Homestay in JAPAN!! > Interview

Interview

Meet the Host Family and their Students!

The Host Family: Mr. and Mrs. I	The Students: "L" and "H"

Mr. and Mrs. I are from the West Tama area in Tokyo. This was the first time for them to host exchange students. No previous experience meant planning what to do with the students beforehand was challenging, but fun. They decided to take their students many memorable places during the home stay.	"L" and "H" (ages 19 and 14) are from Hong Kong. They came to Japan for a one month language study and cultural study program. Both L and H can speak Japanese (mid to upper level fluency) and they homestayed with the I’s while attending language school. They tried their best to talk with the I’s while at home.

Host Family Interview

This was the I’s first experience hosting a student from abroad. We asked them what it was like!

What was it like actually hosting an exchange student?

Well, since it was our first experience we weren't really sure what we should do exactly, but we decided to try to focus on just showing them what everyday life is like in our family, and also try to give them some great memories they could take home to Hong Kong.

First, we showed the plans we had made to the boys, and when we asked them if there was anything they'd like to do or anywhere they'd like to go, they said they wanted to see some famous spots near our city. Fortunately, it was the Summer Festival season, so that worked out perfectly.

What was the most surprising thing about hosting students?

The most surprising thing was probably when I had them fill out the homestay experience report. I made the basic report form and gave it to them to fill out in Japanese.

I was really surprised to see how quickly and smoothly they had typed in the Japanese. They were a lot better then I had expected... I thought "They must have really studied hard in school!"

Were their any concerns, or trouble during the stay?

Well, nothing in particular comes to mind. Both boys could speak Japanese very well and had no major problems communicating what they needed or concerns they had. We were really fortunately to have students who could speak Japanese well, so I suppose if we had hosted students with little or no Japanese, we might have had trouble figuring out how to communicate.

A message from the students

Here are two messages from L and H, originally written in Japanese.

From L:

The I's were really nice people. I won't forget them.
I love the scenery around Hinodecho. The people in Hinodecho love their own town.
Thank you very much, Mr. and Mrs. I. You are like my own grandmother and grandfather.

From H:

I was happy when Mr. and Mrs. I came to the station to meet us.
Mr. I was always very nice and taught to me many things.
Mrs. I was always smiling and put up with my mistakes.
Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. I, I was blessed with being able to see the beautiful scenery of Tokyo's west ward.
I really want to thank Mr. and Mrs. I from the bottom of my heart. Thank you very much.