For the second time, we hosted a 12 year old boy from China in an exchange program. Two different kids, one was named Frank and the other was named Jason. We had a wonderful time and we signed up to do it next year as well. These kids are incredibly brave. At age 15 (three years older than these kids) I went to summer camp for two weeks, hated every minute of it and left a week into the experience. And that summer camp was only two towns over from where I lived. So no, I couldn't do what these kids do.
You don't have to be perfect to host a family. We have a loud, energetic Dalmatian puppy who is incredibly high maintenance. She requires a lot of attention can sometimes be overwhelming. I think Jason was a little scared of her. Frank, the first one, didn't have to deal with her. My significant other and I are also lazy, obsessed with heavy metal and can't cook anything. So we feed them lots of fast food-which they loved-introduced them to the music of Anvil and played a lot of video games with them. We did take them to the science museum in Gainesville, a Rays game, the arcade, and an art museum as well. So we let them experience things outside our house.
Let them live their life. Both kids played on their phone. A lot. Sure, it's their generation but I also play on my phone a lot so it's just how the world works. Some families take phones away after a certain time. That's fine, it's their house and their rules-but how else could they speak with their families? Remember the time difference. Taking their phones away at 9 would mean they would have a much harder time talking to their families.
Live your life too. We had friends over, went to tae kwan do, and visited my aunt and grandmother this time around. Jason seemed to like all of it. Last year with Frank, it was our first time hosting so we were a bit more "paranoid" about living our lives. We didn't want Frank to feel overwhelmed so we kept it pretty laid back.
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