Hello.
i’m doing a uni exchange program to Sophia University, Tokyo, next year (i’ll be there for 1 semester) and i’m thinking of staying with a homestay family. i’ve ask some ppl who’ve stayed in homestay before but some said it’s good and some said u should NEVER stay at homestay….
so i’d like to hear from more ppl.
So, is your host family friendly? do they treat u the same as they treat their family member? are they helpful?
how long is your stay? whereabout do u stay? how’s u’r room? and how much do u pay /month?
thnx for answering a bunch of Qs (>.<)
I think homestays are a great way to immerse yourself in Japanese culture and society. I have had a homestay (in Okayama. Not really close to Tokyo…), and I know and have spoken to many other people who have had homestays in Japan (some in Tokyo, some in Kyoto, Osaka, Shizuoka…). Most experiences are positive.
The benefits to a homestay are that you are guaranteed to come into contact with Japanese people. Not just the members of your host family, but also their friends/neighbors/etc. Many foreigners in Japan become too shy around Japanese OR too comfortable among other English-speakers, so they find other Americans or English-speakers and they form their own clique. When they do this, they miss out on the Japanese side of Japan. It sounds stupid, but believe me, this is VERY common. You truly can spend a year in a country and not learn anything! It’s quite sad. Having a host family will force you to communicate with Japanese people, so even if you are shy, you will get exposure and learn more of the language.
You will also learn a lot more about the culture, customs, traditions, beliefs, etc. of the Japanese, because you will be living with them, so you will see them and live them everyday. This is much more difficult for someone living in a dorm to experience, even if they are outgoing. Most universities seem to place foreigners with each other, so they don’t actually live with Japanese people. This is not ideal for someone who wants to immerse themself in Japanese culture.
Another benefit is that the host family will do a lot for you. It’s a home away from home, and if you are open, you can easily become good friends with your host family (even if it is only adults). They are also likely to pay for some expenses and take you places. This is really nice for college students who are already taking out loans just to study abroad. You’ll also get authentic home-cooked meals. So good!
My host family was very friendly. Most of the people that I’ve spoken to were never COMPLETELY treated as members of the family. This was not in a mean or offensive way, but for example, one of my friends wanted to help out her host mother, and her host mother would give her little tasks but never anything that was REALLY helpful. This will always depend on the family, though. You can never know for sure how the family will be structured with you joining them.
Payment is usually determined by the program/university. I don’t know anyone who had to figure out what to pay on there own…
Now, since you are concerned about the possibility of having a BAD host family, I can say that of course they do exist. Sometimes however, you have to judge the person who tells you it was "awful". Some Americans are very uncompromising, picky, selfish, and close-minded. These individuals will complain about their host family being "unreasonable" or something, but the real problem is that they refused to adapt to their host family’s lifestyle and culture. Always be aware that the student can be the problem rather than the host family! Also, some host families host more than one student, and if THEY have a bad experience, they might be more strict with the next student (this happened to someone I know. His host family had previously hosted a student with DISGUSTING living habits and so the host family was extremely strict with him.)
In the case that you have a host family that is truly rude, offensive, abusive, negligent, etc. you can ALWAYS contact your school and request some other housing. You are NOT bound to that family if they are mistreating you. This can happen, but if you contact your program coordinators, explain the problem, and demand new housing, you should be able to receive either a dorm, a different host family, or some other living arrangement that your school should arrange for you.
Even with the risk of having a bad host family, I feel that it is worth it to apply for a host family. Like I said, if it doesn’t work out, you can switch to different housing, but if you are open, it is more likely that you will have a GOOD experience and that you will learn a lot about their lifestyle and culture and teach them about your own. Many people remain great friends with their host families even after they leave. I am still in touch with my host family, and I will visit them at the end of this year!
this is my host family’s house
In this video I’ll be talking about homestay in a foreign country.
Okay, so the new iTunes update totally screwed with codecs and crap so I’m having a really hard time editing video in Vegas. I had to convert files with another program and them import them in so the quality was REALLY dumbed down. Puuuuu.
That tomato-car thing. Omfg. I loved it.