CLAY COUNTY — As a new student at Orange Park High School, junior Azusa Yoshinura has been making the most of her experience. 

From joining book and culinary clubs to hitting the courts for a tennis match, Yoshinura said it’s a world away from her home in Japan.

“Everyone's so friendly,” she said. 

Yoshinura and five other local students are participating in Greenheart Exchange, a program working with more than 100 different countries to facilitate over 176,000 cultural exchange opportunities. 

“They’re doing great things and making good impressions on our community and in our schools,” said local coordinator Wanda Cox. 

With the next school year around the corner, Cox said the non-profit organization is currently looking for volunteer host families that a new group of students can call their own. 

What are the requirements? 

Cox said that in addition to providing a home, students are required to have their own bed and three meals a day. They are able to share a bedroom, but their roommate must be five years younger or older. 

Additionally, the organization asks that the parents provide exchange students with access to sports and other extracurricular activities at their discretion. 

A vetting process and background checks are also done on everyone in the home 17 years and older. 

The students have their own health insurance and money for personal expenses. 

It's an experience that Cox said she greatly encourages. 

“It’s a learning opportunity for everybody. Really, I think it’s an awesome opportunity for us as Americans to put that whole volunteer spirit in practice,” Cox said.

She said it defies the barriers of cultural learning. 

“You’re actually learning through taking care of them, talking to them [and] sharing the holidays and what you do. So, you’re really just getting this firsthand experience and you're growing a relationship that will not just be a semester in a school year, [but] these relationships go on for years," she said. 

Cox said a lot of the time, students are experiencing things for the first time and gaining a new outlook on life.

“For the student, it’s the opportunity to start striking out with their independence,” she said. “In a good way. You're still being taken care of by a parent and having a parental figure, but they get to make some of their own decisions.”

This is true for St. Johns Classical Academy junior Fritzi Binsteiner, who arrived from Germany in January. She said her host family was a perfect match. 

“We clicked in the first few seconds I landed at the airport. They’re doing so many adventures with me, and I get to experience so much stuff here,” Binsteiner said. “So, I’m really glad I get to experience that.” 

For those interested in hosting, Cox said it’s important to start by connecting with a local coordinator to make sure it’s something they really want, and are able, to do. 

Then the application process starts. Cox said the ideal deadline is May, or as soon as possible.

She said Greenheart will give a $300 Visa gift card, offered year round, to anyone who refers a family and they end up hosting with the organization for the first time.

Cox said that, additionally, referrals of families out-of-state, also apply.