An international cultural exchange program based in Henderson, Nevada is looking for a home in Pasadena who’s willing to host an Italian girl who’s coming to study in one of the schools in the City. The program is being administered by International Cultural Exchange Services (ICES), which facilitates the issuance of F1 visas required for foreign students to be admitted to schools in the United States, and arranges with American families to host the students during their stay.

The exchange program primarily is private school-based, although ICES also work with some public schools, says Hannah Watts, F1 Program Coordinator at ICES. “The students come here on the F1 visa, which is a student visa, and they study for either a semester or a full year,” Watts said. In this case, with this student, it’s actually short term, so it’s only going to be for a few months and it’s an academic program. But it’s also a cultural exchange program and so the students come here, they live with their American family and ideally, you know, it’s a really positive experience, not only for the student, but also for the family and also the school and the classmates.