Meet Shasta from Texas, who is hosting an exchange student for the first time during the 2023-24 school year as a single host! The idea of hosting had never crossed her mind until she came across International Coordinator Brittani’s post searching for a family to welcome an Aspect Student. Although being a single host made her question if she was the right fit, she was reassured that Aspect values all types of households and families. Hosting as a single can be an enriching and wonderful experience for both the host family and the student. Shasta adds, “Melina will not be my last student; I’m definitely doing this again!”
Melina is my 17-year-old French exchange student, and one of the best gifts I’ve ever given myself is to host her in my home for the 2023/24 school year. I’m a single mom to three dogs, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to offer an exchange student the “full experience” of having a host family in the US. But Brittani, my International Coordinator, assured me that whatever I have to offer, it will be enough. I decided to apply just so I could see the list of students, and that’s when it got really exciting, reading about all the kids who are interested in coming here, what they were like and where they come from.
My heart melted at the thought of a student desiring to come to the States and just waiting for someone to pick him or her. I work in dog rescue, and it wasn’t unlike the way my heart squeezes when I see dogs waiting for their forever homes – although I would never compare a human to a dog! 🙂
I’m no longer surprised to wake up and find that I have someone else living in my house. Each day, Melina makes and eats her breakfast, I pack her lunch and she bikes off to school or I drop her off on my way to the office. When we get home in the evenings, she feeds the dogs, and we make dinner and eat together. Then she does homework while I tinker around. It’s routine life, and we love it.
She struggles a bit with the language. She’s 99% fluent with a delightful French accent, but our American idioms and metaphors give her a little trouble. A few months ago, we went to a Texas Rangers baseball game, and she saw a big sign in the outfield. “Shasta, what does ‘bring the heat’ mean?” So far I’ve had to explain what “pulling your leg,” and “raining cats and dogs” means just this week alone.
Other things are new to her, such as the overall friendliness of Texans. The other day we were driving through the neighborhood, and I waved at a lady getting into her car. I didn’t think anything of it.
“Shasta, do you know that person?”
“Nope,” I said. Her forehead crinkled a little as she processed that.
We’ve both discovered a thing for Agatha Christie, so we are making our way through Kenneth Branaugh’s Hercule Poirot movies — with English subtitles. We love Taylor Swift too, so we giggled our way through buying tickets to her Eras Tour movie and watching her relationship with Travis Kelce. Melina is a fascinating amalgamation of adult and teenage interests.
We love to talk, talk, talk. Her sense of humor has come out, and it’s razor sharp and dry. Yet she’s so innocently amazed at everything. That night after the Rangers game, she was marveling at the night skyline and all the lights. “It’s so beautiful!” She, who comes from the land of the Eiffel Tower, Cannes, Nice, Lyon, and Paris, thinks Dallas is beautiful.
The week before Homecoming, we had loads of fun getting her ready: dress and shoe shopping at the mall (her first trip to an American mall, which stunned her); mum shopping, which stunned ME, and finally, getting her toes done. Her first pedicure. “I love them!” she said, wriggling her little toes.
We have the darndest conversations over the dinner table. (One of the requests her parents made of me is that we eat together for dinner every night.) The other day, she offered to go to church with me.
“Have you ever been to church?” I asked her, knowing that she has no religious background at home.
“Yes, I’ve gone with my grandmother. She is Catholic.”
“Well, the Protestant version of church is quite different, especially in the U.S., “ I told her.
“What is the difference between Catholic and Protestant?” she asked. Oh boy. That started another long conversation about life and such. Her curiosity is endless, and I love that about her. She has also taught me how to be a mom, how to interact with someone from another culture, and also shared her beautiful family with me during our occasional joint video calls with them.
Melina is an absolute gift to me and the world. If there’s one thing I want to impress upon her when she leaves the U.S. in May, it’s knowing what a blessing she has been to me, and what a gift her life is to everyone she meets.
Are you interested in making a student like Melina a part of your family? We are looking for American host families to welcome a student for the upcoming 2024-25 school year! Check out the profiles of our wonderful students! New student profiles go online every Thursday!
