How To Make The Most Out of Your Homestay Abroad

July 2018

Studying abroad is full of adventures – everything is different and exciting, including your new homestay family. All of a sudden, you share everything with new people whom you’ve never seen before. It will take time to adjust and there might be some bumps in the road – you know, the stuff that happens when people live together. Here are few tips which will make your homestay easy with your host family.

• Communicate

You are allergic to peanuts, don’t like seafood, and have a fear of dogs of all sizes? Tell your host family about it right away. They should know the most important facts about you from your paperwork, but some things cannot be stressed enough – especially when it comes to health issues. Plus, it’s better to discuss culinary preferences or dietary restrictions before you sit at the table and everyone is staring at you poking around in your food. However, to be fair and polite, make sure you try everything before you say that you don’t like it.

• Keep Your Room Clean

Host families don’t snoop through your belongings, but they do clean the house about once a week. Show them that you acknowledge that you are a guest and are respectful of their space and furniture and appreciate their help and support.

• Spend Time With Them

Whether it’s watching the news with them, going to the supermarket, or tagging along on family holidays, try to save time to chat with them and show that you are making an effort.Food brings people together – it’s a great social lubricant across cultures. Try to be at home for the meals and help set the table or do the dishes. Food is a fantastic way to get to know people and sitting around a dinner table is like a fun way to pick up new words and practice your conversation skills. If you know how to cook, feel free to prepare something from your home country and take the cultural exchange to the next level.

• Respect and Be Patient

You won’t always understand them. They won’t always understand you. You might not like their favorite TV shows; whatever. But you will adjust! You’ll figure out the plot, you’ll figure out the accent and your language skills will improve. It truly does get better in time! You just have to be patient and again, make an effort.Even though you paid for your stay, you’re still part of a family that is not yours – respect their schedules If you are not home for meals or activities, let your host family know ahead of time. If you missed your bus and will be home late, tell them. Even though they are not your parents, they still worry about you, so basically just pretend that you are been watched.

• Differences

While it’s important to feel like a member of the family and feel at home, it’s equally important to remember that you are a guest as well. Keep your room picked up, help with dishes, and ask how to use something if you don’t know. You will probably have to get used to different food, to new ways of folding laundry, and to house rules that are not the same as back home. Remember: different, new, and not the same don’t have to mean bad. Things are done in other ways around the world and as long as everything works, this is a good thing and part of the learning experience. Let’s face it: it’s kind of what you signed up for. Noticing and accepting cultural differences is part of expanding your horizons and becoming a more open-minded and mature person.

• Gifts

Gifts are awesome and a great icebreaker. Opening up your home to a stranger is an extremely kind thing to do, so show your appreciation. Many people give their host families gifts when they first arrive. If you have no room in your bag, have someone back home send you some novelties of where you came from. People love getting authentic things from your home town/state such as sports memorabilia, food, beverages, key chains, magnets, etc. It does not have to be big nor expensive but, it should be indicative of where you’re from.

• Keep in Touch

This is a hard thing to do. Language skills come and go, you may have only lived with your host family for a short period of time or you may think you have nothing to talk about .Friendships cannot be forced, but hopefully, you and your host family will get along – and stay connected even after you say goodbye. There are many reasons why you may not keep in contact but there are even more why you should. They want to know how you are doing, how your experience abroad affected you back home, what school/work is like, plans to return, etc.

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Name - Mihit B Kasodria
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Country - New Zealand
University - Auckland University of Technology

“Edwise has done a wonderful job and I thank each person at Edwise who has helped me get here in time. I am absolutely overwhelmed and appreciate the support provided by you people. It was a wonderful experience interacting with everyone at Edwise. I shall definitely recommend anyone who wants to study abroad to come to Edwise. I got the right suggestion at the right time from everyone including my Academic Counsellor to my Visa Counsellor & due to their support & hard work I am here at my dream destination.”

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“The experience was both fantastic and an enjoyable one. My counsellor was very supportive with me at all times and helped me at every single stage. Though I applied to Pittsburgh and they do not have any agents anywhere in the world, still I received enough help from my counsellor as much as possible in whatever aspect they could help me out in, starting from application tips till the final stages of my VISA application. In a nutshell, the help I received from Edwise Kolkata was quite invigorating.”

Name - Niyati Mehra
Country - USA
University - University Of Pittsburgh

“Right from documents collection, application process, visa counseling-mock test, my counselor helped me for every single thing with whole heart and lots of efforts. I wasn't expecting a good university for myself but I got it because of Edwise. I am happy with the service provided by Edwise. My experience was excellent.Best thing about Edwise is one to one attention which helped me a lot. I will suggest all my juniors and friends who want to study abroad.”

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Country - USA
University - New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)

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