We’ve hosted kids on a short summer visit, and kids for a semester of the school year.
The summer visit kids were part of a group from France that were placed with families in our town, mostly with friends of my S’s. They didn’t have any organized activities other than those provided by us, the other families, and our kids. It was fun.
And yes, IIRC, the placement was comparatively last minute.
I hosted the French exchange student from … Hades. More disciplinary conferences in that one semester than my two sons totaled over their K-12 careers. I do have some very funny stories now that it’s a decade in the past – including the one about calling 911 from the pay phone in the school gym when he was supposed to be in study hall. Not once, not twice, but three times in 5 minutes. (The school is in the flight path to a local airport and every bit of emergency equipment in town showed up … for the three 911 hangups.)
My advice is to read their applications – and read between the lines – and trust your gut! Most people have great experiences.
The two youngest daughters of the lovely French family who hosted my daughter for 10 months are here in the US on a very informal basis just for the summer. They’re technically au pairs, but aren’t paid, since it’s illegal. Mostly, they’re just here to learn English.
We’ve had them stay with us several days when their host families had houseguests.
The key to a successful stay is communication of expectations. What things do you take for granted in your house that others might not know without being told? Do you expect them to make their own breakfast and lunch? Expect them to have dinner with your family? Any chores you’d like them to do?
Ask them what they hope to get out of the experience. Any local attractions they want to visit? Do they want you to correct their English?
When you know why they’re here, and they know what to expect in your house, you’ll have a much better time.
@BunsenBurner, my Chinese students all drink hot water to quench their thirst. It’s not just for tea, and it doesn’t have to be boiled. It’s a cultural practice. They believe hot water is better for the body than cold.
Part of my mesage did not post. My point was that even in the those parts of the US where the water quality is considered to be pretty decent, no one would get hot water for human consumption from a hot water tap. 
( My niece is taking summer quarter classes at a local U with a bunch of foreign college students, mainly from China, and she has not noticed anyone drinking hot water at lunch. They all go for the soft drinks. 
@CheddarcheeseMN - We took in a student that didn’t work out in the first family and the situation did go well in ours either. The organization told us that the girl did not get along with the father. Well, that was false. She got along great with men but was condescending to me and not nice to my girls. Thank goodness it was only for 4 months. My poor kids. I felt like I had allow an enemy in to the house. We also had to deal with issues about staying out too late, running up the phone bill big time (before cell phones) and just not being considerate. My dh thought she was nice… and she was…to him. I still would like to do it but for a much shorter time.
We are hosting 2 16 year old girls ffor 1 month. 1 is from China and 1 is from France. We have no children at home
We are hosting because there is a desperate need for host families. I liked the idea of doing this for a month,so we can find out what its like. They do a backround check on us, and came here on MON night.
There are hot (drinking) water dispensers at the Hong Kong International Airport. As well as cold water drinking fountains and both Asian and Western food outlets.
My one my kids lives in Asia. Was told to boil water before drinking since the water quality may be suspect. It can be fine coming from the purification plant, but many pipes are old and may not be drinkable by the time it gets to your faucet. Don’t know if that’s any more explanation than “it’s a cultural thing” or preference. Many Chinese friends seem to prefer to drink hot water even in the US.
The organization has then MON through FRI from 8:30 to 5 :30. !/2 the day is English lessons, 1/2 the day are field trips, to the Statue of Liberty, NYC, and other exciting places. We need to provide 3 meals a day, so I plan to offer cereal and fruit in the morning, a bagged lunch, and a cooked dinner.
Sounds like you’ve thought this through. I hope you make two nice new young friends from this experience. As was said, it helps to make sure you and the young people have common clear expectations from the beginning. Let us know how it goes.
Show them how to operate the shower, the toilet, and specify you know they have those at home but sometimes systems are different and it’s better if they don’t find out when they’re in the shower. (say it happened to a previous exchange student - so that they don’t interpret it as ‘they think we hadn’t seen a shower before’)
French students are used to eating a hot dinner with their family every night. Indicate whether you expect them there and if you allow them to eat out specify if it’s once or twice a week and whether they ought to tell you in the morning or can call, check whether they have a curfew (often it’s 10pm until 16 and often the family’s expected to pick them up unless they can walk back safely.)
If the high school is in session during their stay, you might check with the local public school if it’s OK, and offer the kids to take them thzre to spend a day (the group leaders will likely be OK ) - for them to see classes that aren’t typically offered abroad: digital media, 3D art, marketing, current events, anything that involves diorama, drama, speech, choir -anything outside the core classes - or plus watching the glee club (blame the TV show glee) and/or a football or baseball or cheerleading practice.
The French students will likely be interested in an AP class in their ‘serie’ (sayree duh back) IE their high school 'major ': if L for arts and letters or ES for social science, AP English or AP European history. If S for science, AP calculus or AP chemistry or physics. French kids are gaga over yellow school buses and lockers because they have seen those in all our TV shows
Both will likely not be religious (might be atheist) but explain your beliefs and everything offered at the church/temple (Sunday school, bible camp, senior trip, socials, tutoring, bar/bat mitsvah, charity events, mission trips…). Make sure to tell them ahead of time what type of dress is expected, when they should be ready, and as they might be hesitant about indoctrination, help them see it as a cultural experience that’s shared by millions of American teenagers. Provide them with a teen bible or sacred book to flip through ahead of time if you can.
