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Working Together: Hoosiers helping foreign exchange students

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Posted at 6:28 PM, Apr 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-20 19:15:24-04

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Students studying here on a visa through a foreign exchange program are stuck here in Indiana during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Host families are working together to make the students feel safe during this time even though some of them can't return home right now.

Corey Plunker has been working with International Cultural Exchange Services for more than a decade but even she's never experienced anything like this.

"They are stuck at home and I can see a huge difference," Plunker said. "They are not as happy. They are bored."

The students who signed up to visit America and study on a visa are now sheltering in place with their host families instead of getting the experience they signed up for.

The plan was for the students to completely immerse themselves in American culture, but they've hardly had that opportunity because the novel coronavirus has canceled prom, sporting events, and the trips they were looking forward to.

According to program coordinators if the students were to return home right now they've also have to quarantine alone for 14 days.