8/3/2006 - Now is the Time!

During the month of August thousands of AFS participants around the world are leaving home. These travelers, mostly high school students, are saying goodbye to their families, friends, schools, and hometowns to venture out into the world on AFS exchange programs. Young people from Brazil are heading for Japan, those from Germany are headed for South Africa, and students from the USA are headed to Panama.

AFS exchange programs involve over 50 countries around the world. However, all have one thing in common. They involve host families. Host families are the people who get to experience cultural difference and expand their worlds without ever leaving home. By inviting the world into their home AFS host families have learned to appreciate new foods, to view news reports with fresh eyes, and to make a trip to grocery store into a cultural adventure. Doing everyday activities like going to the mall, visiting a local park, or bringing a gift to a neighbor take on new meaning when shared with an AFS exchange student.

Host families need not fit a certain mold nor include a certain number of people. Many different types of families have had successful hosting experiences that have changed their lives. Single parents, couples with no children at home, and even single individuals have all been wonderful hosts.

We invite you to consider hosting an AFS participant and to bring the world into your home.

Click here to “Start the Process”: of hosting an AFS participant.

Visit the “Hosting”: section of our website for more information.