If you can afford it, a movie with a bucket of popcorn will be an experience.
Going to a 24/7 diner and a big store at 10pm, a Starbucks, would be other experiences they’ll remember.
Expect them to be beat when they arrive and regardless of their fluency they’ll probably be unable to respond much when you pick them up. Make sure you know if they have dietary obligations (allergies or religious). They’ll likely wake very early due to jetlag so if you’re home you may surprise them with a special breakfast (pancakes and maple syrup, sausage, blueberries, you get the idea :p). At that point they’ll understand your questions. You may need to speak more slowly especially at first. It may be their first total immersion visit (the French studznts have probably been to the UK or Ireland once or twice - some kids start going there at 11-12 and this summer in Roissy there was a group of primary school kids going on a 5-day trip. But the US is a a longer stay and a possible bigger culture shock.
Many Chinese people are lactose-intolerant, so if you are just offering cereal with milk in the morning as your only breakfast choice, it may be problematic. You may want to have some other options on hand.
I have to disagree with @MYOS1634 on the religion issue.
If you normally go to religious services every week, by all means ASK them if they are interested in going with you as a cultural experience on some occasion, making it clear that you are not proselytizing, and it is fine if they choose not to go. You could certainly give a general description of your religious affiliation, but “explaining your faith” and describing every single activity undertaken by your congregation, as if to suggest that they ought to participate, really is being too pushy, IMHO. I would NOT give them religious books to read unless they actually ask to see them.
They may be interested and ask you questions: I think this is an area where you ought to follow their lead, not impose your own preferences.
For that matter, you might ask them if there are any religious observances THEY wish to partake of.
I also disagree with pushing stereotypical experiences. This is an opportunity for them to experience the diversity of how Americans really live, not reinforce stereotypes they see in movies and on TV. If you don’t normally go to big box stores at 10 pm, or eat fast food, why do it with them? One of my students wanted to go to a McDonalds to see if the food was the same, so we did that. Once. If you don’t normally eat a diet consisting mostly of burgers, hot dogs, and the like, why give them the impression that you do? Sure, I think introducing them to good BBQ is a great idea, just like other American summer specialties such as corn on the cob or strawberry shortcake or blueberry pie.
Maybe they would like to cook a dinner for you after a few weeks. Our kids did.
Soy milk is widely available and you may want to offer it. Soy milk is a common beverage in China, although it’s very different from our commercial varieties.
^ the mention if religious books was simply because they may never have seen one, and it may help them figure out what it’s like. China has ‘authorized’ religions which must follow communist party doctrine and government rules. France is proudly secular, with very very few people who learn about their grandparents ’ religion, do the passage-to-adulthood ceremonies, or attend any sort of service regularly. Some. Regions (especiallyBrittany and Vendee ) are very proudly catholic, and there may be some pride and better knowledge from Jewish and Muslim students, but by and by the concept that one can be smart and believe in an unseen entity is going to be foreign to them. To be clear, I didn’t mean explaining religious tenets, but pointing out roles churches and temples play in American society, which would e very different in their culture.
I agree that if they have religious obligations it may be something to know.
^ the mention if religious books was simply because they may never have seen one, and it may help them figure out what it’s like. China has ‘authorized’ religions which must follow communist party doctrine and government rules. France is proudly secular, with very very few people who learn about their grandparents ’ religion, do the passage-to-adulthood ceremonies, or attend any sort of service regularly. Some. Regions (especiallyBrittany and Vendee ) are very proudly catholic, and there may be some pride and better knowledge from Jewish and Muslim students, but by and by the concept that one can be smart and believe in an unseen entity is going to be foreign to them. To be clear, I didn’t mean explaining religious tenets, but pointing out roles churches and temples play in American society, which would e very different in their culture.
I agree that if they have religious obligations it may be something to know.
Oh I don’t know if China is as restricted as this comment makes it sound. Maybe officially it is, but what people actually do is different. My preference is to avoid religion entirely unless THEY ask about it.
@Onward , why didn’t you refuse to house the inconsiderate foreign exchange student like the previous hosts did, especially since you felt like you had an enemy living in your house? I wouldn’t have put up with it for four months!
Back in the days when I played carpool driver for my kiddo and her teammates, one of such carpools included a French teenage girl (15-16?). She was an exchange student living with the family of one of thr kiddos’ teammates. One day, I needed to swing by Costco to grab a few things. I supplied my carpoolers with cash to get smoothies at the food court and instructed them to wait for me outside, because they were not too enthused about going in. When I came out, the girls were laughing hysterically. The French kid was amazed and amused by the size of TP packs and other goodies and how much people were rolling out of the store! She has never seen anything like that in France. The American kiddos were laughing at her reaction. All were having good fun! The French exchange student then asked me to take her Costco shopping next time so she could bring her camera (pre-smartphone days)! I think her hosts took her shopping and enjoyed laughing with her.
Bottom line: it is sometimes impossible to predict what will strike your visitors as amazing, unusual, fun, etc.