Expressing thanks is important because, believe it or not, those people that are SO very important to us don’t always know just how important to us they are. Have you heard about “love languages”? Gary Chapman has written a liturgy of books on what he’s penned the 5 love languages.  The idea here is that…

Three hours into my decoupage project: counter top covered in magazines and tiny scraps of paper. I am annoyed at the glue stuck to my hands, the way the finish is imperfect and still tacky as I test it, leaving the print of my index finger over the design of the collage. I find myself…

It’s the holiday season and for many American families this time is full of hustle and bustle: tree trimming, holiday parties, and excitement. ‘Tis the season.  There’s so much fun to be had during the holidays, but for many exchange students this part of the year can be filled with challenges. In orientation with CHI…

Just about one year ago, I was meeting the Harvey Newcomb family for the first time and I liked them instantly.  They felt like friends: open, welcoming, irreverent, and generally really great.  Together we got their application done, looked at a couple students’ applications and they decided to host Aline. Aline stayed a little after…

​​ Each year Cultural Homestay International offers one voucher for a drawing for airfare* for every seven host families.   Max and David (my kids) helped to draw this year’s winner from our seven host families:  The Drumhellers in Lovingston hosted Diego from Spain.  The Dempseys in Charlottesville hosted Alex from Slovakia.  The Harvey-Newcomb family…

The always lovely Wendy Edwards at WINA hosted us and a couple of the other exchange programs to talk about the opportunity of hosting an exchange student, what the program entails, and how to apply. You can check out our chat on Conversations with Wendy at the podcast here: Hour 1 Hour 2 So, if you’d…

  Virginia’s own exchange student, Thao, at Fluvanna County High School was written about on the Cultural Homestay International website. “CHI high school exchange student Thao Nguyen, from Vietnam, is one of seven CHI high school exchange students currently in Virginia.  Thao’s departure back to Vietnam at the end of her program this year is…

Sometimes I take to the streets (or farmers markets) to talk to people about hosting exchange students. One of our amazing local coffeeshops, Mudhouse, sometimes lets me set up a little table outside to talk to people and answer questions. While sitting outside Mudhouse, I heard a number of questions.  I get questions everywhere, but…