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ORANGE PARK – Anna and Wes Jung have worked with the Education First Educational Homestay program for six years hosting international students.
As the coordinators of the program for Clay County, they find host families for students – primarily from Europe and China – as they learn English skills and experience the culture.
Anna Jung said most students are shocked by Americans’ habits and what we take for granted.
“Where [Chinese students] come from, things are very structured and regimented. They wear uniforms. Here they get to have fun. It’s amazing to see the improvement in their English efficiency,” she said. “They don’t see blue skies. They’ll walk around taking pictures [of the sky] because they come from Beijing and Shanghai. It’s all gray all the time from the smog.”
Wes Jung said he saw a young student open the door of a moving car to see a rainbow for the first time.
“I mean, we see rainbows all the time,” Wes Jung said. “The culture is the primary goal. It’s a great experience.”
Students were stunned when they realized Walmart was open 24 hours. Wes Jung laughed at how the French students would “clear out” department stores when they found out how cheap comparatively the electronics and clothes were. An Italian student with a Catholic background was surprised at the energy and emotion of a Baptist church. And then, there’s free refills.
“[Our current student] says, ‘You mean I only have to buy one Coke and the rest are free?’ They don’t have free refills. He’s been living on this free refill stuff,” Wes Jung said. “We want them to learn about us as much as we learn about them.”
Students from Spain and France will make up the next immersion program is from July 12-Aug. 5. Host families are asked to provide three meals a day, a place to live and transportation to a bus stop before they attend classes with EF staff. Students are out of the house most weekdays, and by hosting a student, American students can earn 15 community service hours. Families are not paid.
EF Homestay is based in Cambridge, Mass. EF Senior Operations Manager Jenelle McNeill was in Florida to help with family recruitment and training. She said there were 500 children in Northeast Florida a year with 20-25 host families. EF has several different programs of varying lengths. The age of children ranges from 9-17.
Anna Jung said insight into other cultures was a tremendous opportunity and learning experience. The Jungs said they hoped to have the host families established for the summer immersion program, with students the age of 14-17, by Memorial Day.
“All we know of other countries is what we hear on the news,” Anna Jung said. “This way you get to see the details of someone else’s life from another part of the world.”
For more information on hosting international students, visit ef.edu.