Love the video and your channel! Keep up the good work. I've also started a channel last year trying to help future exchange students and host families out and I love finding other great channels with the same purpose!
Hi! What has your experience been regarding cellphone plans? I understand the student should not be added to the family plan, and their local plan may not transfer well to the US. Should they buy a new prepaid plan somehow? Thanks!
Good Question! It seems to be a tricky part each year, figuring out what to do. I would say, most students bring their own phone and get a new sim card with a phone plan they prefer. Them choosing which carrier and which data plan has been not the easiest to nail down what's best for their needs. The Target store is close to us and usually has a number of them to choose from, that's where I take them first. We had one student do an online pay month by month service and she seemed to like that, the price was very reasonable. Though, nearing the end of the year she cancelled the plan because she really only used her phone where she had access to wifi and could call/text/social media there. Another student has family friends in another state and they are doing a family plan with her. Thanks for asking! :)
I was reading my exchange program site and it says the fee they pay to come here covers room board, airfare, 3 meals a day. But I’m buying food and all meals out and there is definitely a vibe that makes me think that my student believes I’m compensated. She orders expensive food at restaurants and is kind of demanding about food being prepared special for her taste, no vegetables, only salmon, pork, steak. It’s like she wants to get her money’s worth?? Does the fact I get no stipend get communicated? Can I ask the agency to help me? I’m a single mom so it’s kinda rough. I treasure her otherwise, very sweet but this just seems like the agency didn’t set me up for success in this one way. Have you heard of this before?
Yes, I've heard of this type of thing happening. It great to hear you treasure her, and otherwise, things are going well! There are a few things I'd do in your situation. Take them as suggestions and use what you'd like to. First, I would let the agency/coordinator know and see if they can communication expectations with them and find out what they plan to say so you're on the same page. Did you happen to go over expectations when she came to you, where you cover a variety of topics? Not all agencies guide hosts on how to do this. Or if you have, this would be a follow up. In our home, I provide meals I have already planned, bought and am preparing. If they want something special, I am willing to take them to the store at a different time to buy what they want with their own money. I can prepare it, or I can teach them to prepare it if it's more than what I'd typically do to prepare a meal. I do not have the time or desire to be a restaurant where my OWN kids asks of me what they wish to eat every meal (or a student). My whole day would be in the kitchen and these cuties leave no tip (willing dishwashers would be nice, LOL). Also, it's known that "extra" things (special outings-movies, mall purchases-, going out to eat, etc.) are paid for by them. So if we ever go out, I mention to them they'll be paying for their own. They do not have to go with us out to eat, they can stay home and eat what food is available. It's never in a negative way, more like, "this is how we do things." I believe it is unreasonable on the student's part to expect you to go above and beyond what you do for your own family, whether the intention is accidental or not. As you can begin to feel, it's just not sustainable to your time, your resources, or how it was meant to run. With that being said, I ask my students what fruits or vegetables they like, their favorite treat and snacks. I like to have some of those things on hand for them so they know I care. On special occasions I ask them what I can prepare for them (birthday, holiday's from their culture, last day of school type of things). Some hosts don't even do that! For them, what you see in the cupboards and fridge is what you get and honestly, that's all that's required of you. One year, our students had a thing for corn dogs. That's not something our family eats, but I always kept a package in the freezer and they ate them whenever. Some dinners they would eat a lot of my offered meal, and some dinners they had a little and ate corndogs later. I try to find a middle ground that's sustainable. I understand the food we serve is not what they've been used to growing up :) Approach the subject as, 'information that you realize is supposed to work this way' and that things need to be done differently moving forward. They're might be some initial shock, that's understandable. Hopefully, she is mature enough to accept the change easily. Thanks for watching and for the question. Good luck to you! :)
@@hfesLIFE Thank you for the thoughtful response. This is so helpful. Actually we ended up having the discussion and it went so smoothly. She actually brought up by asking if anything that could be better and what maturity! I said her food preferences are a challenge at a time when food prices are pretty high. Special meal prep is starting to be stressful on me and I’m dealing with increased zoom meetings that compound things. I said I need to be able to make the meals I make and everyone eats them. She agreed that she needs to try some different food and just because she wants something doesn’t mean I should be changing things. She’s hearing other exchange friends are having challenges with host families so she just wants to fix anything proactively. What a wonderful thing and I think we are on a better path of open food discussion and new options. She liked my unstuffed pepper instapot!!! Some good progress. Thank you again!
