Thinking about becoming a host family? Hear directly from one of our families, Angela & Eugene, as they share what hosting is really like, from first impressions to lasting connections.
When did you begin hosting international students, and approximately how many have you hosted over the years? What countries have your students come from?
Eugene: Angela has hosted students before we moved to Portland. We started hosting students shortly after we moved here in 2016. Since then probably over a dozen students. Students have come from Saudi Arabia, Korea, Japan, China, and Switzerland.
Angela: How many students I have had would be hard to say, I wish I had been keeping track all these years but if I was to guess maybe around 30. Countries I have hosted have been Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Turkey
What first inspired you to become a host family, and what continues to motivate you to host today?
Angela: I started out by tutoring Japanese in English, and I enjoyed that and one students suggested I become a host mom, so I thought ‘well I enjoy tutoring them and I don’t have kids of my own,’ so I did, and have been doing it ever since (with the exception of a few years when we lived in an apartment in San Francisco that didn’t have an extra room!)
Eugene: To invite people to experience US culture and to also learn about different cultures.
How do you prepare your home and family when welcoming a new student?
Eugene: We strive to make our home open and inviting.
Angela: We always make a Welcome Sign, make sure their room is clean and our home is fairly clean when they arrive we show them their room, bathroom, laundry, kitchen, where the glasses are for water. Show them where the breakfast and lunch items are. It is important to go slowly when explaining all this to them as they are often tired when they first arrive and have very limited verbal English skills.
What are some things you do to help students feel comfortable and at home in your household?
Eugene: We try to get them used to our routines and help them develop new routines while living with us.
Angela: We always have dinner with the students, and at dinner we ask them questions about their family, what they are going to school for, and their hobbies. My husband loves maps, so he will often get out a map to help orientate the area. We have a dog, so often we will ask them if they want to go for a walk with us in the neighborhood with our dog so they can become familiar with the area.
Do you have a favorite meal to cook or prepare with your students?
Eugene: We try to introduce them to all kinds of cuisine that you can find in the area and Angela makes them homestyle cooking with her flair.
Angela: I cook a variety of things, but our whole family enjoys Asian food and I find most of the students do too.
Can you share a time when you or your student experienced culture shock? How did you work through it together?
Eugene: A recent student from Japan was surprised to see a man cooking in the kitchen. We explained to him that men and women in US do not have stereotypical household roles.
What are some challenges you’ve encountered while hosting, and how did you or ACES help address them?
Eugene: There can be challenges with language barriers and expectations. ACES tries to mitigate these issues with guidelines and suggestions.
Angela: We had a Student who was attending an affluent private school, and some of the host parents were taking their students on exotic trips. I had won a trip to Jamaica so my husband decided to go for our Anniversary. Our student was so upset that she would be staying behind with my mom and not going on our anniversary trip. She was so upset by this, she reached out to ACES to complain. Kelly from ACES came to the house and mediated with the student; she was very patient with the student and took the time to explain to her that in America, kids don’t typically go on Anniversary Trips. It took some time for the student to understand and calm her down, but eventually she understood.
In your view, what makes for a successful homestay experience?
Eugene: A successful homestay experience is when the host and student learn something from each other.
Angela: When you have good communication, explain the household rules and include them in family activities.
What advice would you give to someone who is new to hosting international students?
Eugene: Be open minded and be able to adapt/learn from different cultures/people.
Anything else you’d like to share about the homestay experience?
Eugene: Being able to share experiences makes for hopefully good and lasting memories.