Any foreign exchange students around here?

[Zanza]

What exactly is covered by the $3100? If $1300 of those go for the flight ticket, that leaves you with $1800 ~ 1400 Euro. That's not a lot of money for a whole year. What about e.g. health insurance? Does your insurance in the US cover his stay abroad?

[garbon]

What exactly is covered by the $3100? If $1300 of those go for the flight ticket, that leaves you with $1800 ~ 1400 Euro. That's not a lot of money for a whole year.

Although she hasn't stated it, I believe all of that is just the contribution that they have to make. The rest then gets picked up by Rotary club/its members. After all, he'd be staying a rotary member's house (or at least that was how it was when non-Americans came here).

[merithyn]

What exactly is covered by the $3100? If $1300 of those go for the flight ticket, that leaves you with $1800 ~ 1400 Euro. That's not a lot of money for a whole year. What about e.g. health insurance? Does your insurance in the US cover his stay abroad?

$1000 is the fee, which covers some health insurance, various odds & ends, and a small stipend to the family receiving Jeremy. The $300 in September covers the special insurance he'll need in Germany. The plan ticket will be ~$1800, probably. So, of the $3100, $1000 in fees and one kind of health insurance, $300 in additional health insurance, and $1800 for flight.

That's a guesstimate. There may be less or more fees depending on what country he goes to (Switzerland is his second choice, and it's another $1500-2000 due to additional insurance, Visa fees, school fees, school uniforms, etc.). He's applying for Germany and tics all of the boxes for that country (and it has a LOT of open spaces), but the way the Rotary Club works, the kids rank all 40 countries from 1 to 40, and the kids are placed according to what's available where. Most (like 99%) get one of their top 10 countries.

On top of that, there may be additional optional side trips that the kids can take over the course of the year they're abroad that have additional costs.

[merithyn]

Although she hasn't stated it, I believe all of that is just the contribution that they have to make. The rest then gets picked up by Rotary club/its members. After all, he'd be staying a rotary member's house (or at least that was how it was when non-Americans came here).

Yeah, he'll be staying with 2 to 4 different Rotary Club families over the course of the year. (They like to mix it up for the kids when they can, and to take the burden off the individual families when they can.)

[Jacob]

I don't have a choice on this one. It's a requirement for the program. The ticket must be an open-ended ticket so that there is no concern over money if Jeremy has to come home immediately (who has to pay, reimbursement concerns, etc). I get what you're saying - and agree with you - but the program dictates this.

Ah, okay.

[mongers]

I take it he has a good grasp of the ins and outs of contraception ?

[merithyn]

I take it he has a good grasp of the ins and outs of contraception ?

One of the rules is that the kids "not get involved romantically". I guess one 17-year-old kid ended up getting married while in Poland. All I can say is that if that's a rule, the two foreign exchange guys I dated in high school didn't follow the rules very well at all....

In answer to your question, yes, he does.

[The Brain]

I take it he has a good grasp of the ins and outs of contraception ?

Scheisse = low risk.

[mongers]

I take it he has a good grasp of the ins and outs of contraception ?

One of the rules is that the kids "not get involved romantically". I guess one 17-year-old kid ended up getting married while in Poland. All I can say is that if that's a rule, the two foreign exchange guys I dated in high school didn't follow the rules very well at all....

In answer to your question, yes, he does.

:

Now you only have to worry about the problem of Americans encountering European proper strength beer for the first time.

[Zanza]

That's a guesstimate. There may be less or more fees depending on what country he goes to (Switzerland is his second choice, and it's another $1500-2000 due to additional insurance, Visa fees, school fees, school uniforms, etc.). He's applying for Germany and tics all of the boxes for that country (and it has a LOT of open spaces), but the way the Rotary Club works, the kids rank all 40 countries from 1 to 40, and the kids are placed according to what's available where. Most (like 99%) get one of their top 10 countries.

Switzerland is ridiculously expensive with their overvalued currency. I wouldn't even go there for a week on vacation right now.

Yeah, he'll be staying with 2 to 4 different Rotary Club families over the course of the year. (They like to mix it up for the kids when they can, and to take the burden off the individual families when they can.)

Does he at least stay in the same city? Otherwise it's hard to make friends if you move around after three months again.

[merithyn]

Now you only have to worry about the problem of Americans encountering European proper strength beer for the first time.

We actually had an interesting conversation about that last night. I'm a brewer, so my stuff isn't as weak as the typical American brand. (My meads average 12-14%.) That means that if I let him drink my stuff, he would know kind of what he's getting into.

Jeremy said that he would prefer to figure out what his limits are regarding alcohol while he's at home, especially given his diabetes. I don't know whether he should be drinking at all with diabetes, so I told him to do some research to find out what affect drinking has on his disease. If he can show me that moderate drinking won't cause serious problems, then I would be okay with letting him have the occasional drink at home with us so he could figure out what's a good limit for him before he goes where alcohol is easily accessible. (He'll turn 18 a week after he goes to overseas, if he's accepted.) I did the same with my older two boys, and neither are really binge drinkers. They just don't see the appeal.

The Rotary Club guy has said that there may be families who consider having a drink with the family almost an expectation. Jeremy doesn't want to appear rude - and I think he's also finally of an age where he wants to see what this whole drinking thing is about - which is where the conversation came from. IS this common in Germany/Europe?

[merithyn]

Does he at least stay in the same city? Otherwise it's hard to make friends if you move around after three months again.

Same city, same school. Just a different family within the local group.

[Zanza]

If drinking is common for 18 year olds in Germany/Europe? Yes.

Anyway, if he can't drink, he can always start smoking pot.  

[merithyn]

He's very anti-drugs, and besides, being caught doing any drugs at all will get him sent immediately home.

Quick check online says that drinking lowers blood sugar, so he shouldn't drink a lot, nor should he drink on an empty stomach. Good to know.

[Barrister]

Jeremy said that he would prefer to figure out what his limits are regarding alcohol while he's at home, especially given his diabetes. I don't know whether he should be drinking at all with diabetes, so I told him to do some research to find out what affect drinking has on his disease.

I'm pretty sure that you're really not supposed to drink at all if you have type I diabetes.  Certainly my diabetic fellow curler never, ever drinks, and having a drink after curling is a pretty deeply ingrained part of the game.

Some brief googling suggests it can be safe to drink in moderation (1-2 max per day) if your blood sugar is well under control.