Our 2011-2012 AYP students are returning to their home countries as their academic year in the U.S. draws to a close.  After spending 10 months with their American host families, sharing their lives and cultures with one another, many lifelong friendships have been formed and life lessons learned.  We wish all of our students a … Continue reading »

Prom Pictures from AYP students across the United States.  Click here to submit yours! (Email: blog@nacelopendoor.org)

by Zijiao from China In April, there are two traditional American holidays. One is the April Fools’ Day and the other is Easter Day. April Fools’ Day is very popular all over the world and it is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when people play practical jokes and mischievousness on each other. Of … Continue reading »

by Zijiao from China Did you guys have a wonderful Spring Break? My answer is: Of course! It is excellent! I went with my host family as a family trip to the city of Chicago. The tour bus helped us a lot, although we almost spent three hours on the bus. The tourist guide on … Continue reading »

by Zijiao from China February is a quite quiet month for everybody because of winter. Comparatively speaking, people prefer to stay home rather than hang out. But I had a kind of “noisy” month. On February 5, 2012, I had a small party for watching Super Bowl- New York Giants vs. New England Patriots. Before … Continue reading »

Chinese New Year by Zijiao from China January 23, 12 was the day for Chinese new year, but as an exchange student in United States, it looked impossible to celebrate eastern festivals here. But my host mother was so warm-hearted that she bought some Chinese new year ornaments and some Chinese food. And then, the … Continue reading »

Happy New Year! 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) 恭喜發財 (gōng xǐ fā cái) Jiǎozi Recipe Ingredients: 1 packet wonton wrappers Filling 6 cups Chinese (Napa) cabbage, finely chopped 1 tsp salt 1 lb ground pork 2 cups scallions, finely chopped 2 1/2 tbs light soy sauce 2 tbs roasted sesame oil 2 tbs finely chopped ginger … Continue reading »

by Zijiao from China December is a busy month for Americans preparing for Christmas stuff – decorating Christmas trees (both green and white ones), hanging lights around the edges of the roof, putting up all Christmas ornaments around the house, hanging out Christmas stockings for whole family and so on. In this one month, I … Continue reading »

The AYP team visited Tucson Arizona, home to Coordinator Jack “Coach” Fontenot and his group of international exchange students and their host families.  We had the opportunity to meet with some of our students and partake in the holiday cheer as they opened their stockings.  Thank you to all for the wonderful food, stories and … Continue reading »

International Education Week This year’s theme: Inspiring Students Locally to Succeed Globally Nacel Open Door would like to thank you for your contribution to international education and cross-cultural understanding in the United States! This week is International Education Week, a great opportunity to celebrate the fact that due to your efforts, your community has become … Continue reading »

Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world, so many of our students are taking advantage of the opportunity to celebrate one of the most popular holidays in the United States.  Halloween originated in Ireland where it is known as Oíche Shamhna or “Samhain Night.” In Irish, Samhain is the name … Continue reading »

Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe from: Easy Recipes Yields 12 Slices Ingredients Crust: 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 3 tbsp brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 stick of melted butter Filling: 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin 3 eggs 1/4 cup sour cream 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 … Continue reading »

Homecoming Week by Zijiao (Regina) From September 26th to 30th in Omaha Northwest High School, these school days have a lot of activities to prepare for the Homecoming day on October 1st. On each of these days, students can play the part of different characters from the movies or TV shows. On Monday (9-26-2011), it … Continue reading »

by Zijiao (Regina) I am an exchange student from Shanghai, China for ten months.  There was a breaking news for me which happened on September 16, 11. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court spoke to 45 Omaha Northwest High School students on that day.  He visited the school because of its magnet … Continue reading »

中秋节快乐 Moon Festival is a harvest celebration, similar to American Thanksgiving.  Special moon cakes are made with a dark seed paste filling are given as presents to friends and family.  Fireworks also take place to mark this celebration.  The moon plays a big part in this festival because the moon on this night is believed … Continue reading »

Nacel Open Door extends a warm welcome to our students as they begin to arrive from over 30 different countries to attend high school in the United States.  The first Chicago orientation was held this past weekend and we are looking forward to another successful Chicago orientation this weekend! Thank you to all of our … Continue reading »

Things you should know about your Brazilian student: Brazilian teens on the Academic Year Program expect to be a new member of your family and your lives. They are counting on a relationship full of friendship and trust. Brazilian students enjoy being around family and friends. Their weekend plans often include going out with classmates or … Continue reading »

Things you should know about your Chinese student: Chinese students often experience culture shock and need their host families’ understanding and support to help them adapt successfully. Chinese students come from a collective culture that values: respect for elders, tradition, humility and a more reserved approach to solving personal problems. This differs from the American individualistic … Continue reading »

Nico attends an art enhanced school where he is doing very well in his classes, along with the extra activities he involves himself in, often after his normal school day.  Nico was chosen as one of only a few students whose artwork was selected for wall space in a public gallery.  His art is displayed … Continue reading »

Many of you awoke to news that late last night,  Japan was struck with a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake triggering a 30 foot tsunami.  Tokyo’s Narita airport is closed, the underground has been evacuated and suburban trains halted.  Thousands are stranded in Tokyo as public transport has been disrupted.  Communication with loved ones may be … Continue reading »

Hi, I’m Agnès, an exchange student from Belgium. I’m staying in Tucson, Arizona since the 4th of August with my host family. Early February we went to Phoenix for an ice Hockey Game. We are Coyotes Fan ! (Phoenix ice hockey team) The next day, we went horseback riding. That was wonderful to see the … Continue reading »

“As a mom of five grown children and a grandma of six, my life has focused close to home. As a coordinator/rep, my world is growing. Through working with families, students, reps, and cultures, that world has become my life. Hosting may be just a small step outside the box, but it could be the … Continue reading »

To our valued Nacel Open Door host families: Thank you for bringing the world to your community by hosting international exchange students. Your willingness to share your home and life for a semester or academic year is key to our program, and we appreciate your contributions to U.S. public diplomacy and foreign policy. The international … Continue reading »

By Karina Rajtar When you learn a second language in your home country, your vocabulary lists probably don’t include a lot of slang or common sayings. When learning English, you might not have heard of nuking your food (heating it up in the microwave) or vegging out in front of the television (relaxing and doing nothing). Likewise, … Continue reading »

We recently received this very touching e-mail from a former student and wanted to share it with all the people (local reps and coordinators, host families, schools, our foreign partners, among others) who make experiences like this possible: My biggest dream had always been to visit America, but I didn’t want to just spend a week at Disneyland … Continue reading »

By Karina Rajtar Sweden is known to have long, cold winters, and since the Midwest in the United States can relate at this time, today’s recipe comes from Sweden (via a World Recipes website). Ingredients: 1/2 cup of fine dry bread crumbs 1/2 cup of light cream 1/2 cup of water 7 oz. ground beef 7 … Continue reading »

By Karina Rajtar Winter comes with many fun and inexpensive family activities and opportunities for host families and exchange students to spend some quality time together and learn more about holiday traditions around the world. One of these activities is building a gingerbread house. The Ultimate Gingerbread website has a lot of very helpful and … Continue reading »