Studying in a new country and living with a local host can change the lives of international students. But can it also change the lives of the hosts? Will homestay families remember you after you leave? This mom from Canada says “yes”.
Our family was enriched“enriched” (verb) = made better, improved by all of the students who came to stay with us. Sometimes we had two students at a time. Every one, of course, was different, so as a family we had to adapt to“adapt to” (verb) = change with the needs of each student. Most of them were from Korea, but we also hosted students from Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Some were more memorable“memorable” (adj) = easy to remember than others.
The Homestay Student on a Budget
One student immediately comes to mind. Let’s call him “Tommy”. He was from South Korea, and he wanted to work in social services. He told us that his family had a watermelon“watermelon” (noun) 
farm in South Korea. We welcomed Tommy into our home after we met him at a Christmas party for international students. Tommy was unique“unique” (adj) = special, different to me because he didn’t enroll“enroll” (verb) = register in any English school programs. He didn’t have a mobile phone and he organized his week around all the free ESL classes in the neighbourhood!
…he was helping other international students have fun together and be friends.
On the nights he wasn’t at an ESL class he would bring one or two other students to our house to play Scrabble“Scrabble” (noun) = name of a word game or cook food to share together. Sometimes we talked about God. Tommy was unique because he was helping other international students have fun together and be friends. We would plan day trips together and he would invite whoever he met at free ESL classes to come along. Tommy talked to our children and played games with them. He asked us about our own families, too, which is unique, because usually international students have a lot of personal pressures“pressures” (noun) = things that cause stress while they are away from home.
The Long-Distance Romance Homestay Student
Chloe made the most delicious hot chocolate.
“Chloe” also was from South Korea. She stands out in my children’s minds because she was the only one of all our international students who took up child care duties“duties” (noun) = small jobs, responsibilities for our family. She had secured a position in a kindergarten during the day but the pay was very bad. Chloe made the most delicious hot chocolate. She was quiet and gentle, and had a joyful face. In the summer, we took her and other students to the lake. Chloe joined us for several days at a cottage“cottage” (noun) = small vacation house away from the city. She enjoyed it, but the WiFi was not reliable“reliable” (adj) = works well all the time, trustworthy there, so she was happy to return to the city. One day, she was very sad. There was a young man waiting for her in South Korea. She had been trying to keep up the long-distance relationship, but it was too hard. She finally broke up with him. After she returned to South Korea, Chloe ended up marrying another man and now they have children together.
The Shopaholic Homestay Student
Bo was generous, friendly and had a good sense of humour.
Finally, “Bo”, a student in Flight Services, is memorable for a few reasons. She came to our home with a lot of “stuff”. She had already been living with a family for a while, but she said their baby was very noisy, and the family kept asking her to clean up. So, I wasn’t surprised while I watched her collect daily Amazon delivery boxes full of exercise clothes, uniforms and cosmetics“cosmetics” (noun) = make up. She kept her bedroom door closed, but one day we could see in. It looked unliveable inside the room! The mess“mess” (noun) = not clean, not organized was shocking. I wondered where she slept! I became very concerned about the condition of her room, but then she completed her course and gave us notice that she was moving out. In spite of all this, Bo was generous“generous” (adj) good at sharing and giving, friendly and had a good sense of humour. We enjoyed many fun times and special food with her.
Fond Homestay Memories
I would have liked to be reminded of each student’s individual story, character and memorable moments by keeping a log“log” (noun) = report, written record of all the students we have hosted. Many I will not forget anyway because of the times they shared with us over a game board, on vacation or at the table either crying or laughing. On the other hand, we missed years of privacy“privacy” (noun) = time to oneself, away from others as a family. Overall, we were enriched by the opportunity to cross cultures and I hope and pray that each one who stayed with us returned to their home country with a greater appreciation of Canada.
Colleen Grace Stevens moved to the city of Toronto, Canada from small-town Ontario to go to Ontario Bible college 25 years ago. She taught ESL in Japan and dreamed of living there permanently, after 1995. She married instead, had 2 sons, hosted homestay students and enjoyed leading Japanese moms’ groups and international student activities in her neighbourhood. She continues to serve her church and community today through Neighbourlink North York, mobilizing her own neighbourhood residents to care for each other.
Do you have a story of a memorable homestay experience (either as a guest or a host)? Share it with us!
