Guide for Hosts

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Common Challenges Communication & Happy Compromise We hope that your time spent with the student will be very rewarding and enjoyable. There may, however, be moments when you or they encounter certain problems. Often, issues arise from lack of communication, miscommunication or inability to compromise. If you experience any problems, please try the following helpful process: 1. Speak with your student and your family immediately. Often, what appears to be a big issue really isn’t unless it is left unattended. On the other hand, one small incident can snowball into a very large problem if nobody talks about it. Therefore, if you or your student has a problem, if you are unsure about something, if you feel that your student is upset by something or your family is upset by something, talk to them. Keep in mind that everyone is interested in finding an amicable solution, and that most problems arise because of assumptions and lack of dialogue. 2. Call CHI. If the problem cannot be resolved by speaking with the student and your family, please DO NOT have them call their parents or their Agent to complain. Instead, we encourage you to take advantage of the strongest homestay support network in Canada, and call CHI for assistance. You may also wish to have your student call us as well. We ask this because we have a lot of experience in helping hosts and students. We want to help and can only do so if we are aware of the situation. By contacting CHI, you are able provide us with you’re your perspective directly, which is preferable to second or third-hand information. When you talk to one of us at CHI, we can arrange to meet and to talk about the problem in person, if you prefer. We can then work out a solution together, one that is to everyone’s satisfaction. Persistent Problems Although it is unusual, it is possible that you may wish us to relocate your student, or that your student may wish to be relocated as a result of persistent problems or conflict. In such cases, we will offer to help see if a solution can be found, and we will ask to hear your perspective on things, but we will never dispute your request to remove the student. When a relocation is requested, we work quickly to find an alternative homestay Why Would a Student Be Moved? CHI is committed to the health, safety, and happiness of our hosts and our students. We are objective arbiters when conflicts arise. After you and your student have had the chance to talk about our concerns with each other and have been reminded of the consequences, a student may be relocated from your home (and may even be sent back to his or her home country) if he or she is disrespectful toward you or your family or refuses to abide by your rules, or behaves in a manner inconsistent with our program standards. By the same token, we will relocate a student from your home if you or any of your family members: • Fails consistently to provide adequate and/or healthy food; • Neglects the student, by failing to include them in suitable family activities, or by failing to pursue constructive communication and conversation with the student; • Willfully disrespects the student, either through lack of consideration or insensitivity toward the student’s feelings and/or culture; • Fails to provide a clean and adequately maintained physical environment; © 2011 CHI/CANADA HOMESTAY INTERNATIONAL 6
• Are in unresolved personality conflicts, as a family or with your students; • Steals your student’s property; or • Harasses your student in any way: verbally, emotionally, physically, or sexually. In a typical year more than 90% of our students rate their homestays as satisfactory or better; many say they love their hosts and don’t want to go home! Of the less than 10% who request a move, most have allergies or food restrictions they failed to tell us about. Of the fraction of students moved for personal reasons, less than 1% requests a second change. Medical Emergencies All students have their own medical coverage; just to make sure they are prepared for any emergency, please ask to see their insurance policies and cards. If they don’t have, or are unaware of their medical insurance please notify CHI immediately. In case of a medical emergency, please react as you would with your own children or friends. After you take whatever immediate action you consider appropriate (including calling 911), please call the CHI Emergency Line listed at the end of this Guide. We have experience and training in handling emergencies, and we will be there for you! Final Thoughts Almost every difficulty we ever face in homestay has something to do with communication. It all comes down to a simple problem: in the first weeks of a homestay (and sometimes longer), your students will ordinarily find it very hard to express themselves—and to understand you—even when it comes to simple wants and needs (and feelings). This may cause a student (and us) to feel defensive, vulnerable, incompetent, or frustrated. These feelings can all be compounded by a student’s limited vocabulary—a student may, without meaning to, sound blunt, stubborn, insensitive, or selfish. Worse yet, the student might not want to say anything at all. Here are some things to keep in mind: • The hardest thing for students from some cultures to do is to complain. If your student doesn’t feel comfortable expressing herself, she’ll be reluctant to bother you. She may say things are “fine” rather than risk insulting you. Make things easier by being patient and being as precise as possible. Ask specific questions in order to identify problems and concerns, about everything from laundry to dinner. • Sophisticated speech is part of being well mannered, and it is exactly this sophistication that your student is here to pursue. Be patient if they’re not there yet. • Quiet behavior does not mean that they are not enjoying the experience, talk to them and see how they’re doing; •Most students experience some degree of culture shock and homesickness, and it often does not set in until a few weeks into their travels. Each person is different, so there is no panacea. Be understanding. © 2011 CHI/CANADA HOMESTAY INTERNATIONAL 7
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