When looking to get out of the country, for whatever reason, you may be surprised at how well a homestay may fit into your plans. Instead of going on a vacation, where you're stuck in the persona of a tourist, you sit on your butt at a resort, you don't learn much, and you spend a small fortune, you can cut costs and grow tremendously by opting for a homestay or home exchange program.

It may seem farfetched at first... why would someone just let me stay with them for no money? However, the fact is that your services, teaching English, watching the kids, or doing householf chores will be incredibly valuable to the family you stay with. When you find a host, you have the opporunity of a lifetime that will stick with you much longer than the memory of an ordinary vacation.

Price

This is the most obvious benefit of a homestay. In these troubling economic days, everyone is looking to pinch pennies, and save wherever they can. Unfortunately, that largely cuts into vacation expenditure. There is though, the FREE housing option of a homestay. You don't have to be rich or retired to see the world anymore. It's kind of a no brainer.

Culture

At the resort, you really don't interact with anyone other than your own kind. Of course, you might make your waiter laugh at a corny joke, or say thank you to your hotel housekeeper, or get fooled into thinking you get a bargain from local merchant, but you really don't get to experience the people of the area. On homestay, you're living amongst them. The complete cultural immersion can give you new insights and perspectives on the wolrd. You couldn't get that from fancy resort, no matter how much you pay.

Language

As you're living with these people, you will have no option but to pick up on their language. Learning another language is one of the most rewarding academic and social goals one can accomplish, as it literally opens up a whole world of communication lines. Breaking down a language barrier can help you abroad in an infinite amount of ways. From getting a fair price on a lampshade, to learning a traditional song, to reading the local news with complete literacy, it will make your experience tremendously more enjoyable and genuine.

Opportunity

While you're abroad on a homstay, you have a number of chances to make money, or even a career if you are there long term. In nations that have a healthy business relationship with America, native English-speakers are extremely valuable, and you will have no problem finding a job. Building up international contacts gives you an unmatchable network of relationships and possibilities.

Experience

Last, but perhaps the best part of a homestay, is the experience you gain and the memories you create. There is no substitute for experiencing an entirely different lifestyle for a period of time. Such a diverse and enlighting time will give you countless stories to share with anyone you talk to in the future. When that oh-so-common travel conversation comes up, think about you're bragging possibilities. You weren't only there, you were there.

I hear so many people around campus talking about how they're going to travel the world and see all these places and gain all these new experiences, all before they're 25. They talk about the constant moving and the exotic destinations without even considering one thing - there is absolutely no way to pay for it all.

I have too fallen victim to the travel chatter. A few months ago I got wrapped up into a conversation with my friend about how awesome a trip to northern Europe would be. We talked about the people, the parties, the hot springs, and after about an hour of our muses decided to go through with it. Now, I was anticipating a rather steep cost, but I made a point to search online through the cheapest of the cheap; coach airline tickets, low class hostels, budget train and ferry rates, cheap food, the best low-cost sights and attractions. We would be living with the bare-bones necessities, and nothing more.

Even then, the cost blew my mind. The cheapest round trip plane ticket to Sweden, Denmark, Norway, or Iceland? Nothing under $800. Once we got there, the train would be about $700 for a 15-Day pass, plus another €400 give or take for the ferries. The very cheapest hostels were all around €20 a night, which would be about $500 for the trip. Add in all the other expenses and calculate the weakness of the dollar and we'd be looking at a pounding on my bank account of close to four thousand dollars. Ouch. So much for bare-bones.

How can students like me experience the world when we really don't have any consistant source of income (or a daddy with a fat checkbook)?

That's where the student homestay comes in. Host families all around the world are willing to let travel-craving students stay in their houses at no cost than a few hours a week of work - like teaching English, tutoring, gardening, chores, and anything else of the like. Unlike an ordinary vacation, you're completely immersed in the foreign culture, which will accelerate your learning and acclimation rapidly. Plus, you always have a "home" to go back to if you need it, as your host family will be extremely helpful and supportive in your adjustment.

A homestay is the ideal situation for a student who is going to be soon looking for work - the experience abroad will boost your resume enormously, and even furthermore if you become fluent in another language. If you can't find a job in the U.S. with the economic downturn, you are likely to have more luck in another country. Native english-speakers will find a high demand for their abilities in areas with strong American business relations.

Even if you only want to stay for a short time, a homestay is a much more immersive and economical option than a normal vacation. You will find new worlds of culture and engage in everyday interaction with new, diverse people, giving you an experience that you will enjoy tremendous personal growth, and look back on as a fantastic time in your life.

Did I mention the housing is free?

Alright this may be the ethnocentric New Yorker inside of me talking but - there is no better Chinese food to be had than in the restauants of Chinatown, NY.

I'm not talking about the fancy 3-different-types-chopsticks-to-choose-from asian "cuisines." I'm talking about the, "wander through the underground stairwell that is very much like a cellar then sit at a wooden table and eat off steaming metal plates" type of restaurants. That's the real asian cuisine.

I actually find it very amusing to be herded through the rooms like cattle by the hostess, only to be seated by the kitchen, where you are in a perfectly clear view of the not-so-behind-the-scenes feuds that develop throughout your stay. Those fights are classic. One time I saw our waitress lash out at a chef over a bit of burned dim sum. The ensuing battle led to a frying pan being hurled through the kitchen - twice! We then got a new waitress.

Who would want to see a Broadway show for about two dollars per laugh when you can have an even better time listening to real life comedic genius? The experience alone is enough to keep me coming every time I'm in the city... and I haven't even mentioned the food left.

Somewhere along the line mainstream Chinese restaurants decided that noodles are to be for specifically decorative purposes. How else do you explain why every single one looks exactly the same and if you take a bite of one it just tastes like a potato chip that's just been left out too long. Not in Chinatown! The meal starts with a fresh bowl of crispy deep fried goodness that leaves you tempted to dig in and just order the same thing for the rest of the night; but then the main courses come - in about ten minutes!

Oh the thought of the tender mu shu pork, the heartly chow fun, the billow of steam that emits as a huge bowl of white rice is incovered for the first time, the first bite of sweet and sour chicken that leads me into an aggressive rampage through the row of dishes before me. Then the question wanders into my consciousness - does it taste like this in China?

Eating in these places has given me a real craving to go to China, specifically for the reason of taste-testing. If I were to actually fulfill this little secret goal of mine, I would definitely do so on a homestay. How else could I experience the real asian cuisine that I seek so persistantly? To live with a host Chinese family would give me not only the learning and visual experiences, but the one that matters most to me - a taste experience.

I can only imagine what it would be like to live in such a totally different world, then coming back after working to the welcoming scents of sweet and spicy ethnic Chinese food. The mere thought of it is making my stomach growl in anticipation. Going there would probably make me cringe at the thought of an American-style Chinese buffet.

So if anybody out there has the knowledge to share with me on real Chinese food or an opportunity to experience it, feel free to share it!