Are you enjoying retirement? Consider hosting an Aspect student! Today we hear from Sheri and Frank, who opened their home to exchange students from all over the world and tell us how it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience. Over the years, they’ve hosted 10 students and just welcomed two more this school year! If you’re looking to bring a little more joy and adventure into your life, consider welcoming an exchange student – it might just be the perfect way to enrich your retirement!
What inspired you to start hosting?
I met our current coordinator, Jodi, when I was her son’s Language Arts teacher. When she found out that my husband is 100% Swedish, she set out to match us up with a Swedish exchange student. We were up for an adventure, so we accepted. We have now hosted ten young ladies over the last ten years and just welcomed two more last month!
Did you initially have any concerns before hosting?
Surprisingly, no! I hosted a Japanese student for three weeks one summer, raised two children, and taught junior high school for 30 years, so we had some advantages that fed our confidence and comfort level.
What are the experiences and perks of hosting while retired?
My husband and I hosted four of our students before we retired, and it was all great, but hosting during retirement is even better! We don’t have to balance work with family; we are available to our girls! The girls seldom come home to an empty house. They can count on us being here, and they enjoy bringing new friends home to meet us.
Our schedule allows us to attend the girls’ games, concerts, and activities. We’re also not in their way in the morning when they’re getting ready for school. We have time to plan adventures with them. Our students have enjoyed visits from our grandchildren, which can be better than adjusting to in-home brothers or sisters!
What is your favorite memory while hosting?
There are so many stories! Shortly after our first student, Matilda from Sweden, arrived, we told her one evening that we were going to take her to the county fair and rodeo the next day. We showed her a pamphlet that sported a picture of a bull rider on the front cover. The next morning, Matilda looked stressed and tired, as if she hadn’t slept well. Concerned, I questioned her. Pointing at the pamphlet, she replied, “I know that Aspect encourages us to try new activities, but I don’t have to ride one of those things, do I?”
Do you have any advice for retired host parents?
Remember that you have a lot to offer these teens! While we may not be “as young as we used to be,” we have the advantages of more time, wisdom, and experience (and sometimes finances) than we had when we were younger.
Unless you live close to your local high school, you will probably be doing quite a bit of chauffeuring for your student(s). If you’re not comfortable driving at night, consider some creative carpooling or public transportation options (and we jokingly tell our girls to make friends with kids who drive)!
We were worried that our students might be disappointed that they were not placed with a younger couple with host brothers and sisters. While our girls never expressed that disappointment, we also found that they generally had a more fulfilling year when we hosted two of them in a double-placement. If you have the room to do this, I strongly encourage you to consider it! Watching two students experience American culture together and learn about each other’s cultures is twice the fun!
Plus it gives them someone their own age to share the adventure, and they keep each other entertained! Don’t hesitate to allow your students to participate in family activities with the families of friends that they meet. They benefit from seeing how American families of various generations function and have fun together.
Have you traveled to see any of your students after they left?
We were able to take a 5-week vacation to visit all of the families of the girls we had hosted up to that point! We stayed four or five days at each home where we got caught up with our girls, got to know and enjoy their families, and were spoiled rotten. Each family enjoyed showing us their favorite sights and helping us to appreciate their culture!
Their attitude was, “You took care of our daughter for ten months; we can take care of you for five days!” My husband is now partially disabled, so traveling is difficult. So instead of going out to experience new cultures and adventures, we bring them to us through hosting!
Are you interested in making a student a part of your family for the spring 2025 semester? Submit an inquiry and you’ll be the first to hear when profiles of our first spring 2025 semester students go online!
