Do you have an Open Heart for Young people and an available bed or area in your home? Be A Host for CIEE for 2011-2012 School Year

Do you have a heart for Teenagers, desiring International experience? Would you like to experience a foreign culture up close and personal? Do you have an extra bed or space to put an extra bed in your warm and friendly home?

If yes, You could be the Host of an International High School Exchange Student with CIEE. We have applicants from various countries Brazil, China, Thailand, South Korea, Mongolia, Germany, Ukraine and many others will be coming in between now and May.

Please go to our website and read about what is necessary for being a Host Family and click on the "Register" next to Host Family.

http://www.ciee.org/highschool/host-families/being-a-host-family.html
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Would you like your High School Student to experience a foreign educational exchange experience in a foreign country? You can find information about this on here also.

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If you have questions or would like assistance in completing your application, or know someone who is interested in hosting call me or email me with the information and I can schedule an appointment to come and meet with you.

Dot Wiggins
Local Coordinator CIEE, Mid Eastern North Carolina
Cell (919) 219-2650
Email dotwigg@gmail.com

Countdown to International Education and Cultural Exchange Fair

CIEE Families and Students Invite you to join us

CIEE Host Families and Students of Eastern North Carolina (Triangle area and surrounding areas) are planning a few events and invite you to join us:














Saturday, September 25th 5-9 pm. CIEE meets the Carolina Railhawks in Cary, NC... http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/


We will meet at the stadium at 4:45pm to assemble our group and meet everyone and enter as a group. We will be wearing Navy Blue and Red shirts will be the coordinators. Meet and Greet with the team starts at 5pm, personal pictures are allowed and then the game starts at 7pm. Cost is $7.oo per person. Please RSVP by email dotwigg@gmail.com payment confirms your reservation, send payment by paypal :DOROTHY WIGGINS, (NO CREDIT CARDS!, must use bank account or paypal acct transfer) or mail check to CIEE Railhawks game 120 New Castle Ct, Youngsville, NC 27596 by September 18th!





November 20th International Education Exchange and Cultural Fair and Conference. We are hosting a fair and conference at the Smithfield Agriculture building in Smithfield, NC from 4pm until 7pm. Several exchange students will be performing music, dance, and theater from their countries. Their will be games, displays, food samples, and business opportunities that impact and service the International Community. The world is really alot smaller when we look at all the similarities and technology resources that are available today to bridge the gap. We can easily travel around the world in a day and on this evening the world will be seen in a few hours. Spaces are still available for families/groups/mission trips to showcase their international trips and work abroad, heritage or research projects and for vendors/business/ministries to showcase their opportunities. $20.00 for us to setup tables, include business card ad in our advertisements and program, or $10.00 for space to setup your own tables and for line inclusion in advertisements and program. RSVP your space and needs to dotwigg@gmail.com and confirm with payments through paypal :DOROTHY WIGGINS or mail to International Fair and Conference RSVP 120 New Castle Ct, Youngsville, NC 27596. Deadline is November 1st.

Exchanging can lead to alot of Laughter...

Part of Hosting an International High school Student is to allow them to show you about them, their culture and abilities. Kwon told us in his application that he loves music, plays in his choir and praise band and church and likes to play piano, guitar, and other musical instruments. So this morning, our 1st real day together as a family, we broke out our keyboard and ask him to play for us. which he eagerly did, and then Chris decided to try it and well hence the laughter! Our keyboard is the full functioning kind and plays itself (halleluah!!) and Chris started pushing the autoplay buttons and many of the songs Kwon knew and he grabbed his Japanese flute and began accompanying Chris and the keyboard. Good times can be so simple and yet yield learning and alot of enjoyment for all.

Enjoy the Show :)!.

The Educated Experienced International Student willing to share his musical abilities.

