Participants in the program stay with local families, which we arrange for you upon registration and with whom lodging is included in the cost of the program. Returning students often report that the home stay experience was one of the best aspects of studying abroad. Many different types of host families are available, and we attempt to select the best match for each student. All families are carefully screened and must meet NRCSA and the local center's stringent requirements before being accepted as a host family.

By living with a host family you fully immerse yourself in your host country’s culture. Some of the benefits to home stay include:

* Practice a foreign language with native speakers in their day-to-day lives
* Daily interaction with locals from your host country and host family
* Experiencing first-hand the customs you will learn about in class
* Becoming a member of the family and building life-long bonds

All host families are middle-class and live in homes and areas that are attractive and safe. You have your own bedroom in the homestay and both breakfast and dinner are provided. Some are single parent families, others are traditional families, still others are multigenerational. The ages of children in the families range from a few years old to adults, or homes without children. Students are free to come and go as they please, but need to respect the routine of the family they are staying with.

There is no better way to immerse yourself in a new culture than to live among locals. As your host family invites you to expereince their language and culture, you will come to understand your host country and find a place to belong. In the midst of an exciting, challenging and sometimes bewildering journey, they offer us one thing we can recognize—a home-away-from-home.