The world can seem unpredictable and even terrifying, but international student exchange program Ayusa is working to change that by bringing teens from around 60 countries to stay with American families for the school year. Community representative Cammie Hill, who recently moved to Poplar Bluff from Florida, said the intercultural exchange and bonding between host families and students benefits the entire community.
“A lot of people think it’s just for the student, but this experience is not just for the student. It’s for the host family, and also students in our schools learned so much from exchange students as well,” she said.
Ayusa, whose name was formerly an acronym for Academic Year in the USA, is a nonprofit that coordinates with schools worldwide to bring high schoolers to the US on J-1 student visas. Students who come to the US are curious about American life and eager to experience it for themselves. Similar curiosity about other cultures often is also what inspires host families to open their homes.
“I would say a lot of families want to learn more about another culture. They’re also interested in sharing their American experiences with someone from across the world,” Hill explained. “It really is a dream come true for these students. I mean, some of them even work all summer to save their money to make it happen.”
Hill herself first hosted when her children were approximately 2 and 4 years old. They were overjoyed to have a host sibling and all became fast friends — when the year was up, Hill found her toddlers could speak sentences and sing songs in the student’s language.
The bonds between families and students often extend past their time together.
“The majority of my families maintain contact with their student after they leave,” she said, going on to note some even visit their host child’s home country.
The program also sends American teens to study abroad in Germany and Japan.
Ayusa’s process of matching teens to hosts is less about getting students into a house and more about bringing together future family members, Hill noted. To join, students must pass an English exam and prospective families must submit to a background check. Ayusa then matches them based on students’ preferences, and students have the final say on where they want to go. Families and students can then share videos and photos, getting to know each other before they meet in person. Community representatives like Hill provide support to students, families and schools so everyone has what they need and the school year goes smoothly.
Host families themselves are only responsible for three things: daily meals, a bedroom (which can be shared with a family member of the same gender and approximate age) and plenty of affection.
“They’re just responsible for three meals a day and room and board, and of course, love from an American family,” said Hill.
Any family of any size — even one person — can become a host family.
“I think an important point is a lot of people think that, ‘Oh, I can’t be a host family because I’m a single host mom or a single host dad, or I’m an empty nester, or I have young kids, or I have old kids.’ And really, honestly, there is no typical host family,” Hill said. “We have host families of all different kinds.”
Like everything else, COVID-19 disrupted Ayusa’s efforts, but it was able to keep placing students by staying flexible and keeping up-to-date with pandemic restrictions and guidelines. Lately, it has added vaccination status to their host matching criteria.
“We don’t force the student to get vaccinated, but we will match [families] with a student that is willing to or has already been vaccinated,” Hill noted.
Ayusa is now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 school year. More information can be found at its website, ayusa.org, and by calling 888-552-9872.