Host Families Sought For Students From Spain

Students from the coastal regions in the south of Spain are coming to Lake County for an international exchange program, and more host families are needed.

The Share America International Exchange program, a non-profit, educational organizaiton, has brought more than 500 Spanish teens to the Chicago suburbs since 1996.

This September, students from Spain will be coming to Grayslake and Libertyville/Vernon Hills to experience American culture. The students live with local families and attend local high schools for three weeks.

In Grayslake, all the students have been placed with families. They arrive Sept. 7 and stay through Sept. 28.

In Libertyville and Vernon Hills, four additional families are still needed to accommodate boys from Spain. They arrive on Sept. 2 and stay through Sept. 23.

The host families share the American way of life with the student from Spain. They are encouraged to make the students feel like a part of the family, not a hotel guest. The families typically form a lasting friendship with their student and open up the possibilities of traveling abroad in the future.

The students from Spain will get together frequently to go as a group to Chicago to shop and explore tourist attractions such as Navy Pier, the Willis (Sears) Tower, Millennium Park, State Street, the Museum of Science and Industry and more. Students come with their own traveling money. Families just need to provide a home environment.

For more information, contact:

• Cathy Andrews, Area Coordinator, cathy.l.andrews@gmail.com
• Laura Krapohl, Grayslake coordinator, LauraKrapohl@yahoo.com
• Deborah Werner, Libertyville/Vernon Hills coordinator, wernerdeb@comcast.net

Teacher Liaisons:

• Grayslake Central High School - Mark Paluga
• Grayslake North High School - Valerie Padgett-Krause
• Libertyville High School - Thelma Krupp
• Vernon Hills High School - Cheryl Steffans

Cheryl Steffans, a Spanish teacher at Vernon Hills High School, said the Share America is a great opportunity for both the American and Spanish students.

"We have had wonderful experiences with the program," Steffans said. "It can be difficult to organize trips abroad, so this is a great way to bring the Spanish students here to us."