Northwest International Student Exchange, LLC (NISE), has conducted international educational homestay programs for elementary, middle, and high school students since 1983. NISE offers high quality educational and cultural programs specially designed to meet the needs of students, host families and communities. Each program can be customized according to the interests of the participants. NISE programs are best suited for groups who have studied English in school, but want to improve their ability to communicate orally in English and have a sincere desire to immerse themselves in American family life and culture.

A Pacific Northwest organization, NISE has its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Portland is the largest city in Oregon and the region which includes Washington State. The Portland metropolitan area population is 1.7 million. Located between two rivers—the Columbia and the Willamette—and between the Cascade Mountains and the Coast Range, the city is only an hour and a half from the Pacific Ocean to the West and Mt. Hood to the East. To find out information on NISE’s sister organization, Education Travel & Culture, please see www.edutrav.org

Host Families
NISE host families provide room and board and an American family experience for guest students during the homestay program. The homestay experience is meant to improve American understanding of the other country’s values and attitudes and to expose the visiting student both to American English and American Culture. NISE host families are an integral part of the program and have a diverse range of backgrounds, interests and experiences, providing students with a real flavor of the diversity that America is proud of.

Affiliations
NISE holds memberships in the Oregon International Council, and is registered with the Office of the Corporation Commissioner in Salem, Oregon.