“Last summer, my family decided at the very last minute to join the program. It was very spur of the moment, and we had no idea what to expect. At first, I was nervous. Who was this girl that had come across the sea to stay with us? She was sweet, friendly, and a really cool person, but I was very shy. I had no idea what to say. After a while, we started to warm up to each other, and she became like a big sister to me. We’d hang out in her room, and she’d ask my advice on things. She liked to write like I did, and so we talked about writing and traded stories. When she had to go, she gave everyone in my family a little good-bye gift. When she gave me mine, I started to cry. She came and gave me a hug, and started to cry, too. We both stood there, crying for a while, not wanting her to leave. We gave each other our emails, and it was bittersweet, watching her leave. But, we still email to this day, telling each other tales of our lives. We even sent each other birthday presents. The whole experience was heartwarming and enlightening. I’m still learning more things about her, and she is a very inspiring person. I am so glad the program brought her into my life.” -an American “host sibling,”

"Hosting a Spanish student for a month each summer has been an incredible experience for our family over the past seven years. We’ve built lifelong friendships, shared cultures, and made unforgettable memories. It’s a rewarding opportunity for families of all kinds—whether you have kids or not. I especially love that our family and/or older children can participate in the trips, making the experience even more special. The connections we’ve made go far beyond the summer, and we wouldn’t trade it for anything!"

"In the summer of 2024, we hosted a student from Madrid, Spain for 4 weeks. The experience was a very heart warming one. We hosted a 15 year old young man, Hugo, who was kind, courteous and funny. We learned so much from him in terms of his background, his family, his dreams for his future and his culture and history. On the other hand, he learned a lot from our American life sharing discussions with him regarding current events and history. We would definitely recommend this experience to anyone looking to broaden their horizons as well as looking to share the American way of life."

"We have been a part of the Global Friendship exchange program for the last 3 years and are excited to say that we just signed up for year 4. We cannot say enough wonderful things about the program. There is so much to gain out of being a host family for the Global Friendship exchange program. Our family has met so many other local families, have built long lasting relationships with our exchange students, and have the opportunity to enrich our lives learning about new cultures. The planned events are organized and give both the exchange student and host families the chance to explore local destinations and make lasting memories. We look forward to participating in this program every year."

"Hosting with Global Friendships was truly an amazing and rewarding experience for our family. The program provided well-planned activities, and as hosts, we had the flexibility to choose which ones our guest would join. We really enjoyed the opportunity to share our culture and interests while learning about our guest student. By the end of the month our guest seemed more like family than a guest and saying goodbye was difficult, but we have stayed in touch and are excited to visit her and her family in Madrid this spring. We highly recommend this experience and look forward to participating again this year."

"Last summer was our first time hosting a student from Spain. It was a great experience! Our students (we ended up with two! bonus!) were extremely responsible, polite, respectful and grateful. All of the students speak English well. We exposed our kids and grandkids to other cultures, foods and languages. We made friends for life and have been invited to visit Spain. My husband and I highly recommend giving it a try!"

"Our family has hosted 6 times and each time has been great. Our daughters were 9 & 11 the first time we hosted and it has been really cool to see how the relationships with the Spanish students are different as they matured. While there were many fun group activities, some of the most fun we had was just doing stuff at home like board games, cooking and watching TV. We have also become friends with many of the host families. We were fortunate to be able to go to Spain this summer and visit with 4 of our former students and their families as well as one of the group leaders. Thanks to Global Friendships and Interway, we have priceless memories and forever friends."

"Hosting an exchange student not only deepens your family’s cultural competence, it builds friendships that promote mutual respect and cooperation among countries."