Angela Green has hosted students for six years. She has welcomed students from many different countries into her home, and they have had the pleasure of living with a generous, committed and genuinely caring host. Here, she writes about how hosting has transformed her family, and how it has brought a positive mentality about different cultures that has overpowered cultural stereotypes seen in the media.
Angela Writes:
For about six years I have been hosting students in my home in Smyrna. I'm so used to having a mini United Nations at the dinner table that I would miss it if I didn't have any new students. Students from all over the world have swooned over my cooking, especially my delicious pasta! Let me share what I have learned through hosting international students...
It is amazing how much we are really all alike.
Believe it or not, we all put on our "tidy whiteys" one leg at a time. My two grandsons, seven and eleven, have become very 'cultured', hearing so many accents during meals. I believe we have inspired understanding between the cultures.
We have learned a lot about Muslim culture, breaking media stereotypes.
We have hosted many Muslim students and my boys known them as big brothers, friends, and yes, even video game rivals! My boys want to travel all over the world when they grow up. We even had a sixteen year old boy from Kazakhstan three years ago. How many American kids can even say Kazakhstan much less know where it is?
Last Christmas we had a party for our students and all their friends. It was amazing. Number one rule: speak only English. That got a lot of laughs. The one thing I remember most about all the students we've met is their laughter. Did you realize that laughter does not have an accent?
Warm Regards, Angela (A Host Mom)
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Visit www.markshomestay.com for more information about hot you can host an international student, and what benefits it can bring to your family when you open your home to a new culture. Or, contact info@markshomestsy.com with any questions.