The musically disadvantaged "Host" Dad attempting to play

Come Meet Kwon from South Korea and consider hosting

Many of the students have Arrived!!! many are coming in the next few weeks to start they full school year (10 month plan) others will arrive in January for the (5 month plan). Some students will need/request a move and will need new families so finding host families is a year long process. But, there are ways to be involved without being the "HOST" family (where the student lives while being here and attending school). You could have the student visit with you for a weekend or a special event or dinner, or attend a special event or dinner with our group. These students are 15-18 and just like our kids in many ways, they like to play sports (soccer, baseball, tennis, basketball and football) many want to try things they do not get to do in their countries, they play instruments, laugh, joke and love life.

Come and meet Kwonneung "Kwon" for short from South Korea. He is 15 will turn 16 in February. He will be attending Louisburg Highschool and wants to play soccer and basketball. He plays piano, and guitar, japanese drums and other instruments. He is Christian, his mom is a pastor in South Korea. The family he was going to be placed with could not be processed completely in time due to the background checks appeal process that are required with CIEE. Therefore my family is hosting him until we can find a family in the Louisburg area so he can remain in the Louisburg Highschool where is host family had started telling him about and where he and his family had started researching. Call me or email me and we can set up something. He is very anxious to start making friends and meeting kids his age at his school.

****Current Needs**********

Fully willing and committed families that can commit to hosting students is the South Johnston High area (Benson and Four Oaks area) and Rosewood areas. We have had families complete the applications asking to host students, had the students assigned, and make contact with the families and begin preparing to come to their homes and then while the student was in orientation (only 2 days before the student is to arrive to the host families) the families contacted us and expressed a desire to "cancel" their placement. We thankfully have previous host families and "welcoming families" just incase something like this happens but these families are only able to welcome the child from the airport and give them a warm and welcoming place to stay a get use to American living for 2 weeks while we find another premenate family. One family in the Rosewood area, hosted 2 students last year, and have been awesomely supportive to other host families agreed to host one of these students and post poned travel plans and dad had to get comfortable to having a teenage boy in the home with his teenage daughter, but they made the arrangements needed so that they could greet this young man and help him until his new family is found so that he could start school and begin his Journey to learning about America without delay because of circumstances beyond anyones control. Local coordinators cannot express how much we appreciate our host families and especially ones like this family that are there for these students and will make slight compromises and sacrafices for these students.

If you can commit to welcoming these students into your hearts, homes, and families for the remainder of the school year. You provide them a bed (they don't not have to have a separate bedroom if the child is within 5 years of age of them (at least 10) and same sex (no coed) sleeping arrangements. The students usually like sharing a room for the companionship and similarity of home (many have siblings). Meals, (some, because the students like to share their cultures foods and cooking, also if you eat out they have their spending money.) We suggest treating them like you would any visiting family member. As the adults and "Guardians" you would provide supervision and decision making authority of day to day activities to keep the child safe and behaving appropriately and in accordance with rules. You have support and mediation services with your local coordinator and our Team Leader Joy Gorman and if it is above her authority or abilities or you or the student is not happy CIEE also has support staff. In exchange for your willingness to work with the international student and extend your hospitality you receive alot of admiration from the student and their family. Their notes and little gifts also make me cry. You and your family enjoy experiencing and learning a new language, culture and culinary skil while you help the student learn yours by just talking and allowing them to participate in the things you do everyday. Although there is no payment for hosting, you can claim a $50.00 tax credit for each month you host a student.

If you are interested call or email me or check out the website: www.ciee.org/hs/host if you are ready to start your Hosting experience click on the register and complete the application by answering all the questions about yourself, spouse, family, home and typical weekday and weekend routines. We will upload pictures when we come out to meet you if you need assistance with that. But, please confirm background checks on anyone 18 or older living in the home and click the submit button and someone in your area or Joy Gorman will call and schedule an interview. If you have more questions or want to reach her, she is available at (919) 830-9194 or through email aprayerpartner@msn.com

2. I you or anyone you know has laptop computers that the students can purchase for reasonable prices or that can be loaned to them to use please contact me.

3. Kwon was not able to bring his guitar with him and enjoys playing in the praise band at home and another student really wants to learn to play the guitar and kwon could teach him and others to play if they had guitars to use. If you or someone you know has 2 guitars that we can borrow or know of good guitars for a reasonable price please email me or call me.

