Welcome a foreign exchange student

It might be years since you had a teenager living with you, but if you miss being the parent of a high schooler, you can revisit the experience by hosting a foreign exchange student.

The Center for Cultural Interchange, a not-for-profit company specializing in placing foreign students, is looking for U.S. families for the 2010-11 school year. During the 2009-10 school year, the Chicago-based company placed about 1,000 high school students with families throughout the United States, including on Long Island.

If you are accepted, your job is to treat the student as a member of the family. You are responsible for room and board (you will not be compensated for the costs), though the kids have medical insurance and their own spending money. You can decide whether you want to host a boy or girl and choose which part of the world they come from. The Center for Cultural Interchange takes care of all the paperwork to enroll the child in school.

For more information, go to www.cci-exchange.com/host.htm or call 800-634-4771.