Hosts hard to find for French kids

by Brett Nelson

For two months each year, Linda Turner works diligently to place French exchange students in households around Nevada County. Typically, she finishes the task of matching 20 teen-agers to appropriate homes by the end of May.

Now into mid-July, Turner said she is sweating about whether she will find homes for four youths. If she fails to locate host families, those boys will not be able to board the airplane in France.

Turner, a coordinator for World Exchange, said she has never had difficulty finding suitable families to participate. But the past two years have been problematic.

The World Exchange program, a national nonprofit organization that promotes international relations through cultural exchanges, said anti-French sentiment in the United States has a lot to do with the lack of available homes.

"While it has been difficult to find hosts for exchange students for the past few years, this year is proving to be the worst yet. The historic friendship between France and the U.S. has been strained and much healing remains to be done," World Exchange said in a statement.

Turner said she is not sure anti-French sentiment has an impact in Nevada County, but she cannot explain why there are fewer interested families.

The program is designed to promote culture exchange at a grassroots level.

Each summer, about 20 teen-agers from France travel to the county to immerse themselves with American families. The goal is to teach them about American culture, language and everyday life, she said.

Last July, Jeanie Moore and her family hosted Xiever - a 15-year-old boy from the coast of France. For those with teen-agers at home, it works great, she said.

"He fit in beautifully," Moore said.

Xiever spent most of his time with Moore's then-16-year-old son Kyle Shoberg and his friends.

Moore said the boys learned a lot from each other about their different lifestyles and expanded their worlds beyond the county. So much so, in fact, that Shoberg and his friends want to travel to France next year to visit Xiever, she said.

World Exchange screens all students before accepting them into the program. Each teen-ager is relatively fluent in English, provides his or her own spending cash and has insurance.

Host families are volunteers who provide bed and board and want to incorporate the youth into everyday life. Complete background information is provided on the students, Turner said.

BECOMING A HOST

If you are interested in becoming a host family through World Exchange, or would like more information, contact Linda Turner at 477-7706. A group of 19 French students and one coordinator/translator will visit Nevada County from July 31 to Aug. 19.