One of the most rewarding experiences I have had, has been as a Community Representative for Face the World. Face The World is a non-profit organization which places foreign exchange students from all over the world in host homes in the United States. A community representative is like a professional friend – helping place the students, supporting them in their adjustment, and being on call when needed for the family and for the student. As a very part-time Community Representative for Face The World, I am always on the lookout for loving, open-minded families to host FTW students.Hosting a foreign exchange student can be a richly rewarding experience. Families report their own children make lifelong friends, are exposed to a different culture, and have an opportunity to practice their favorite foreign language with a native speaker. Hosting a foreign exchange student can be fulfilling for the host family in other ways, too. As our world becomes smaller through technology, we are made aware of the significant social and cultural differences between countries and cultures around the world. The key to a peaceful planet is our ability to understand one another, and to appreciate the inherent beauty of diversity. By offering your home to a foreign exchange student, you are helping to make the world a more peaceful and loving place, one relationship at a time. Hosting a foreign exchange student is a way of making a lasting contribution to humanity.Most Face the World students arrive in late August and stay until the end of the school year, but some may come for one semester or for a few months. Others may arrive in January and stay until December. Students come from many foreign countries, and speak many native languages in addition to English. All students are between the ages of 15 and 19 when they participate. Face the World students are carefully screened for high academic and social skills, and proficiency in the English language, before being placed in loving American homes. Only mature, responsible students are selected for Face The World placement.If you are interested in hosting a foreign exchange student in your home, please contact your local Face the World representative at:
