Host An Exchange Student And Make A Lifelong Connection [AUDIO]

UNDATED - You can welcome a student from another country into your home this next school year.  Foreign exchange students are being placed in Central Minnesota homes now.

Darlene Dierkes is from Sauk Rapids.  Her family hosted students from Germany in 2007 and in 2008.  She says Americans are sometimes thought of in a negative way in other parts of the world, and this was a way to help change those stereotypes.

She says her new "kids", Sebastian and Isabelle, are now just a part of their family.

Hortense Butrot is an exchange student from France, who is living with a Big Lake family this school year.  She says she tells her friends back home it's been a positive experience living in Minnesota.

She says she had a sibling who had previously stayed in Anoka, so she had a little bit of an idea of what to expect in Minnesota.

Butrot barely spoke any English when she arrived last fall, but now speaks the language pretty well.  She heads back to France on June 8th.

Richard Barkalow is the coordinator for the Foreign Exchange program here in Central Minnesota.  He says they usually place 10-15 students each school year, but they've been struggling to find host families for next year.  He says, if you're interested in learning more, you can call him at (320) 250-4867.