Why Your Exchange Student Should Keep a Journal (And How You Can Help)

Hosting a high school exchange student is an exciting, rewarding experience, filled with new adventures and challenges. Your student is likely navigating a whirlwind of emotions as they adapt to a new culture and way of life. One of the best ways to help them reflect and process this journey is by encouraging them to keep a journal.

Journaling is a simple but powerful tool that can help your exchange student make the most of their experience. In this post, we’ll explore the benefits of journaling, how it fosters cultural understanding, and practical ways you can support them in developing this habit.  

The Benefits of Journaling for Exchange Students

For exchange students, journaling provides an outlet to reflect on the emotional rollercoaster of their time abroad. Writing things down can help them process their feelings and capture memories that might otherwise fade.

1. A Safe Space for Emotions
   Your exchange student will experience a mix of emotions—from the excitement of trying new things to occasional homesickness. Journaling offers them a private space to express these feelings without judgment, giving them a healthy way to process both positive and challenging moments.
2. Building Emotional Resilience
   Writing helps students sort through confusing or overwhelming feelings, which can reduce stress and strengthen emotional resilience. By reflecting on their experiences, they gain clarity and confidence, which helps them manage the ups and downs of their exchange year.

3. Capturing Memories

   A journal is also a keepsake that preserves the everyday moments of their exchange, from their first high school football game to discovering a new favorite snack. These written memories will serve as a treasure trove of stories they can revisit long after their exchange year ends.

Journaling as a Cultural Learning Tool

Journaling also helps exchange students understand and navigate cultural differences more deeply. By writing about their observations and experiences, they can reflect on the contrasts between their home culture and the U.S.

1. Noticing Cultural Nuances
   While big differences like food and language are noticeable right away, many cultural nuances might only become clear through reflection. Journaling helps students identify and understand the subtler aspects of American life, deepening their cultural awareness.
2. Processing Culture Shock
   Culture shock can be difficult to navigate, but journaling offers a way to make sense of it. When students write about their discomfort or confusion, they gain perspective and develop coping strategies for the more challenging parts of their experience.
3. Fostering Empathy
   Through reflection, exchange students often develop empathy for both their host family and the people around them. By considering different perspectives, they learn to better understand the cultural norms they’re adjusting to, and in turn, they begin to see their own culture in a new light.

How You Can Support Journaling

As a host family, your encouragement can make all the difference in helping your student embrace journaling. Here are some simple ways to introduce the idea and support them in developing a journaling habit:

1. Introduce It Casually
   Bring up the idea of journaling in a relaxed way, sharing how other exchange students have found it helpful. You can also mention how journaling has helped you reflect on your own experiences.
2. Provide the Tools
   Make journaling easy by giving them a notebook or suggesting a digital journaling app. A thoughtful gesture like this might spark their interest in starting.
3. Offer Prompts
   If they’re unsure where to start, offer simple prompts, like “What’s one thing that surprised you about American culture this week?” or “What was the best part of your day?” This helps them focus without feeling overwhelmed.
4. Be Supportive, Not Pushy
   Encourage journaling as a relaxing activity, not a chore. You can check in now and then, but respect their privacy if they prefer to keep their thoughts to themselves.
5. Journal Together
   Journaling can even be something you do together, creating a shared moment of reflection. You might write for a few minutes in the evening, then discuss some of the highlights over dinner.

Conclusion: A Meaningful Practice

Encouraging your exchange student to journal is more than just helping them reflect—it’s a gift that will last a lifetime. Their journal will become a personal record of this transformative year, filled with the emotions, challenges, and memories that shaped their experience.

By offering gentle encouragement and practical support, you’re helping them make the most of their exchange journey.  So, go ahead—hand them a notebook and watch their journey unfold, one page at a time.