International students coming to the local region are experiencing a diverse lifestyle and furthering their education, but their host families are also learning a great deal as well.
Through the International Education Program at the Lambton-Kent District School Board, Chatham-Kent resident Crystal Van Wagner and her family are providing a home for Michele Loddo, a student from Italy who has been living with them as he attends school locally.
“[International students] are an extension of you and your family,” said Van Wagner. “It’s not like a roommate who just kind of does their own thing, he’s become our son.”
Host parents like Van Wagner provide a safe and supportive home for international students, which helps to make their experience memorable.
Van Wagner said the entire experience has been amazing for her family and she’s even had the chance to meet some of the other international students who have made Chatham-Kent or Sarnia-Lambton their home for the last six months to a year.
“They’re all really nice kids. We’ve had some small parties and such and they’re all super polite and super nice. I feel that we’ve learned more from them,” she said. “It’s really a full-circle experience.”
The Lambton-Kent District School Board has had 140 international students from 24 countries attending schools in the region throughout the academic year.
Another of those students is Roxane Foucart who has been attending John McGregor Secondary School in Chatham since September.
“My host family is amazing. There is one mom, a dad, and two children,” said Foucart. “They’ve taught me a lot about Canada and a lot about hockey too. They’re really a hockey family.”
The Grade 12 student from Belgium said she was inspired to take part in the international student program after her sister travelled to the United States.
“I didn’t go to the States because I wanted to have a similar experience but not the same one,” said Foucart. “I’ve always wanted to come to Canada.”
She added that she chose to be in Chatham-Kent because of its close proximity to the Great Lakes and said it’s vastly different than her hometown in Belgium.
“People used to say to me that Chatham is really small and that there’s not a lot to do,” she said. “But go to my little town in Belgium and you would cry. There is really nothing to do.”
Foucart will be returning home after finishing the school year this month and said she would recommend the program to anyone considering it.
“I know it can be scary but you need to do it. It’s something people have to experience. It’s just incredible,” she said.
The International Education Program is part of the Canada Homestay Network. For more information, click here.
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