Sharing daily life with a teenager from another country and culture is a rich and rewarding experience, and it's a wonderful way to bring more understanding into the world.

The nonprofit AFS Intercultural Programs/USA, the leading international high school student exchange program, is always looking for families in the community to host high school students for an academic year or six months.

All kinds of families can host: two-parent households with young children or teenagers, single-parent families, families with adopted children, foster parents, as well as couples and single people who do not have children or who have grown children.

AFS students come from more than 50 countries and represent different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Local AFS volunteers enroll students in high school and support students and their families to help both gain the most from their experience.

In addition to host families, AFS needs people who are interested in becoming volunteer liaisons to work locally with families and their hosted students.

For more information, visit www.afs.org/usa/hostfamily or call (800) AFSINFO or call local volunteer Kathy Capparelli at (805) 529-5943 or e-mail kathy.capparelli@yahoo.com.