Hosting Makes the World seem smaller and friendlier

We are the World and we are similar in alot of ways and hosting and being an exchange student is a great way to see this. And once you see the we are all hoping and trying to make a difference you have relationship and bridges to cross the great divide.

Tis the season of International learning experiences, many students are preparing to come to the US or are here awaiting placement into homes of those willing to share and show the students what America has to offer. The students come to attend school for the school year, participate in clubs and sports, join in on youth groups and other things that teens do. They come from all over the globe, but a large number come from Germany, Russia, Thailand, South Korea, and China. Both boys and girls age 15- 18 apply to the program, submit to testing, SLEP to determine their level of understanding of the English language and they write the most passionate personal letters about themselves, their family and their desire to come to the US.

If you would like more information see the website; www.ciee.org/hs/host or contact me and we can discuss hosting in more detail and complete your application and submit your information for a background check and get the process started to match you with a student.

Dot Wiggins
Local Coordinator in North Carolina
(919) 219-2650
dotwigg@gmail.com

If you are ready to apply, go to the website www.ciee.org/hs/host select "HOST FAMILY" and click "REGISTER" completely fill out the application, making sure to fill all the blanks, for children or retired/unemployed people enter "Student/unemployed/retired in the occupation blank. and confirm all the adults for background checks and I or someone in your area will be in touch. In the blank that asks "How did you hear about the hosting opportunity" please enter Dot Wiggins blog or Facebook.

Please share your hosting experiences here and let us know where you are located, we may plan a trip to visit :). If you are planning "field trips or tours with your students and can include more please let us know too, we might be able to join you.

Happy Hosting.... Lets make the world smaller and more friendly by "Opening our homes and hearts to international students".

Can you Host an International High School Exchange Student? YES!!! you CAN!!!!

International High School students from countries all around the world are looking for safe and welcoming homes to come and stay in for 5 or 10 months while they become part of the family, are emersed in the American culture and English language and attend American high school and learn about out government, civics, personal interactions, academics and extra curricular activites. Many of these students are top performers and this experience is necessary to increase their chances of getting into the "University" {college} in their country. Many countries have such a competitive entrance to be able to attend any quality higher education that the students and their families work to achieve any advantage they can to improve their chances of being selected by a good school so that they are able to obtain a good job. What a refreshing diligence and commitment to hardwork and academic and intelligence achievement, from children.

What is required to be a host?
1. Home (house, apartment, trailer with 2 or more people) that is safe and appropriate for a student. They do not require their own room usually, as long as they will be sharing a room with a sibling 8 or old ( to protect their belongs, sleep and study time). Most students enjoy sharing a room to learn and bond with members better and to have total emersion into the customs and language.

2. Access to transportation. They can use public transportation or you can drive them places. They do have to get to and from school and occasional trips to stores or sites to be able to experience the area. CIEE coordinators are available to help and they schedule "group" events and trips to help provide the students activities.

3. Food. Host families are asked to provide some meals for the student so they experience our cuisine, however they do have spending money and can purchase their lunches and dinners out but making sure they have access to appropriate food is necessary.

4. Allowing them to participate with family activities and trips, they enjoy this and it helps bond with them and helps them experience more language and personal interaction responses in natural settings.

5. Filling out the application and passing the background check. see the website for more information. {If something comes back from distant passed it may not prevent your being able to host, it will be discussed and determined on a per case basis}

What do you get for all this???

1. A detailed profile report with picture of your student, address, email, and phone number so you can make contact and start building a repoure with them. {Not all organizations give this, it is just one of the differences with CIEE}. Information about the parents, the health of the student, any allergies, concerns or dislikes (pets, small children, smoking), academic scores, transcript of their schooling, a letter from the student to their host, a note from the parents, a profile of the country the student is from, information about their town or city and a supportive and resourceful coordinator that is available throughout the process and during the exchange period. A network of mangement within the CIEE organization, including a coordinator in the home country.

2. The experience of seeing your home and property in a different way. Looking at the routine things you do as something much more important or seeing "strange things you do and don't know why" you do them until you try to explain them.

