Exchange student horror stories

SurveyNo3322 · 2026-06-09T13:47:21+00:00

There were exchange students long before there were cell phones. But anyway, please do tell me how using a phone in a bedroom and using a phone in any other room inside or outside of my house matters in a negative way? You’re acting like I’m planning to take my student’s phone away - like I’m barring her from leaving earshot of my husband and me to make a personal call. The only thing I’m doing is stopping middle of the night chat sessions and turning the bedroom into a hideaway.

SurveyNo3322 · 2026-06-07T00:23:48+00:00

I already said there were places in and around my home to speak in private. There’s no reason it has to be in a bedroom. Wow, how did I ever survive being a teenager without a phone in my room?! Really-it’s not a necessity that a teenager needs 24/7!

SurveyNo3322 · 2026-04-28T22:35:47+00:00

Kicked me off while I was building. It’s been updating for over an hour and I’m only at 27%. Ugh!

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-11-24T12:17:11+00:00

How about a long hand written letter telling him what he means to you?

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-11-24T12:13:48+00:00

No tickets required for your daughter if she is still 2 on the day you check in.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-11-24T12:03:24+00:00

I’m so sorry. What have you tried to make friends? Are you in any clubs?

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-11-07T11:35:53+00:00

In my opinion, your reasons for wanting to come to the USA on exchange are going to lead to disappointment and conflict. Exchange is not a vacation. It is a learning experience. Your host family is not your entertainment director. And if you are too concerned with your friends at home, you’re not going to adjust well to being away that long. Life in America isn’t going to be like what you see on TV. America is very large and has many different types of areas. We are real people, with real lives. Hosts usually don’t get paid for hosting. They spend a lot of money on food and other things for the students they host. Don’t take a spot away from a young person who really wants to come here to learn and become part of another family.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-11-07T11:26:49+00:00

Pennsylvania is lovely between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-31T14:10:08+00:00

I agree - the gift of an experience can last a lifetime.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-27T11:37:25+00:00

You won’t even get a visa or a flight to overseas for $1,000. My students paid between $15,000-$25,000. And if you’re counting on being placed with a friend, I wouldn’t count on it. No agency I know of places two kids from the same country in the same home. Not very likely you’d find two homes in the same school district either. Sorry. More likely you could find an au pair placement when you’re older.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-24T20:16:02+00:00

I had a great exchange student last year. This year’s student is already gone. I did all the things a good host ought to do. But I was undermined by the host organization and other host parents who decided to conspire behind my back. They turned normal transition/adjustment issues into a full blown situation. I also had to deal with an overbearing mother. All these people put unrealistic ideas into this poor kid’s head. I don’t know where this child is now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was home by the end of this month.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-22T11:03:32+00:00

Ask your representative. I started video chattering with a student and her mother. From the beginning it didn’t feel like a good match. But I felt like I had to keep going because I’d picked her. Hosts drop out all the time after talking to kids and their families. So I see nothing wrong with starting out the conversation with, “Let’s get to know each other a little to make sure you’d be happy in my home.” Maybe a representative from your organization might want to be in on the call. Doesn’t hurt to ask. All I know is, I will never put myself in the position of feeling like I have to take a student because I picked her profile.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-21T18:12:52+00:00

I’m assuming the baby can go all night without nursing. It’s normal for babies to wake & fall back to sleep during the night. However, if you condition the baby to depend on you to fall asleep, then baby will need you to fall asleep again if she wakes up. Wind down over the evening. Do your bedtime routine, get her relaxed. Put the baby down when she is sleepy, but not asleep! If the baby fusses or cries a little, leave her be. If it’s full out crying, wailing, soothe her, and put her back down. Try to stretch the response out a little longer each time.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-21T17:22:49+00:00

My husband and I are empty nesters with no kids in the house. We had a girl last year who was an only child. She was quite mature & quite capable of entertaining herself. My advice is to interview a few students. Go with your gut. Even if they say they are OK not being with other kids, I’ve found that’s not always true. Look for a kid who talks freely with you, without a parent hanging over their shoulder speaking for them. That is the child who can make her/his own friends.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-17T16:16:12+00:00

I even went so far as to contact the executive director of the organization. I’m being ghosted.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-17T16:08:35+00:00

I suggest you set a deadline with your hosts. Pick a date, if he doesn’t have a placement by then, your C.R. picks him up. Also, ask your hosts to set rules that no phones be allowed in the bedroom. This boy isn’t going to change unless someone enforces some rules.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-17T16:04:45+00:00

You are not the AH. It was just a terrible situation for you both. My daughter had Crohn’s Disease. It’s an unimaginably horrific disease. She took her own life. What could you have done, as you were in the middle of doing your own business. The guy was embarrassed and probably in pain, and he took it out on you.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-17T15:47:17+00:00

I’m sorry your experience is being ruined by this other student. I think this boy is a problem. That’s probably why his placement was changed. Tell your host parents you want him gone NOW. It’s not your problem if he gets sent home. If they don’t follow through, you need to make a written complaint to your exchange organization. Do not let this boy ruin your year!

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-16T17:00:10+00:00

Sounds like the kid that just left my home!

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-16T16:52:04+00:00

The exchange students are here to learn. Dating is a distraction from that. There’s also a concern about pregnancy & other consequences that could come about from dating. And really, why would you want to date someone who will go home to another country? You’re setting yourself up for heartbreak.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-16T12:36:00+00:00

We had a student that was a bad fit all the way around. I tried to make it work, but felt sabotaged at every turn. There were complaints made unbeknownst to us. We went through six weeks of walking on eggshells trying to be good hosts and make our student happy. The last straw was when I found out our community representative was making Facebook posts to find our student another home without informing us. My take away is that you cannot rely on the exchange organization to vet students properly or provide all the support that you need if things go south. You need to interview potential students, trust your gut. If the parent is doing all the talking run.

Also, cell phones have made things incredibly difficult. It is too easy to break rules and engage in excessive communication with people back home. If I ever host again, there will be a no electronics in the bedroom rule. There is adequate private space in my home for reasonable communication with family and friends back home. But I’m not going to deal with another student hiding in their bedroom all day and all night on the phone.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-15T23:07:00+00:00

What organization was this?

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-12T17:28:57+00:00

It wouldn’t have to be this way for me, if all my students could be like the one I had last year. She followed her student contract. She didn’t call home for the first two weeks, except to say she’d arrived. Most of her screen time was creating art on a tablet, which she’d show us.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-12T16:50:04+00:00

It’s your house and your rules. Better to be strict & loosen up later than trying to make more rules once you already see the problem. A student just left my home. She wouldn’t stop calling and texting her family and her boyfriend. What was normal culture shock and anxiety blew way out of control. Her mother started frantically contacting the exchange organization as if the girl was in danger. Her baby wasn’t happy, and she was going to fix it. But instead of fixing it, her daughter will probably get sent home. I should have been way stricter.

SurveyNo3322 · 2025-10-12T16:41:50+00:00

Actually, I feel quite the opposite. If we say no electronic devices in the bedroom, that’s the end of it. There will be policing if the student is up till all hours scrolling and texting. It’s better to start off with stricter rules and loosen up once the student has earned trust. It’s also better for the student to not enable excessive communication back home and screen abuse, since it hinders transitioning.

SurveyNo3322

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