{"id":38695,"date":"2013-06-21T14:41:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-21T21:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=38695"},"modified":"2013-06-21T15:09:28","modified_gmt":"2013-06-21T22:09:28","slug":"local-host-families-needed-for-french-students-coming-to-av","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/06\/21\/local-host-families-needed-for-french-students-coming-to-av\/","title":{"rendered":"Local host families needed for French students coming to AV"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Host<\/a>LANCASTER \u2013 Two groups of students from France will be visiting the Antelope Valley this summer to experience American culture.<\/p>\n

The local coordinator for international students is looking for area host families to open their homes \u2013 and their worlds \u2013 to these French students.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternational exchange is important for cultures to experience the differences in each other\u2019s way of life, language, food, and education. It really is an educational program,\u201d said Arlene Gonzalez, local coordinator for Horizons Du Monde.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez, who works for Lancaster School District, coordinates educational international student exchanges year round through the EF Foundation for Foreign Study, a nonprofit organization committed to promoting global awareness.<\/p>\n

This summer, Gonzalez is working with Horizons Du Monde to welcome French students, mainly from Paris, to the Antelope Valley to experience our local culture.<\/p>\n

Two groups of French students will be visiting the Antelope Valley for about three weeks this summer, Gonzalez says. The first group of students, ages 15 to 18, will be visiting from July 11 to August 1, 2013. The second group, ages 13 to 18, will be visiting the Valley from July 30 to August 20.<\/p>\n

There are about 18 students in the first group and 16 students in the second group, and Gonzalez is seeking one local host family per student. The ideal host families are involved in the community and have children around the ages of the international students; however, host families are not required to have children, Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mandatory requirements are that students must have their own beds\u2026 and families are required to house and feed the students,\u201d Gonzalez said. Host families are not paid, but Gonzalez says the experience makes it all worthwhile.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Families] are doing it for the purpose of exchange of cultures and for the educational experience for their children,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very exciting and eye opening experience, especially for our youth here in the Antelope Valley. Most of them have never sat and spoke and exchanged information about lifestyles, so this gives them a chance to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a local coordinator for the program, Gonzalez will conduct activities twice a week with the students. The students will spend the rest of the time with their host families, as the main focus of the program is for students to experience an American family while perfecting their English.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students that are coming have all studied the English language for at least three years,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cMost of them are proficient, but they would like to perfect their studies of English as well as experience American culture first-hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest reason families should participate is because it establishes a positive understanding of different cultures,\u201d Gonzalez added.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a host family to a French student this summer, contact Arlene Gonzalez at 661-492-6339 or send an email to gonzalezad3@aol.com<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 Two groups of students from France will be visiting the Antelope Valley this summer to experience American culture. The local coordinator for international students is looking for area host families to open their homes \u2013 and their worlds \u2013 to these French students. \u201cInternational exchange is important for cultures to experience the differences […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":38696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38695"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}