2. Someone who pitches in without demanding allowance or reward. A new sense of your prescence in your home and maybe some much lacking appreciation of the little things that just seem like expected or the normal way moms do things.

3. $50.00/ month of hosting tax credit. see website or your coordinator for more information.

4. Joy of seeing someone learn and do new things for the first time and of helping someone achieve their goals.

5. Your family will learn about another country, its customs, foods, and language. It is great for children to experience first hand how similar people are and to learn by tasting the foods or seeing the pictures of foreign places.

6. Many, many thanks and possible gifts from the student and the parents. A new longterm friendship with someone in a foreign country.

7. A sense of influence on someones life, and a sense of pride when you hear how they are succeeding once they go back to their country. Knowledge that you helped enhance someones learning and development, while just living and doing your normal activities and sharing your home and life with them.

My Story of Host to Coordinator

I was so impressed with the procedures and information provided by CIEE to their host families that I inquired about becoming more involved in helping with the exchange program and my coordinator invited me to join the team as a coordinator. Our exchange student, "Mek", has been an instant joy and such a blessing to our household from the moment he called 2 and 1/2 hours before his arrival time here in North Carolina from Chicago, just to let me know he was on time and looking forward to meeting us. He was so excited that we were coming to meet him at the airport and pick him up to bring him to our home. He was not "expecting" us to come since he had been told we lived a distance from the airport and that the coordinator sometimes picks up the students at the airport and takes them to their host homes.

He was instantly engaged with our family and even played soccer with our son while waiting for dinner his first night, after flying most of day and having jet lag. Every opportunity to experience something new is eagerly embraced and he fearlessly and diligently seeks new opportunities and information at every opportune moment. He is from Thailand, therefore football there, is our soccer, which he had played there many years but he is an avid American football fan and wanted to tryout for the American football team at his school.

We made some calls and he was able to "walk on" and he made it onto the team as a Receiver. Although he only "played" approximately 15 minutes 2 or 3 plays at the very end of 2 different games, but he was so proud and excited to be part of the team. He was a great encourager and very popular on his team. He worked hard to learn and work out like all the other players, while standing on the sidelines for the entire game he was pumped and positive, diligently watching and cheer for his team mates.

It has been 4 months and we are so attached to him we have started bargining with his awesome parents in Thailand to keep him. ha ha.. We have been so impressed with his parents also, they have been warm and friendly and extremely thankful for our willingness to have their son stay with us and learn about America. They sent us awesome gifts and have called us several times, we even skyped once which was truly amazing. We will never be the same, we have been so blessed by this opportunity and are as excited and diligent about our education of Thailand, its customs, culture and language. This has been a great bonding time and a source of alot of laughter in our home, as my husband, who has a very slow southern drawl attempted to pronounce Thai words. Ah... it really is the little things and the simple things of life that make the most laughter.

We embrace this experience as the ultimate stewardship exercise and a truely faith expression. Our family is so blessed with adequate housing, and although not ideal always food supply we have never not had food to choose from, as long as we were willing to cook it. We have income enough to cover expenses and had the room to open our home to help someone. It does not get much better than that, God always equips us to be able to provide anything we are asked to give, we just have to be willing and bold enough to take that step or receive the email or phone call.

Can you open your home and hearts to one of these awesome high school students (15-18 years old) needing a home and a host to help them receive the experience and education they need to be fully equipped for what they are called to do?

Check out the website for more information, and to sign up as host family. www.CIEE.org/highschool


Email me and let me know you signed up, If you are in Franklin County, I will be your coordinator, if you are other counties in North Carolina (Triangle Area) I can team up with your coordinator to help get you ready for your awesome experience and you can talk with Mek and get some pointers of how to welcome your student. If you are outside of the triangle area of North Carolina or in another state I am still interested in teaming up with you and helping in anyway I can.

Welcome to the Proud and Bold Sharing community or CIEE Host Families, and just like a physical family, we help and support each other. Feel free to email or call me, Dot Wiggins, cell phone (919) 219-2650.