Home in the midst of Uncertainty

For a young individual who decides to volunteer, and wants to experience the highest level of culture and language immersion , host family is just a cherry on the top. It is the best way to live locally, get versed with the culture, make meaningful connections and most of all, embrace a home away from home.

Living in a host family can be a comfortable venture, but on the other hand , like most relationships it can be intimidating too, and hence this experience is bound to bring with itself a pocketful of good days and bad days. And it all leads to you getting the most enriched experience, with people who push you out of your awkward shyness and uneasiness and provide you with not just a house, but also a home.

Host families comes in all shapes and sizes – Now this can be a disclaimer for a volunteer so that he knows what he is signing up for, but then , like they say, there is no perfect shape and size, and you just need to make the best out of what you get.

Ayush Juyal , an exchange participant from Dehradun, volunteered for an autism centre in Helfie, China. He lived a host family experience and shared it with us in the following manner –

“When it comes to my host family , I really have no words to describe them. I was lucky I got to stay with such a beautiful loving family.”

“My homestay father was a very knowledgeable and a funny man. He always used to make people happy. And he was also the only one in his family who could communicate with me in English. He used to share his Indian experience with me, since he had visited India a few months back.
My homestay mother was a computer science teacher , and she was a good wife and mother. She always tried to talk to me and make me feel comfortable although she did not speak english. They had a little cute daughter, who played piano and sang.”

I got to experience the Chinese way of living in the best way possible. The kind of food they ate, the things they liked to do, I experienced everything. I also learned a lot of good qualities from them and most of all, I learnt how to survive in an unknown land.

I believe my host family was the support system in my exchange programme. They guided me every time I needed help. I could talk to them openly about anything and gain insights on a lot of things about China. Also , my expenses reduced since I did not have to pay for my meals. Everything was really good. And I just felt that these people are my true family. I am still in touch with them, they miss me a lot.”

This is the beauty of host families. You go from strangers to friends , and eventually leave behind a family.
While on exchange, you get an opportunity to live your true self and then you meet people who make it easier for you and become a part of the process.

AIESEC offers exchange opportunities across the globe.
Different AIESEC exchanges have different types of accommodation depending upon the project and the countries. You can select one of the opportunity from www.aiesec.org .
You can also choose to shape an experience for these interns by hosting them at your home.
Contact us if you are interested from our Facebook Page

Blog by- Khyati Ghai