Hi, I see you make most of your videos to help host families with exchange students which is great. We have had 6 university students au pairing during 6 summers, one from Virginia ( USA). From the 6 students the best 3 experiences were with girls that I made FaceTime calls ahead and met their Moms. Two moms were really involved and either wrote to me or called me. The 3 girls that came without any contact with their family were not good experiences. I think the student’s family can help a lot too. The agency always says the local coordinator should solve all the problems. My question is : from your experience is it a problem to be the host family in touch with the student’s family? Personally I would like to help my future’s host family as I know culture is different, meals are different… I lived in Baltimore for 6 months and know about USA culture. I know adaptation to such a different country is not easy. One of my worries is the cell phone as she must leave her SIM card in Spain and will need another SIM card. Do you think the student’s family can help at least at the beginning of the exchange??
Hi! Thanks for watching and commenting here. I would have to agree that I also prefer to speak with the parent(s) before and during the time they are with us. I don't think it's a problem to be in touch with the student's family. I'm guessing it's not expected or encouraged by the agencies, but I've never asked (let me text my coordinator). I particularly like it when a parent shares a specific worry, they or their child has, to help to ease nerves or address things head on. It's a possibility it doesn't happen more often based on the language barrier! For the phone, each of our students has come with their home country's SIM card to message during travel and make sure to tell their family they arrived safely, then bought a new one soon after arriving. Ok, my coordinator responded... She said she thinks it's great when the parent(s) reach out to the hosts but that it's hard to do. Also, she doesn't think the paperwork encourages it. Having the student's family help sounds great to me! In which specific areas do you think would be most helpful?
Hi! My student just arrived from Thailand. She says her internet is only 4 days on her phone. Do I add her to my t-mobile account? She has an iPhone 13. Also she wants to lock her door
How exciting to have a student! Congratulations! From experience, major cell phone company's are not eager to add a temporary line. I would advise against it because it puts you in a position to be responsible for their bill and that can go sour easily. Let your student know that they can purchase a new sim card with a pay-by-month carrier to use with their existing phone, their own funds paying with debit or credit. Another option would be the same scenario, except they give you the cash up front for the months they will be living with you and you put it on your card for auto bill pay. But get everything documented. This option may still come back to bite you if your student doesn't like you... therefore, is still somewhat risky. Most likely your agency would advise against any of these to protect you both. The way that protects you and them, is for them to be independent of relying on you. They will probably need to have phone calls with their parent(s) to figure out how to proceed. They can live without data (if needed, while they get it figured out) and instead link to your WIFI in order to get things into place for them, or, use your phone to call the school. We had one student sign up with Consumer Cellular and it was a pay by month plan, which was an easy start and an easy stop. Most of the school year passed and she realized that connecting to our and the school's WIFI, and using WhatsApp was all she needed (she didn't go out with friends often and liked being at home-so it was a reasonable move). She ended up cancelling her phone plan and used WIFI. If your student will want to go out a lot, the WIFI route doesn't work because they or you can't get a hold of them in an emergency while they're out. As for locking their room: I don't think there anything inherently wrong with that, it can provide a sense or security for them. What I would do up front is, let them know 2 things. The first is there will be an inspection of the room to make sure it is properly taken care of because trash/food/odd smells/etc can attract insects and rodents. And this can be scheduled monthly/every other week. And secondly, you reserve the right to go into the room and check things out (define what that is- does it include looking in drawers...?) with a 24 hour notice to them. This seems to me a a respectful way to handle the unknown for both of you. If these conversations feel awkward, you just have to lean into it. It has always proved MORE awkward having to talk through to try fix something, and make up new rules, that could have been prevented by a simple conversation :) Thanks for your questions! I hope you have an extraordinary time together!!
@@hfesLIFE This is so helpful! I’ve taken the route of letting her communicate the options I’ve found with Mint Mobile and just keep it separate. They are offering a SIM card for 12 months $253 total but only 4G.
@@hfesLIFE As for locking I think it protects us so if she can’t find something it’s not possible to blame us for taking it. I’ve actually seen a story of how a host family did go into their student’s room and take stuff.
Love the video and your channel! Keep up the good work. I've also started a channel last year trying to help future exchange students and host families out and I love finding other great channels with the same purpose!
