though.

We FINALLY got to contact our girl from Boden last Tuesday - already sent/received 1000s of texts with her and our family. Our former student is in on it as well - we have a big family chat going on signal and it just buzzes all day every day. We're pretty excited and so is she!

Married A Horn said:

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Wow - our students are strictly prohibited from working, other than maybe a couple of hours a year on an odd job or something.

EF highly vets us - including background checks and multiple home inspections. Kids can list states they prefer, but idk if they pay for that or it just limits their selectability. Idk

EF does have 'exchange student trips' without host families. Some host families cannot afford trips and this is a way for the student to go on some.

I have heard EF is the best though.

We FINALLY got to contact our girl from Boden last Tuesday - already sent/received 1000s of texts with her and our family. Our former student is in on it as well - we have a big family chat going on signal and it just buzzes all day every day. We're pretty excited and so is she!

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Yeah, the working deal is effed up. I'll come straight out and tell you that in two of the cases, I would have a problem with the family keeping their refugee(what's the term?) student from having interaction with the peer community. Just based on what I've heard. The kids don't know better, but I'd say that some of the host families have empty nest syndrome and the kids are caught in the middle. It's effed up.

The exchange student travel deal sounds about the same.

You're doing it absolutely right with your inbound student. It's a hell of a plank to walk for the student. No matter how excited you are, it's a journey for them and the challenges they face are often far outside the scope of anything you can control. All you can do is be transparent and generous. What many fail to grasp is that at that age, a teenager is more likely to trust another teenager(regardless of culture, nationality, or interests) over another adult! That's just the age.

The Scottish girl we hosted for a brief trip was an introvert, her leap of faith was difficult, but it was really my kids and community that made it all work, I just paid the light and water bill, haha.

Yeah, I had heard that the quality of management with EF was exceptional. What I heard last week was proof.

Ok - need to bring my Swedish girl to a Baylor home game. Which will be best this season? Big crowd / probable win.

Married A Horn said:

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Ok - need to bring my Swedish girl to a Baylor home game. Which will be best this season? Big crowd / probable win.

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Just don't go too hot, you're right, I think the heat kicks their ass. We know how to hide in the shade, but that takes adjustment.

That she is rural will be the big adjustment, she might like seeing a true Texas cattle ranch.

Also, there is a certain style of bread sold at IKEA. Might be resource if she likes it,

And my Swedish friends are used to actually seeing the stars at night so an observatory might help ease adjustment.

Avoid this path.

Can not add much, but friends who have done this are very pleased. Each experience has added a new family member.

Full disclosure, an Italian guy they hosted is a thing now with their daughter. Not sure if good or bad thing, but they are good with it.

Just texted my friends. Highly recommend

Used

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TellMeYouLoveMe said:

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Make sure you finagle a deal to get some knives!

https://fallkniven.se/en/home/

Yeah, these are the kids that really benefit. There is no short trip out of Boden. You pretty much have to go south for a loooooong way and it doesn't appear they have a rail line...

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You are not going to believe this...

She said the founder/owner is their next door neighbor!!

As u can tell from my customs question, trying to figure out how to get them into the country.

That's badass! Stories like these are why I love travel and cultural exchange. Cliches and jokes aside, Swedes have been some of my best memories in Europe. They're sort of quirky, unassuming, but once you crack their shell they can be very strongly opinionated if not a bit dark. On the outside they appear homogenous but they are intensely inward about conflict.

The knives are good because the metal deposits underneath the city is probably one of the best in the world, it's just expensive to mine and produce so the company stays small and is happy with a profit,

I'm still in awe of the Solingen knives and cutlery I brought back. It got me hooked on German quality tools and I've imported a dozen or so Stahlwille toolboxes which are very high quality.

You clearly have the right attitude about all of this, and you get the idea that it's about sharing and helping further understanding. She's in for a great experience and Im sure your family will be rewarded as well.

So, our Swedish girl cannot get her J-1 visa in Stockholm. There is a 98 day wait to get an appointment.

Tallinn Estonia is literally the same distance as Stockholm and has a 2 day wait. It seems to me she should go there next week and get it.
EF wants he to go to Warsaw Poland on the 20th - twice as far and only a couple of days before she is set to fly to the USA.

Any issues with getting the visa in Tallinn? (Not sure how many people on a Baylor football forum have experience with Tallinn Estonia's embassy.)

They might have some inside slant, but tell them your experience. I'd try Tallin for sure.


It's a problem. Visas are a tremendous pain in the ass. The fruits working at the State Department allocate visas each year per country. So it's set up to be misallocated by design.

Sorry I hope it gets worked out,

Btw, saw Hundreds of EF tour kids in Europe this past month…touring Munich and other places in Southern Germany.

Maybe a Ukranian kid?

Really enjoyed this thread. My kids and I talked about an exchange students but I was a single parent and not eligible. That was was long ago. I cant contribute much but I have worked with hundreds of teenage students from the UAE, Thailand, China and Laos.

If I were much younger and my kids still at home I would consider a Thai student. The Thai culture outside of Bangkok is very conservative. Thai teens are usually very respectful and well behaved. Though a little shy at first they ae usually very curious and love learning about different cultures. I would make sure it was ok with their parents but most Buddhists dont have the same reservations about religion as others. The transfer would probably enjoy experiencing your church.

I think its great that you take in foreign students and at least expose them to Christian churches. God bless you.

Our Swedish girl has landed!! Full of energy and excitement! Thanks so much for the help. We have a good one.

Just got home from the airport.

Oh btw...

To get her J-1 visa, she used a 'loophole' so to speak. To get the J-1, you have to do an interview at the embassy. But they waive that if you have been to the USA before; which she had not. So she and her dad booked a flight to us on an ESTA VISA and stayed at our house for a week to get the passport stamped with a USA stamp. (We left after 2 days and we to Florida for my son's soccer team's Nationals tournament.)

Then she flew back home, sent the passport into Stockholm. They stamped it immediately and 2 weeks later she's here!

That's awesome! Glad it worked out, let's catch up again soon and see how the first few days have gone.