Host families sought for students

Hosting a foreign student for any period of time is a learning experience Helen Walker recommends wholeheartedly.

Having hosted 21 students together with husband Neil and having been AFS president for Taranaki Central for four years, she does speak from experience.

The Walkers started hosting twelve years ago after someone called up asking whether they would be keen.

``We agreed and enjoyed the experience, so we continued doing it,'' says Helen.

And they have not skipped a year. Though their children are all grown up now with the youngest being 25, Helen says they will continue to host students as long as they are able.

``You just get so much out of it. It is an international adventure without having to leave home.''

However, an ardent traveller regularly going abroad, she has visited many of her `other children' at their homes and still has contact with most.

``Our German daughter (who stayed with them in 2007) is planning to come here December. So far we have visited students in Malaysia, Finland, Japan and Thailand. You build up good relationships.''

She says hosting foreign students is especially valuable to families with young children as it exposes the kids to other cultures.

``It increases our understanding, and develops our ability to communicate across cultures. They (the children) will be way ahead of their peers.''

The students being hosted, usually ranges between 16 and 18 years old and is normally hosted for a year (the most popular period of time), six months or eight weeks.

And, she says, the organisation desperately needs more host families and they don't want to have to turn students away.

``There is always high demand with New Zealand being a popular destination.''

She says the host families (who are not paid) provide meals and a bed and that there is no obligation to take them on any special trips.

``The students understand that they are here for a school-based intercultural experience, and that they are not tourists,'' she says, ``although most families treat the students like their own children''.

Helen, who is also the organisation's intercultural learning co-coordinator countrywide, says she is fascinated by cultural differences. She says it is easy to write someone from another culture off as rude or abrasive if you do not understand their culture.

``It is more than only about the visible aspects of culture. It is the way we communicate, how we treat authority, the values we hold.''

Should you want to become a host family, contact Helen at (06) 278 7541 or register your interest at www.afs.org.nz.