When you go to a homestay for study abroad or overseas training, you may get into trouble. Sometimes you get into trouble because of a different way of thinking, and sometimes you get misunderstood in English and you don’t get along with your host family. Here are some examples of troubles during homestay.
Troubles with host brothers or host sisters
Little children come into your rooms
When homestaying, the host family often gives international students one room. Yes, privacy must be protected, but in some cases this is not the case.
If your host family has young children, they are curious about international students from Japan. It may be that we have never seen a suitcase. At that time, international students come from a distant country called Japan with a big suitcase, so they come closer with an interest in what kind of person they are and what kind of country they are from.
Therefore, it is quite possible that children will come into their room. Of course, it would be nice if you had a key in your room, but in many cases you don’t have one. It’s not uncommon for children to suddenly enter a room, or for children to play in their room while they are away.
How to take care of personal items
Children may not be able to judge right from wrong and may open the bag or suitcase of an international student. And sometimes even things that are important to international students, such as passports and wallets, are taken out. Especially if you have a lot of money or a credit card, it can lead to financial problems.
Therefore, be sure to keep your valuables in your suitcase and lock them. Also, don’t worry if you lock your suitcase and don’t leave it in a visible place in your room. You probably have two keys in your suitcase, so it’s also important to treat them separately, one hidden somewhere in the room, one carried around, and so on. If you hide them together, you will lose them at the same time when you lose them.
It may be recommended that you leave it with your host family, but it is safer to keep important things in a place where you can understand them.
Children turned off the lights in the bathroom!?
When I was in my first year of high school, I had a one-month homestay in Canada. At that time, at the homestay of my friend’s host family, who was also homestaying, a young host brother made a fuss about turning off the lights in the bathroom while she was taking a shower. .. She was in danger of her host brother coming into her room, and was shocked to find that her bathroom was turned off.
At that time, she shouted, “I hate you.” This in turn caused the host family to get angry, and the coordinator was present for discussion. In this way, trouble can lead to further trouble.
Troubles with host families
Their own relationship isn’t great
Depending on the host family, there may be problems with the marital relationship or parent-child relationship. Even if you do a homestay, you will stay as a member of the family at that house, so if such a problem occurs, you may be involved.
When I was in my first year of high school studying in the United States for a year, I was in Washington for the first month. At that time, both host parents had divorced three times, and the marital relationship at that time had already been cracked. They didn’t really care about each other’s children, and even their family relationships could break down at any time.
Better talk to your coordinator ASAP
In my case, I only stayed for one month, so I was careful not to get involved, to say extra things, and not to give my opinion. However, when I actually hear from people who have studied abroad, it is not uncommon for them to have problems with their host family during their homestay and have to change their homestay destination.
If you experience problems with your host family during your homestay, are clearly uncomfortable with yourself, or feel that you do not have a place to stay, talk to your coordinator as soon as possible. International students only have a fixed amount of time, so it’s a waste to waste time.
It could deteriorate the relationship with them…
They may not think well
If you accept an international student as a host family, you must treat it like your own child. However, some host families inevitably make a clear difference with their children.
When I was a coordinator, a boy in sixth grade of elementary school once said, “I eat supper alone every night.” He told me that the children’s study was scheduled to end at 5 pm, but his host family’s home was so far away that it would take an hour by car. The host mother said she would leave home at 4 o’clock and arrive at 6 o’clock.
The host mother, who had three young children at home and thought that 6 o’clock was too late for dinner, had the children eat dinner before leaving home at 4 o’clock, and she also had dinner there. The host father, who returned home before 6 o’clock, was eating by himself, so by the time the Japanese child returned home, the whole family had finished eating. The child was alone, eating in the dining room, while the host family seemed to spend time in the living room.
Talk to host families and coordinators
When I heard this story, I thought that it shouldn’t be the same, so I talked directly with the child’s host family. It seems that the host mother didn’t really think deeply, and she promised that she would “beside me from now on.”
In this way, even if you think “why does it happen” from this side, it may cause trouble because the host family does not think deeply. In such cases, you can talk directly with your host family if possible, or talk to your coordinator if you find it difficult to talk to your host family.
Don’t judge without any clues
For international students who work hard in an unfamiliar environment, if they do not go well with their host family, they may think negatively that “everyone hates me” and “doesn’t think about me anyway”. This is a common story. However, there are many cases where it is just a misunderstanding or just a misunderstanding for no unexpectedly deep reason.
If you find something unpleasant, don’t make a subjective decision and respond calmly. It is important to talk to your host family or coordinator before pessimistically thinking that everyone may hate you. When we talk about it, we may say, “What is it?” If you think you have a problem, feel free to discuss it.
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