'7 Little Johnstons': Meet Joose, Trent and Amber's Foreign Exchange Student From Finland
The '7 Little Johnstons' family hosted an exchange student named Joose for three months. He was featured heavily in Season 11 of the TLC series.
May 16 2023, Updated 2:18 p.m. ET
The second half of Season 10 of 7 Little Johnstons saw Trent and Amber adding a new member to their family — just not on a permanent basis. Despite the ongoing speculation that the TLC stars might be adopting another child with dwarfism, it doesn't seem they will be doing so anytime soon. They did, however, decide to host an exchange student named Joose Jeskanen in their home for three months.
As a refresher, 7 Little Johnstons follows Amber and Trent and their five kids: Elizabeth, Jonah, Anna, Alex, and Emma. The oldest three have graduated from high school, moved out of the family home, and are embarking on their adult lives. Meanwhile, Alex and Emma are the only ones still at home and in high school — a prime time for the Johnstons to temporarily add to their household.
Joose was introduced in Season 10 of '7 Little Johnstons' and heavily featured in Season 11.
"For the next three months, we have an exchange student living with us," Amber explained on Season 11 of the TLC series. "We cannot wait to show him life with the Johnstons."
In a different clip shared by TLC's Instagram account, the teenager from Finland was shown riding home with the Johnstons after they picked him up from the airport. "I'm so excited about this. Everything here is new for me," Joose said.
He continued: "My first reaction when I came here was that, like, cars and trucks are so different. In Finland, cars are a lot smaller. Trucks are rare in Finland."
The clip also shows Trent, Amber, their five kids, and Joose wearing inflatable turkey costumes while preparing to wrestle in kiddie pools filled with applesauce and cranberry sauce. "Maybe Johnston family is crazy ... But it's OK. I like to be, like, also crazy," Joose says.
It's a good thing he's down with some shenanigans, because in the video the Johnstons can be seen playing with sparklers, curling, jumping into an ice-cold pool, and taking part in what appears to be an "opening ceremony" for the "Johnston backyard games."
Is the exchange student still staying with the Johnstons?
Although Joose's time with the Johnstons was covered in Season 11 of 7 Little Johnstons, he's back home at this point. On Jan. 8, 2022, Amber took to Instagram to mark what seemed to be Joose's return home.
"Three months came and gone so quickly. An amazing experience," Amber wrote via Instagram alongside a carousel of photos and a video clip. "'Familyships' have been made🇺🇸💛🇫🇮."
'7 Little Johnstons' viewers saw Joose again in Seasons 12 and 13.
In Season 12, the Johnstons met up with Joose at the LPA National Conference in Spokane, Wash. They had the opportunity to meet his mother for the first time, too.
And in Season 13, Trent, Amber, Alex, and Emma embarked on a trip to Finland to visit Joose and his family. Part of their adventure included visiting a reindeer farm.
We have a feeling this won't be the last we'll see of the Johnston family's former foreign exchange student!
Catch new episodes of 7 Little Johnstons Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on TLC.
