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Preparation Before Arrival
Prepare Their Room
In our case, one of the main purposes of this web page is so that our incoming exchange students will have the opportunity to get to know us, to get to know a little more about hosting from a host family's perspective, and to choose their own room through the clickable house map on our page. This (we hope) will make them feel more at home when they come. They will be coming to a place they've seen before, not an entirely strange place.
In our case, we're hoping that our exchange students can choose their own room over the Internet before they arrive so we can have their room ready. We try to have their room clean with a few books about Maine in their room, or other subjects in which they might be interested. The dresser drawers are empty, and we sweep, mop and dust their room before they arrive.
We also try to take all decorations off the walls, so they can put up posters or pictures of their choosing. With our girls, one had posters of Disney characters all over the room, and the other girl had pictures of Bon Jovi all over her room. What a contrast!!!
Buy a Small Gift
It is generally good to have something similar to what they have at home on their bed or in their room so it doesn't feel like quite a strange place. This can take place in the form of something the parents send (without the student's knowledge), or a small gift reflecting their interests.
Schedule Courses, Etc.
If your student is interested in driver's education, just after their arrival might be a good time to get that scheduled. We usually send a map of our city, marking the location of our two homes, a driver's education manual, and a letter to our exchange students before they arrive. This gives them something to study before school starts.