Sweet! Great to find channels with a similar purpose. Maybe a colab in the future would be good! Let's keep in touch :)
@@hfesLIFE Love the idea!
Hi! What has your experience been regarding cellphone plans? I understand the student should not be added to the family plan, and their local plan may not transfer well to the US. Should they buy a new prepaid plan somehow? Thanks!
Good Question! It seems to be a tricky part each year, figuring out what to do. I would say, most students bring their own phone and get a new sim card with a phone plan they prefer. Them choosing which carrier and which data plan has been not the easiest to nail down what's best for their needs. The Target store is close to us and usually has a number of them to choose from, that's where I take them first. We had one student do an online pay month by month service and she seemed to like that, the price was very reasonable. Though, nearing the end of the year she cancelled the plan because she really only used her phone where she had access to wifi and could call/text/social media there. Another student has family friends in another state and they are doing a family plan with her. Thanks for asking! :)
I was reading my exchange program site and it says the fee they pay to come here covers room board, airfare, 3 meals a day. But I’m buying food and all meals out and there is definitely a vibe that makes me think that my student believes I’m compensated. She orders expensive food at restaurants and is kind of demanding about food being prepared special for her taste, no vegetables, only salmon, pork, steak. It’s like she wants to get her money’s worth?? Does the fact I get no stipend get communicated? Can I ask the agency to help me? I’m a single mom so it’s kinda rough. I treasure her otherwise, very sweet but this just seems like the agency didn’t set me up for success in this one way. Have you heard of this before?
Yes, I've heard of this type of thing happening. It great to hear you treasure her, and otherwise, things are going well!
There are a few things I'd do in your situation. Take them as suggestions and use what you'd like to. First, I would let the agency/coordinator know and see if they can communication expectations with them and find out what they plan to say so you're on the same page. Did you happen to go over expectations when she came to you, where you cover a variety of topics? Not all agencies guide hosts on how to do this. Or if you have, this would be a follow up.
In our home, I provide meals I have already planned, bought and am preparing. If they want something special, I am willing to take them to the store at a different time to buy what they want with their own money. I can prepare it, or I can teach them to prepare it if it's more than what I'd typically do to prepare a meal. I do not have the time or desire to be a restaurant where my OWN kids asks of me what they wish to eat every meal (or a student). My whole day would be in the kitchen and these cuties leave no tip (willing dishwashers would be nice, LOL).
Also, it's known that "extra" things (special outings-movies, mall purchases-, going out to eat, etc.) are paid for by them. So if we ever go out, I mention to them they'll be paying for their own. They do not have to go with us out to eat, they can stay home and eat what food is available. It's never in a negative way, more like, "this is how we do things." I believe it is unreasonable on the student's part to expect you to go above and beyond what you do for your own family, whether the intention is accidental or not. As you can begin to feel, it's just not sustainable to your time, your resources, or how it was meant to run.
With that being said, I ask my students what fruits or vegetables they like, their favorite treat and snacks. I like to have some of those things on hand for them so they know I care. On special occasions I ask them what I can prepare for them (birthday, holiday's from their culture, last day of school type of things). Some hosts don't even do that! For them, what you see in the cupboards and fridge is what you get and honestly, that's all that's required of you.
One year, our students had a thing for corn dogs. That's not something our family eats, but I always kept a package in the freezer and they ate them whenever. Some dinners they would eat a lot of my offered meal, and some dinners they had a little and ate corndogs later. I try to find a middle ground that's sustainable. I understand the food we serve is not what they've been used to growing up :)
Approach the subject as, 'information that you realize is supposed to work this way' and that things need to be done differently moving forward. They're might be some initial shock, that's understandable. Hopefully, she is mature enough to accept the change easily.
Thanks for watching and for the question. Good luck to you! :)
@@hfesLIFE Thank you for the thoughtful response. This is so helpful. Actually we ended up having the discussion and it went so smoothly. She actually brought up by asking if anything that could be better and what maturity! I said her food preferences are a challenge at a time when food prices are pretty high. Special meal prep is starting to be stressful on me and I’m dealing with increased zoom meetings that compound things. I said I need to be able to make the meals I make and everyone eats them. She agreed that she needs to try some different food and just because she wants something doesn’t mean I should be changing things. She’s hearing other exchange friends are having challenges with host families so she just wants to fix anything proactively. What a wonderful thing and I think we are on a better path of open food discussion and new options. She liked my unstuffed pepper instapot!!! Some good progress. Thank you again!
