Living with a host family can make or break your time abroad. It can give you a real look into the culture of your host country and make your time abroad an extra special experience that leaves you with connections and a second family.
1. It’s your change for authentic and delicious food.
One of the best ways to get a taste of a new place (pun intended) is to go outside of your normal palette by being open to foreign food. Eating with your host family is the best way to get free and fresh meals. Every night I had fresh meats, fish and salads in Spain. I was able to learn more about where it came from and why it was important to the culture. Warning: Spanish moms will force you to eat until you explode.
2. It’s a great way to practice another language if you’re living in a non-English speaking country.
Daily conversations will help you learn new words, idioms and common phrases that you don’t get in the classroom. One of our favorite memories was sitting around the dinner table talking about everything from politics to school systems to T.V. shows. It made us feel more comfortable using the language because we were speaking more naturally.
3. You have a built-in guide for the city.
The best tips you can get while in a city are from the locals, so living with them for four months can provide you with some amazing tips. Going on walks around the city, finding the grocery store, learning how to use the bus system and planning other trips around the country were all things our Spanish families helped us with. They become invested in you and how great your time in their home is.
4. You build real relationships.
Building these relationships forces you to go outside your comfort zone and leave the “American bubble”. One thing we’ve heard repeatedly from people who didn’t live with host families is that it was much harder to make connections with the locals and most of their interactions were with other Americans/English speakers because it was easier. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and give it a try.
5. It forces you to work through awkward situations.
I had my phone stolen a few days after I got to Spain. Trying to explain that to my Spanish host grandma was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. We stared at each other, awkwardly laughed and made a lot of hand gestures, but we finally understood each other, and I learned a few new phrases in Spanish. These kinds of situations are so fundamental for learning how to communicate with other people, break through cultural barriers and learn how to take on new situations without being afraid of failing.
6. It helps to lose “the touristy feel” of being in a new place.
Having a place to call home makes you feel like you’re not just visiting for a few weeks, but learning how to become a part of your host country. It helps you adapt to the way of life instead of keeping your “American lifestyle”. For example, we learned how to adapt to eating at 10 pm.
7. It can help you get over homesickness.
It’s easy to feel a little lost and homesick when you arrive in a new country. When you live with a host family, you get people who care about you and want to help make your time abroad one of the greatest experiences of your life.
8. It gives you a chance to break through stereotypes.
Nothing breaks through stereotypes on both sides like getting an inside look at the people and culture. We were able to learn what people thought of Americans and teach them how wrong some of those ideas were, while also learning what’s true and not true about another country. For example, our host moms were baffled by the American college experience. We learned that Spaniards value their social lives and loved gathering at the plaza late at night.
Living with a family isn’t always perfect, but both of us saw how much more we grew to love Spain because of the values, traditions and ideas our host families taught us.
