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Explore these Newsletter Highlights
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Welcome to the October Edition!
Happy Fall, y'all!
From Friday night lights to marching band competitions, corn mazes to haunted houses, spirit week to homecoming dances, we hope you and your student(s) have been enjoying some of the uniquely American experiences that fall in the U.S. has to offer. We are thrilled to have you as part of the AFS family this year! Thank you for continuing to write the story of love, connection, and understanding across cultures and borders.
We are co-chairs of the Support Advisory Group and support volunteers in our respective local Area Teams. One of the hallmarks of AFS is the support we provide to host families and students. The Support Advisory Group is composed of Support Staff and volunteers and exists to provide resources and support to local volunteers in their support of you and your student(s). Support volunteers have undergone extensive training and have access to lots of cool resources for you and your students, so let them know how it's going! We want to help you navigate questions or concerns and celebrate the highlights of your experience so far. We are on this journey with you.
With appreciation,
Allison Barton and Gayle Jordan
AFS-USA Volunteers
P.S. If you missed the September edition, you can view past newsletters here.
"From the moment Mudy arrived...our world expanded in ways we will cherish forever. We had not just hosted an exchange student—we had gained a son, a brother, and a lifelong connection to Tanzania. Hosting Mudy taught us that cultural differences are not barriers—they are bridges to understanding. We learned the value of patience, empathy, and adaptability. We discovered that faith traditions can co-exist harmoniously under one roof when there is mutual respect. Most importantly, we learned that love and connection transcend borders, languages, and customs. It is a gift that lasts a lifetime."
Read more about their experience hosting Mudy on our blog!
What former AFS students said their host families did to impact them in big ways:
- When they cook my favorite food or Egyptian food to make me feel home. Also watch tv shows and movies that make us really close because we discuss together. When we also celebrate any event together that helps me a lot make a lot of good memories with them. -Hanin from Egypt
- My host family taught me how to love animals just as much as humans. They taught me that pets are more than cute animals, but they are also a huge part of the family and now I care about them as much as I care about my host sister. – Phoebe from Indonesia
- They went out of their way to make me fit in with their family by bringing me to visit their son and grandchild who live eight hours away, even though the three of us live alone. I think by integrating your exchange students into your family outside of yourself and taking them to meet the other people in your life would help a lot. – Yong Sin from Malaysia
American Holidays
For many of our students, Halloween is the first big American holiday they celebrate with host families. Whether your family likes to dress up or simply stay home to pass out candy, Halloween is an opportunity for you to share some of your family holiday traditions with your student(s). Halloween is also an opportunity to sit down with your student(s) to talk about their safety.
Whether it’s trick-or-treating, a bonfire, or a Halloween party – students may be invited out by their classmates or friends. It’s a good idea to have a conversation with your student(s) prior to Halloween night, to remind them of any curfews and communication expectations you have put in place for going out with friends.
It's also a good time to speak with your student(s) more generally about your family’s holiday traditions and to even inquire about what holiday traditions your student(s) might have back home. You can read more about planning for holidays here.
The Post Arrival “Slump”
Now that arrivals are a few weeks behind us, many host families and students might notice a shift in the tone of their experience. As the students settle into their schools, homes, and communities, this is when adjustment concerns can start to arise as cultural, interpersonal, and language differences emerge (for both students and families). Please see this Help & Learning for Host Families article for more resources about cultural adjustments.
If you have any concerns about the mental or emotional well-being of your hosted student(s), please contact your liaison immediately and see this article in Help & Learning for Host Families for more comprehensive information.
Completing required homework and assignments on time is not necessarily standard practice around the world. Students may struggle to understand the importance of due dates in the U.S. school system or how turning things in late might negatively impact their grade or access to opportunities.
The following questions can help you gain insight into the unique cultural background of your student(s) and better understand how these cultural differences may impact their views and understanding of homework and due dates.
- How often do teachers assign homework in your home country?
- How strict are the due dates for homework and other classroom assignments?
- What happens if you turn in homework assignments late? Or do not complete it at all?
These questions may also help you begin to formulate strategies to address challenges if they arise. To learn more, check out this series of ‘Cultural Considerations in the Classroom’ and feel free to share them with your students’ teachers.
Two important resources that we recommend you dive into with your student(s) if you haven’t already, are the Participant and Host Family Questionnaire and The Cultural Exploration Questionnaire. Both activities will give you an opportunity to discuss topics you might not have considered yet and help to set the stage for a successful hosting experience.
Additionally, your student(s) may have been given the AFS Home Life Cards activity before leaving their home country as a way to start thinking about what sorts of topics they should discuss with you in the early weeks. This is a great activity to revisit together around this time.
Your student(s) may have already attended—or may soon attend—a Post Arrival Orientation. This is an important part of their experience, as they now have personal experiences and context to connect with the topics covered and can build relationships with other AFS students and volunteers.
The main objectives are to:
- Reflect on the experience so far, celebrate successes, identify challenges, and develop solutions.
- Check in on cultural adaptation and explore coping mechanisms.
- Reflect on learnings and insights about the host culture, with a focus on communication.
- Connect with other AFS students and volunteers.
Please ask your student(s) about their Post Arrival Orientation and whether they would like to talk more about anything that was covered. Please work with your local volunteers to ensure your student attends all orientation events as a required part of their program.
October is National Book Month! Share your favorite book with your student(s) and find out what genre(s) they are interested in. Plan a “Book Club night”, where everyone reads the same book and has a discussion. If the book has a movie, watch it after reading the book and discuss the differences. For more ideas, check out this link. Happy Reading!
If your student(s) have great things to say about their school or one of their teachers, you and your student(s) are strongly encouraged to nominate the school and/or the teacher for one of our AFS-USA Global Awards.
AFS-USA students who are currently hosted in the US are invited to complete this form to order a FREE 2026-27 AFS T-shirt. Please encourage your student(s) to place an order if they haven’t already (limit one per student). You can contact marketing@afsusa.org with questions.
In case you missed it, here is the October FLEX Newsletter that was sent out on 10/2 to FLEX students and host families!
If you know of an outstanding FLEX student, please nominate them by October 11 to be considered for the Department of State’s FLEX Student of the Month.
Completing this one-minute survey will help us create new and improved content for you and your fellow host families.
P.S. Thanks to everyone who has participated so far!
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