Hi,
I see you make most of your videos to help host families with exchange students which is great.
We have had 6 university students au pairing during 6 summers, one from Virginia ( USA). From the 6 students the best 3 experiences were with girls that I made FaceTime calls ahead and met their Moms. Two moms were really involved and either wrote to me or called me.
The 3 girls that came without any contact with their family were not good experiences.
I think the student’s family can help a lot too. The agency always says the local coordinator should solve all the problems.
My question is : from your experience is it a problem to be the host family in touch with the student’s family?
Personally I would like to help my future’s host family as I know culture is different, meals are different… I lived in Baltimore for 6 months and know about USA culture. I know adaptation to such a different country is not easy.
One of my worries is the cell phone as she must leave her SIM card in Spain and will need another SIM card.
Do you think the student’s family can help at least at the beginning of the exchange??
Hi! Thanks for watching and commenting here. I would have to agree that I also prefer to speak with the parent(s) before and during the time they are with us. I don't think it's a problem to be in touch with the student's family. I'm guessing it's not expected or encouraged by the agencies, but I've never asked (let me text my coordinator). I particularly like it when a parent shares a specific worry, they or their child has, to help to ease nerves or address things head on. It's a possibility it doesn't happen more often based on the language barrier!
For the phone, each of our students has come with their home country's SIM card to message during travel and make sure to tell their family they arrived safely, then bought a new one soon after arriving.
Ok, my coordinator responded... She said she thinks it's great when the parent(s) reach out to the hosts but that it's hard to do. Also, she doesn't think the paperwork encourages it.
Having the student's family help sounds great to me! In which specific areas do you think would be most helpful?
Hi! My student just arrived from Thailand. She says her internet is only 4 days on her phone. Do I add her to my t-mobile account? She has an iPhone 13. Also she wants to lock her door
How exciting to have a student! Congratulations!
From experience, major cell phone company's are not eager to add a temporary line. I would advise against it because it puts you in a position to be responsible for their bill and that can go sour easily. Let your student know that they can purchase a new sim card with a pay-by-month carrier to use with their existing phone, their own funds paying with debit or credit. Another option would be the same scenario, except they give you the cash up front for the months they will be living with you and you put it on your card for auto bill pay. But get everything documented. This option may still come back to bite you if your student doesn't like you... therefore, is still somewhat risky. Most likely your agency would advise against any of these to protect you both.
The way that protects you and them, is for them to be independent of relying on you. They will probably need to have phone calls with their parent(s) to figure out how to proceed. They can live without data (if needed, while they get it figured out) and instead link to your WIFI in order to get things into place for them, or, use your phone to call the school.
We had one student sign up with Consumer Cellular and it was a pay by month plan, which was an easy start and an easy stop. Most of the school year passed and she realized that connecting to our and the school's WIFI, and using WhatsApp was all she needed (she didn't go out with friends often and liked being at home-so it was a reasonable move). She ended up cancelling her phone plan and used WIFI. If your student will want to go out a lot, the WIFI route doesn't work because they or you can't get a hold of them in an emergency while they're out.
As for locking their room: I don't think there anything inherently wrong with that, it can provide a sense or security for them. What I would do up front is, let them know 2 things. The first is there will be an inspection of the room to make sure it is properly taken care of because trash/food/odd smells/etc can attract insects and rodents. And this can be scheduled monthly/every other week. And secondly, you reserve the right to go into the room and check things out (define what that is- does it include looking in drawers...?) with a 24 hour notice to them. This seems to me a a respectful way to handle the unknown for both of you.
If these conversations feel awkward, you just have to lean into it. It has always proved MORE awkward having to talk through to try fix something, and make up new rules, that could have been prevented by a simple conversation :)
Thanks for your questions! I hope you have an extraordinary time together!!
@@hfesLIFE This is so helpful! I’ve taken the route of letting her communicate the options I’ve found with Mint Mobile and just keep it separate. They are offering a SIM card for 12 months $253 total but only 4G.
@@hfesLIFE As for locking I think it protects us so if she can’t find something it’s not possible to blame us for taking it. I’ve actually seen a story of how a host family did go into their student’s room and take stuff.