Problems with foreign student

marywooyeah

if it's effectively costing you money to have him I'd have no problems telling him to leave, it might not even be the case that his parents would lose a lot of money and even if they do lose money firstly that's up to him to explain to them not you and if he is due back in 3 weeks anyway they can't be losing that much. I really wouldnt put yourself through anymore grief unnecessarily.

londonsurrey

Well, surely it's up to the rep to tell HIM and HIS PARENTS that his parents will lose the money unless he bucks up his ideas. Why on earth are you taking the responsibility for his failure to uphold his side of the contract to behave like a half decent human being?

lika_86

He's 17 and in a foreign country living with his fourth set of host parents, I imagine he's on the internet all the time talking to people at home in a language he's properly familiar with (however fluent he might seem, it isn't his first and native).

How many of you have ever lived in a foreign country (with another language) at any age, let alone as a teenager when life is tough enough?

DylanO

lika_86 wrote: »

He's 17 and in a foreign country living with his fourth set of host parents, I imagine he's on the internet all the time talking to people at home in a language he's properly familiar with (however fluent he might seem, it isn't his first and native).

How many of you have ever lived in a foreign country (with another language) at any age, let alone as a teenager when life is tough enough?

I spent six months in France alone and I barely speak a word of the language. The time was meant to fix that - it didn't. My non-verbal glares improved exponentially though.

None of his situation excuses being arrogant and his constant lying.

gunsandbanjos

No advice but my parents took in foreign students when I was younger, most were absolutely lovely but some, well, not so!

The 2 that stick in my head were the boys that set fire to our curtains and the 2 incredibly rude old French ladies - my mum asked them to leave eventually, they were awful:eek:

Brighton_belle

lika_86 wrote: »

How many of you have ever lived in a foreign country (with another language) at any age, let alone as a teenager when life is tough enough?

Yup, was doing it at 14... on my own and before the invention of the internet/mobile phones. Funnily enough I managed to be polite and considerate towards my hosts. Also learnt to combat my own home sickness as not able to run to a computer or a mobile and be rescued. Excellent life skills.
Oh and poor ickle teenager! He is leading an incredibly priveledged life, not trying to a make a living from the rubish heaps that quite a few children are hving to do in this world, and being remarkably stoic about it.

I doubt the OP would mind the 2 showers a day etc if he was pleasant and curtious and considerate.

OP, it is not your problem that his parents may lose money, that's just emotional blackmail by the rep. I suspect the rep has an invested interest the student finishing the course.
This is your home. Tell him exactly what you think of him - what have you got to lose? He's not your boss! You're the one in charge here. If he simply sneers in your face, he's got to leave.

lostinrates

lika_86 wrote: »

He's 17 and in a foreign country living with his fourth set of host parents, I imagine he's on the internet all the time talking to people at home in a language he's properly familiar with (however fluent he might seem, it isn't his first and native).

How many of you have ever lived in a foreign country (with another language) at any age, let alone as a teenager when life is tough enough?

Um, me. Pre internet. I thinkthe internet does make it much easier to be 'socially lazy' though, especially for teens.

londonsurrey

lika_86 wrote: »

He's 17 and in a foreign country living with his fourth set of host parents, I imagine he's on the internet all the time talking to people at home in a language he's properly familiar with (however fluent he might seem, it isn't his first and native).

How many of you have ever lived in a foreign country (with another language) at any age, let alone as a teenager when life is tough enough?

I have.
.

lostinrates

Brighton_belle wrote: »

. I suspect the rep has an invested interest the student finishing the course..

i was surprised when the rep who sent students to me asked me to take more the next week and i declined she offered me more money and/ or to pay for a taxi to get them to the morning meeting points. It made me realise the reps must be taking a lit more than a 25% cut of what is paid for the shor stays. The whole thing horrified me, i felt the students were treated poorly, the hosts were treated poorly and the parents paying a lot were being treated poorly too.

Any way, sorry to digress.

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

It made me realise the reps must be taking a lit more than a 25% cut of what is paid for the shor stays.

I used to get £2/night/person when families were getting about £12-15/night/person (can't remember exactly how much now). BUT .... I'd have paid a family £15+/night to take 2-3 students rather than having 2-3 left over. When you have a batch, you can't just have 2-3 left over and go "sorry - got no host for them". I saw taking the occasional loss as part and parcel of the job.

If I were paid £2/night/person for 4 night trips of 50 people, I was getting £400 for the organising, communicating, advertising/recruiting hosts and meeting every bus at every stop and dealing with all the problems. Organised well, that's a breeze... so it's worth paying a bit extra to lessen the stress of not having enough families. I'd rather end up with £200 and everybody happy, than try to hold onto the £400 and bring down the wrath of parents whose kids didn't have a bed for the night.

One family actually disappeared/did a runner the day before the coach arrived one year! Two girls did a runner to look for boys on one of the days out and caused the whole coach to be delayed another time ... and I had one fat boy who broke the bed bouncing on it (I paid for the fix out of my pocket).

Most organisers are self-employed and paid "per student/per night" so losses etc are part of that whole self-employment thing.