The exchange student is hosted by a volunteer family, mainly in a rural or semi-rural area, in the heart or in the suburbs of an urban area.

Families are very different from each other; each has its own habits and its own way of life. Participants must get used to the pace and rules of their hosts: that’s what this program is all about.

An exchange student can be placed in a traditional, blended or divorced family, with a single person, with or without children… There is no typical family.

Host families — parents and children — expect to create strong and lasting bonds with their host; they want young people to be involved in all aspects of family life. The principle of reception is based on a real exchange, a sharing, both in terms of activities, daily life,

Contacts and discussions will enrich all the protagonists. They will help the foreign student to better understand France and its culture.

Everyone learns a lot from such an exchange, but it is obviously the human relationships, woven and solidified over the days, that make this experience so rich.

Some advice on family life

1. Once placed, the student quickly contacts his host family. The latter also appreciates getting in touch with the natural parents of the young person she is going to receive.
2. The exchange student must be careful not to lock himself too much in his room, he would risk, by isolating himself, missing out on his experience. It is important for the family to get to know him and vice versa. Good relations with the latter will allow the young person to become more easily immersed in the way of life of his family. In France, it is common for all family members to eat together and discuss their days or their plans for the next day. The student must take advantage of these moments to speak and share with them his daily experience.
3. Families feel responsible for the young person in their care and expect him to keep them regularly informed of his activities and schedules.
4. Parents like their children to tidy up and clean their living space regularly, for them it is a sign of respect and good manners; the same is true with their exchange host, who, let’s remember, is considered a child of the family. An exchange student must therefore ensure that his room is kept in good order and not hesitate to offer his help with daily tasks.