***The 'FAMILY PARTICIPATION FORM' will be posted here next spring, when we are activly recruiting new families for fall 2010. If you would like us to add you to our mailing list of potential new families, please send an email to the OISA!

Grinnell's Host Family Friendship Program is a cooperative effort between the OISA and volunteers in the local community. Our goal is to connect international students with local families who will support their experience here as well as enjoy the opportunity for cultural exchange.

Host Families come in all shapes and sizes! We encourage participation regardless of life stage and family type: young couples, families with or without children, older couples, single people, etc.

International Students make up about 12% of our student body at Grinnell - around 180 students from 50+ countries. Most come to Grinnell to complete their undergraduate degree. Some are one-year exchange students or language assistants. We also invite US American students who have been living abroad to participate.

Program Expectations: This is a non-residential friendship program. We assign a student / family 'match' and share your contact information, and participants initiate contact and invitations to get together. Families invite students to visit their homes and to explore the local area and students invite families to campus activities. Our hope is that relationships will grow and will last thoughout the student's stay at Grinnell. We ask families to initiate at least two activities per semester with your student, and hope you will contact each other monthly. While in-person contact is preferred, phone and email are also great ways to stay linked.

New matches are made each August, just before the new students arrive. The OISA initiates your initial introduction to one another and we encourage students and families to initiate regular contact and invitations after that. Families introduce students to US culture and life off campus o Students introduce families to a new culture and to events that take place on campus!

Dates for FALL 2009:

• July 1, 2009: STUDENT APPLICATIONS DUE *students will receive their 'match' information upon arriving in Grinnell.
• July 1, 2009: FAMILY APPLICATIONS DUE *families will receive their 'match' details in early August
• August 18 - 21: Pre-Orientation for International & Global Nomad Students: Students will arrive in Grinnell and move into their fall housing assignment on Monday, August 17. New students and host families will meet on Tuesday, August 18, 2009. There will be an optional 'orientation meeting' for new families starting at 5:30, and a Host Family Welcome Dinner starting at 6:30 that evening. We will also schedule a 'free evening' for students & families to spend some quality time together on the evening of Wednesday, August 19.

For more information about how to participate in this program, contact the Office of International Student Affairs at 641-269-3703.