We’ve been a host family for nearly 5 years as a member of a couple of different Hawaii homestay agencies. This means we’ve routinely opened our home to strangers from other countries, but mostly to people from Japan.

Are you nuts? Why do you do it? - Lots of reasons really.

1. Cultural exchange - yes it’s actually fun to learn about different people with different world views. It sounds like a lot of warm fuzzy yada yada, but cultural exchange is really interesting if you’re open to it.
2. Learn greater appreciation about your own home - there’s nothing like hosting an out of town visitor to reconnect you to your home, and what student wouldn’t love to have a Hawaii homestay experience. Becoming a host family has reconnected us to our great beaches and cosmopolitan food - things we’ve just taken for granted all these years. So yes, it is actually fun to “play tourist.”
3. Teaching - you are an ambassador for your home country, state or Provence and language - it’s a surprisingly powerful feeling.
4. Got kids? Want to expose your children to different cultures and languages? Being a host family is a great way to expand the world view of your kids. Most homestay programs will match students to their host families, so if you have kids or pet monkeys, you should expect to get a student who will also request a host family with the same interests.
5. Money - Yes, you do get paid to be in a homestay program. As a host family, you do have to provide for your guests (food, household things, utilities) and your general living expenses will increase by having an extra mouth to feed. But the bottom line is that you should net out way ahead financially by hosting a student. You could get paid $700 to host a student for a month, while you spent an extra $150 in expenses.

So you want to be a host family? Later, I’ll share some thoughts on hooking up with a homestay coordinator.

Posted by Netsato on Monday, February 20th, 2006 at 12:08 pm.