The MacDonald Family of Tennessee hosted a German girl about the same age as their own daughter. There were moments of adjustment for all family members, but they quickly passed as student really became a part of their family. They enjoyed hosting for the full-year program as they said, "A year wasn't even long enough. We would have been terribly sad if she had left after only half a year!"

The Chan family hosted a young girl who attended school with their 13-year-old daughter. They said that communication was a little hard at first, but after a few weeks they really began to understand each other beyond words: "We learned kids are kids, no matter where they are from. We didn't realize we could learn to care for someone so much in such a short time!"

Katarine Kreuger from Germany became great friends with Ana Luiza Paiva from Brazil while they both attended a local high school in Texas. They loved getting to know their American classmates while Katarine joined the tennis team and Ana Luiza joined the drama club. Each girl had very different experiences with their host families, but neither of the girls would have traded their experiences for the world! "I will never forget my host family and hope they will come to visit me in Germany soon," said Katarine, adding, "I will miss playing with my 7-year old host brother because I have only older siblings at home."