Homestay @ MindSay 
I spent my last night in the dorms with a horrific thunderstorm. Montpellier has been so dry since I’ve been here that when they warned me there might be torrential rains, I almost didn’t believe them…almost.
The thunder was so loud that it woke me up in the middle of the night a few times and scared the crap out of me. I was already having a bit of trouble sleeping because I was so nervous to meet my new host mom the next day. The rain continued for a lot of the next day while I was in class and scheduling for my semester. After that I went back to my room and finished packing my things before meeting Akila, my new host mom.
We met in the lobby of the dorms, and she is the cutest lady ever. She is about five feet tall and weighs all of about 100 pounds, even though they don’t use pounds here. Her car is just as tiny, and I was worried that my two huge suitcases (which each weigh more than her) wouldn’t fit inside. They did fit after a little bit of cramming and some creativity. I had to sit in the front with a huge bag on my lap, and she was speaking rapid French to me the whole time. I thought she was telling me that I looked uncomfortable, so I kept saying “no, I’m ok.” Turns out she was telling me that I had to put my seatbelt on before we could leave. I felt like such a moron. Here I am refusing to put a seatbelt on instead of telling her that I’m comfortable. Woopsy.
Anyway, we finally made it to her apartment, and it is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. It’s a small two bedroom apartment, but there are balconies everywhere with tons of plants and the furniture is so interesting. My room is really nice and Akila gave me full rights to all the towels, dishes, and the refrigerator. I have to say that it has been really scary to only be able to speak French with someone and not be able to fall back on English every once in a while, but I think that it is helping my language improve tenfold. I was a bit sad to leave my friends at the dorm, but I can tell that this homestay is going to make the semester even more enjoyable. Here are some pics of my new apartment!!
Yesterday, I checked out of the hotel I had been staying in since I arrived in Jordan and moved in with my host family. So far, the living situation has been quite comfortable with the biggest inconvenience merely being that the house does not have internet access. My family is a 60 year old father and his three sons, whose ages range from 20-25. The mother is half Swiss and living in Switzerland for the fall, so I will most likely not see her during the seven weeks that I spend with the family. The family’s house, situated in middle class neighborhood in Amman, is two levels and much bigger than I expected an Arab middle class house to be. I have my own my bedroom that is quite spacious. Overall, my host family is very laid back and not overbearing. In the 24 hours that I have been living with the family, I have spent the majority of my time situating myself in my new surroundings by unpacking setting up my room, and lounging around and watching TV with my home stay brothers.
Like anybody would feel if they found themselves in a completely new home, I do have some homesickness. Looking at the pictures of friends and family that I have hung up, my initial gut reaction is a desire to return back to the comfort and familiarity of the United States; however, I know that once I develop a daily routine and the secure feeling it brings my homesickness will wane. One instant remedy for my homesickness though has been watching TV with my home stay brothers as the Arab satellite programs have many English speaking channels with American shows such as Friends.
In addition, the conversations I have with my home stay brothers while watching TV makes me feel more and more comfortable with each exchange. Our conversations have run the gambit so far as we have discussed a wide array of topics, ranging from very serious political issues to the question of which region of the Arab world has the most attractive girls. With these conversations I am able to get a deeper glimpse into Arab life and culture. For instance, they jokingly label Jordan as “the 52nd state of America with Israel being the 51st of course”; however, the conversations that I have had with my home stay father, Gaith, have been the most enlightening.
A graduate from the University of Amman with degrees in Physics and Chemistry, a former CEO of an Arab pharmaceutical company, Gaith is quite an intelligent man and a pleasure to talk politics with. While I have lived in his house for only a day, I have had many conversations with him that have allowed me to see the views held by the majority of the Arab world. Even though I do not agree with all of Gaith’s points of view, I still see talking with someone who for instance, supports Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party for their ability to keep Iraq stable, as a precious opportunity to really understand how Arabs view the events of our day. For instance, many Arabs believe that Iraq’s suicidal sectarian violence was instigated by neither al-Qaeda, Baathists, nor Shiite militias, but rather by a United States government that wants to see Iraq stay weak not strong. Expectedly, Gaith’s view of Israel and their treatment of the Palestinian people is very negative. After hearing his account of what he has seen in the West Bank, it is easy to see why Arabs are so passionate about this issue. After only one day, I feel that I am already able to see a world invisible to the lens of a CNN or Fox News camera
And on a different note, here is a view of my school, and from my school:
My homestay family is amazing! I am with a pastor of a Greek Baptist church and his wife, son, a girl from Japan, and guy from Spain and my roomate Anna who is also with the ASC (Australia studies center--my program here). We met them all last night and there is such a feel of family there! I think it will be a great experiance for me--alas, no internet at the home! I should be able to access it every school day though so I can let you all know how things are going!
