by Jaimee | May 8, 2026 | Blog, Hosting, Students
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate all of the incredible mother figures in our lives . . . including the amazing host moms who have opened their hearts and homes to an exchange student. A host mom’s role goes far beyond simply providing a place for an exchange student...
by Jaimee | Mar 6, 2026 | Blog, Hosting
Ben and Natalie Blackmon of Clarksville, Tennessee never planned to become host parents. Natalie had been a Local Coordinator with International Experience for over four years, spending that time supporting high school exchange students throughout their time in the...
by Jaimee | Oct 27, 2025 | Blog, Hosting
It should come as no surprise that we believe hosting an exchange student is a wonderful and life-changing experience. But we also know from years of experience that parenting someone else’s teenager, no matter where they’re from, can come with unique...
by Jaimee | Aug 28, 2025 | Blog, Hosting, Students
At 17, Lia Quinones is one of iE’s youngest recruiting local coordinators – but her earliest memory around student exchange was when she was just 13. Her mom, Regional Director Michelle Bakke, saw an ad on Facebook about hosting and asked Lia and her siblings what...
by Jaimee | Aug 7, 2025 | Blog, Hosting
Sara Fletcher has worked with exchange students for years – first as a Local Coordinator, and now as a Regional Director, where she oversees the placement and supervision of iE students in the Midwest USA, as well as several Southern states. She’s also a host...
by Jaimee | Jul 3, 2025 | Blog, Hosting, Schools, Students
Covering 3.8 million square miles and comprising over 340 million people, the United States is one of the largest countries in the world – and in every community across the USA, “sharing your America” looks a little bit different. So what are the things that make us...
