Category Archive

The process of making a quilt Santiago’s host mom has sent us the story when Santiago undertook the project of redecorating his bedroom (with his host family’s permission) to make it his own. “The entire thing started when he asked if he could paint his room. I said of course, if he was able to do the work. He is … Read More

Our Experience with Foreign Exchange Students Through ICES This is the third school year my family has hosted foreign exchange students. We were a bit hesitant about it at first because we had no experience parenting teenagers (we have three children under 8), but we wanted to support the program at the school where I teach, and we thought it … Read More

She jumped right in and tackled the challenges Yanina is our foreign exchange student form Langquaid, Germany. She has been living with our family in Westville, Indiana for about three months and has been nothing short of a blessing to our lives. Although she missed a week of school, she jumped right in and tackled the challenges of e-learning. She … Read More

The perfect example of what an exemplary exchange student should encompass Martina is a 17 year old, bright young lady here for a semester from Italy. Like many exchange students, she was quite homesick when she first came to her Host Family. She quickly opened up to them about her feelings. Because of this, they were able to immediately intervene … Read More

Luca fits into our family beautifully Luca is an absolute gem to have around. She does amazing in school and we never have to prompt her to do homework. She has received lots of excellent feedback from her English teacher stating how amazing she is doing. She is also on the school cheer team and her coach loves having her … Read More

To say we have been impressed is an understatement This has been our first exchange student 2020 and to say we have been impressed is an understatement. Pol from Barcelona Spain is making his parents and Country proud. This young gentleman was sent across the globe during a pandemic to the unknown and has embraced every opportunity !!!! He is … Read More

ICES exchange student volunteering with feeding the homeless Tonight we took the “Love Shack” out for the first time since March. Our exchange student Jan was so helpful and really enjoyed serving others. Ed drove and Zachary helped as well. It was so good to see familiar faces and serve alongside such wonderful people. I have missed my friends on … Read More

Jake has changed our family’s views on other cultures Jakub is from the Czech Republic, staying in Saginaw Michigan in the small town of Chesaning. Jake has taken huge steps into understanding our culture, safety, and different creativities that define a unique individual. He has seen the news, the daily worries and chaos that this country is facing including covid, … Read More

Adding more stories to our lives We have so many stories to tell from our year with our first exchange student, Elisa from Germany. We had never thought about hosting a student until an ICES representative at our school said that she had someone who would fit in perfectly with our family. So, we took a leap of faith and … Read More

A hockey player – finally! We are huge hockey fans. It may seem weird to be hockey fans in the middle of the Mojave Desert – Las Vegas, but many of us here in Vegas came from somewhere else (Michigan and New York for us). I have been hauling hockey bags across town for over 20 years. Our oldest son … Read More