Hosting a foreign exchange/care provider within your home is a wonderful opportunity to interact with persons from another country and culture. Moreover, it is an opportunity to introduce another person to your own community and culture, someone who may have little concrete experience with your country and who may be basing assumptions on media stereotypes and images. As a result, when you are hosting a student or a visitor, you become a representative example of your country and its people-certainly the most immediate and intense example the homestay person will get. In a way, hosting is your chance to set the record straight and dispel many of those myths so prevalent around the world about your culture. As a way to help you prepare for this role of "cultural ambassador," here are a few basic, common-sense guidelines for hosting a foreign traveler in your home. A little attention to these details will go a long way toward helping make the best home stay experience possible for everyone.

§  Find out a little about you homestay/exchange persons before they arrive, and share information and images of you, your family and your home at the same time

You can imagine how frightening it must be to arrive in a new country with little or no language knowledge and move into the home of virtual strangers. That is why it is important to make an effort to get to know something about the homestay person before you meet for the first time. Contact them and find out something about them well in advance of their arrival.

How much of your language do they speak? What are their goals for the time they are staying with you? How much experience do they have with people of your country? What questions do they have about your community and your family? What is their family like? Their community? What do they like to eat? What hobbies do they have? What music do they enjoy?

There are so many questions you can ask ahead of time, many of which will not only help the homestay/exchange person be more comfortable with you but also help you prepare for their arrival. Moreover, you should send them the same kinds of information, including images of you, your family, your community, and your home. All these things will help you and the homestay/exchange person know what to expect and make the first encounter a little less abstract and less frightening.

On a different note, before you commit to having someone come into your home, it is important to get criminal background checks from your homestay person. You will likely be asked to provide such assurance yourself to your homestay guest. Such checks are generally easy and inexpensive to get, and they are increasingly useful to ensure safety and honesty among people agreeing to enter into a homestay/exchange arrangement.  They are just another way to lessen the "fear of the unknown" that so often plagues the beginnings of exchanges.

§  Make clear the expectations for work hours, duties, and compensation before the person arrives in your home

If you are providing a work-for-lodging arrangement for your homestay/exchange guest, a lot of problems can be averted by making sure everyone is clear on what is expected from both sides of the host and care relationship. It might even be useful to consider writing a contract explicitly stating the expectations and compensation for both sides and asking your homestay/exchange person to sign it-and you sign it, too. Whether it is a legally binding agreement or not, such a contract/agreement will give each of you an objective reference to return to if questions or issues arise relevant to your expectations and responsibilities. It just makes things cleaner and simpler.

§  Provide a safe, friendly, nurturing, comfortable and supportive environment.

Learn from the information you receive from your soon-to-arrive guest and put yourself into their shoes. They are not natives to your country and culture and may have little experience outside their own countries--and own homes for that matter. How will they see you and your home when they arrive? Is it clean, inviting, and safe? Are their quarters comfortably furnished, clean, welcoming? And what about you? Are you friendly, welcoming and open? Can you be flexible, supportive, even nurturing if the situation requires? Are you and your family ready and eager to invite a stranger into your home for an extended period of time?

Of course, there is a clear line of behavior and familiarity that you must not cross. Make sure you are aware of cultural standards that might help you not violate private space and cultural boundaries. Above all, be open and willing to share your knowledge and experience with your guest. Make them feel at home and part of the family. This will go a long way toward creating the right environment for your homestay/exchange guest.

§  Provide a separate private bedroom for the student and a space where he/she can study, relax and/or decompress.

Imagine the pressure of having to fit into another culture, another family, another language community. It is incredibly stressful and tiring. Your homestay/exchange guest will need a place to get away sometimes-if only to decompress from and/or reflect on the day's experiences. A separate, comfortable bedroom and a place to study or relax privately will be essential. The bedroom should have a door and should be able to be locked when the guest is away or in the room. And keep in mind, when your homestay/exchange person retreats to his or her room, it is not an insult to you; rather, it is more likely just their need for time away from responsibility and the stresses of having to deal with so many new things in a day. You will find they retreat more early on in the stay because things are so new. Later on, when they are more comfortably a part of your household, they will feel the need to retreat less often. Be patient with them.

§  Bathrooms may be shared, but each party's privacy is to be respected at all times.

This is pretty much self-explanatory. We each value our privacy, and it is essential to respect the privacy needs of the person you are hosting. Some cultures are far more modest than others, so be patient and flexible as you seek to accommodate the privacy needs of your guest.

§  Make sure there is enough healthy food available each day.

Food and meals are almost universally regarded as a special time for getting to know others and sharing experiences, culture, and good times. As such, it is a great time for the host family to interact with their guests and share ideas, stories, pleasant experiences, and cultural knowledge.

