The American Council for International Education - Bulgaria is looking for Host Families for Students from the USA

Education | July 17, 2023, Monday // 08:30| views

American Council for International Education - Bulgaria

The American Council for International Education - Bulgaria is looking for five families for students who will spend the 2023/2024 academic year in Bulgaria. The host families must live in the territory of the city of Sofia. This endeavor is part of the organization's YES Abroad program.

For the eighth year, Bulgaria welcomes high school students from the USA as part of the US State Department's YES Abroad program. It is aimed at cultural and educational exchange in order to bring the peoples of the two countries closer together. Participating American students will spend the next academic year outside their home country, living with a Bulgarian host family and attending a Bulgarian school.

The family will host the American student in early September, 2023 until early June, 2024, when the American students depart back to the US.

Read more about the program here.

How to become a foster family?
Contact the American Council - Bulgaria to receive application documents and more information:
- bg@americancouncils.org
- +3589 877333013

More about the YES Abroad host families

Foster care is a long-term commitment over a period of 10 months (September 2023 – June 2024). The foster mother and/or father are expected to provide food, suitable living conditions, including accommodation in a private or shared room with another child in the family, as well as to support the student in various situations. The presence of the foreign student in the home should not change the daily order of activities, on the contrary, he/she should be treated not as a guest, but as part of the family. In this way, the perception of the Bulgarian culture and way of life is encouraged through everyday and seemingly ordinary activities.

Participants in the program go through an intensive Bulgarian language course in the first weeks of their stay in the country. However, for more successful communication, it is good that at least one member of the host family has a basic knowledge of English. The age of the participants is between 17 and 19 years, and their stay is coordinated and administered by the team of the American Council for International Education - Bulgaria Branch. The host family signs a contract and is in close communication with the organization throughout the student's stay. The American Council, for its part, provides the necessary moral and material support to the family in case of need.

Living in a foster family is key to the success of the program. The family is expected to provide the student with the necessary support both in socialization in the new environment and understanding of Bulgarian culture, as well as in everyday life and in learning activities. Hosting an international student in the home holds many opportunities for the host family itself. In this way, its members will be able to get to know American culture firsthand, overcoming stereotypes and "translation errors". Experience proves that such coexistence is very valuable for children in the family, expanding their horizons and limits of tolerance, and in a more practical sense, it improves English language proficiency. Last but not least, such relationships between the student and the host family usually remain warm for life.