Our group is heading on a photo scavenger hunt in Sydney in just a few minutes and then tonight we have a dinner together where we all dress "smart-casual". More orientation tomorrow (Friday here) and then I hope to explore some this weekend!
Love you all!
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One goes abroad in part to learn about the every day life of people in another place, and this is something which, in fact, one cannot properly do when living in a dorm with other foreigners—especially other foreigners from the same country. You will spend all your time with them, and you will use nothing but your first language. If you really want to learn the language in your new country, and if at all humanly possible, get a homestay!
If you go this route, you will be matched up with a family with which you will share your meals, living quarters, and activities. You basically become another one of “the kids”, and immersed in the new culture. Immersion is the best way—dare I say the only way—to really learn a foreign language with effect. You can’t escape it. From the moment you wake, having overslept, and have to explain to your host mother that you need to wrap up your breakfast to your goodnights, you will have to learn, if you don’t know already, how to communicate.
Because my university in particular is an American one, my classes are in English, and so the only way for me to really learn Japanese is by speaking with my family daily. For instance, right now I am watching the Olympics on television with my host mother and her close friend, and at intervals explaining the basics of snowboarding (America is doing well, on that note). Another activity I recommend, if your family has children, is to pick up a copy of Harry Potter and try to get them to understand why there is a wizards’ school and how to play wizard sports in a foreign language.
I live with the Narita family in a middle class Tokyo suburb. My host mother’s name is Megumi, and she stays home during the day. She’s in her thirties, but she’s still in a college student mode of fun and she’s great to hang out with. Her husband, Shigeru, is a chef at a restaurant in town, but he’s at work day and night, so I don’t see him unless we go to his restaurant. He did give me an action figure, so I know he’s a cool guy. The two little girls are named Misuzu and Mayuko, and they’re energetic as all else. Child-speak is certainly a challenge to understand, but we have fun. We’re going to Disneyland together next week.
In fact, we never miss a chance to do some activity or other on a free day. That last picture is my family and several other host families’ joint attempt at traditional paper-making. I’m really lucky, because my host mother is friends with another host mother in my town, and I was able to make friends with a host student living nearby. My daily commute is almost two hours (this is quite normal for people who work or study in Tokyo, I assure you) and so it’s great to have someone to ride the train and get lost with.
It’s definitely thanks to my family that my speaking has improved over just the last month. I find myself able to find the words I need, words that I had forgotten quickly when I was learning in the states, quickly enough to hold a respectable conversation. This is something I have never been able to do, in either Japanese, or German before it. I can understand way more. Class will teach you new vocabulary and new grammar structure, but not nearly as quickly or thoroughly as daily contact with the language. I repeat, get a homestay! There’s nothing else like it if you really want to learn.
Why do I want to set up my home as a farmstay?,well additional income,but mainly because in November 2003 I lost my soulmate of 42 years to a road accident and I was left with a 21 acre farmlet in the North Waikato countryside of New Zealand.I had to make a decision to either sell and move nearer to town or stay and set up a business that would keep me busy and help me through my grief.
I decided to stay and try my hand at being a farmstay host.I did the normal things,checked with my accountant about tax regs etc,looked at the average pricing and accommodation requirements and then evaluated the improvements needed on my home to make it suitable.
My first appraisal was,well this will take me about a year of carrying out the upgrading myself.Of course I had not reckoned with delays brought on by my not being able to work at best speed and effectiency due to my grieving,which at times brought with it lack of motivation.There was more work needed than my first appraisal identified and this added to the time needed.I had to pull out doors and replace with larger ones ,re-paint the total inside and exterior,re-place sink units,re-place internal wall boards,fit new shower the list just goes on and on.
Well here it is 2 years later and I am now at that scary place where I have to advertise for customers and hopefully receive my first bookings