In some arrangements, the homestay/exhange person will have the responsibility of preparing meals for the family as part of their agreed-upon duties. Even so, helping each other in the kitchen can be a great way to get to know your guest and deal with little things that come up each day.

If meal plans change from the routine schedule, please let the homestay/exchange person know in advance and leave food for him/her to prepare. Moreover, sometimes your homestay guests will have dining opportunities separate from the family. Make an effort to accommodate these occurrences when they are reasonable.

And finally, many cultures have very different dietary needs and customs. While you cannot entirely disrupt your own family's diet and routine, make an effort to accommodate the dietary needs of your guest, especially if they differ significantly from your own (e.g., vegetarian, vegan, kosher).

§  A key to your home should be provided so the homestay/exchange person may come and go as he/she wishes.

Your homestay/exchange guest is effectively part of your household with opportunities and experiences that will take them outside the home. Make it easy for them to get in and out without having to depend on your being home. Of course, it is also important that you remind your guest of the need to protect the family and home by keeping doors locked and keys safe.

§  Homestay/exchange guests should have access to laundry facilities to wash and dry clothes.

Of course, this depends on availability of laundry facilities. Many homes have clothes washers and driers. Some do not. If you have facilities in your home, acquaint your homestay/exchange person with their location and correct operation, including what may and may not be washed. If you do not have facilities, help the guests locate the nearest facilities available for their use. The homestay guest should be responsible for purchasing laundry detergent and paying for the use of Laundromat facilities.

§  If you have computer and internet access in your home, allow the homestay/exchange persons reasonable access, when possible.

If you have wireless access in your home, you may suggest your guest bring a laptop to use. If you have a shared computer in the home, allow the person reasonable access to the computer and internet to do school work, internet searches, and to communicate with home. You will want to make clear any limitations you wish to place on what sorts of sites the person may or may not visit and how long each day they may use the computer.

§  Be willing to set aside time to spend with the guest, and provide an atmosphere that will allow the person to practice your language in a natural and friendly environment.

Many homestay/exchange persons will be students of your language, so they will be eager to practice the language with you and your family. Meals, cooking, and shared outings are great times to interact comfortably with your guest. Take advantage of these opportunities-and create others daily-to give them time to hear and speak the language. Moreover, this will give them time to ask questions and sometimes deal with frustrations and confusions that are bothering them. Be open, welcoming, supportive and communicative.

§  Respect your homestay/exchange person's religious preferences

While the homestay guest may be invited to attend religious services, you and your family should not apply any pressure to do so. In many cultures, spirituality is exercised internally, and your homestay/exchange guest may not feel comfortable participating in prayer or other outwardly religious activities-including at the dinner table.  The host family and guest must always respect each other's religious beliefs and seek ways to accommodate them. If your guest has a desire to engage in religious observances other than those observed by your family or religious organization, help them find the appropriate community or organization to accommodate their needs.

§  Teach the homestay/exchange person about your culture and allow her/him to participate in family activities.

One reason the guest is visiting your country is to learn about your language and culture. Culture begins in the family, so inviting your guest to be a part of family activities (e.g., outings, vacations, dinners out, parties, school events, shopping trips) will give them a safe opportunity to see your culture in action-and friendly natives to ask for explanation and guidance when necessary.

§  Instruct the homestay/exchange guest on how to make local and emergency phone calls.  You do not have to allow long distance or international phone calls, but the guest should be allowed to use a calling card to phone home.

For safety sake, you guest needs to know how to use the local phone system and how to access emergency services when required.  Be clear and direct about how and when to use these services. On another note, homesickness is a universal phenomenon, and sometimes it takes a call home to ease the strain of an unfamiliar environment and language. Allow easy and generous access (within reason, of course) to the telephone for calls home-at the guest's expense, of course. To help accomplish this, assist your guest in finding reasonably priced pre-paid calling cards as necessary, and help them learn how to use the cards.

§  Unless your homestay/exchange student has responsibility for providing transportation for people in your household or is required to run errands for you, you probably will not want to lend your personal vehicle to them.

This is a matter of safety and risk management. Unless it is essential for the guest to have access to your car, he or she should use public transportation. If you feel the need to allow use of your car, please talk to your insurance agent and/or legal representative about liability and insurance issues. It is best to forgo convenience in order to prevent possible liability problems.  If public transportation is available where you live, help the guest access and negotiate the transportation system.

Sharing your home and culture with a homestay/exchange person is an adventure well worth undertaking. These tips and good common sense will help make the adventure a delight for both you and your guest.