ITD homestays offer international participants a day-long cross-cultural exchange with a local family. This component is part of many ITD programs, often leading to lasting international friendships. Homestay families frequently tell us how much they value staying in touch with their guests and even making reciprocal visits to their home countries. A typical homestay day involves sharing meals, exploring the local area, and exchanging cultural insights and traditions.
Host Families
Homestays may range in length anywhere from an overnight to two weeks depending on the program. If you are interested in learning more about the homestay experience and being a part of the ITD network of families and community members, please Contact the ITD office.
My wife and I have been weekend hosts for ITD guests often; we look forward to hearing that a new group is coming to Amherst. Our guests have been from South and Central America as well as the Middle East, and although our guests are grateful and enthusiastic about these cross-cultural weekends, I feel certain that we are the ones who get the most out of these visits. In every case, our guests have been thoughtful, gracious, smart, engaging young people who are as curious about our lives as we are about theirs. We’ve cooked together, walked and hiked in the woods, visited local sites and conversed about our lives and cultures over numerous cups of coffee and tea. What a gift it is to have members of the world community come to us in Amherst and into our homes to share our cultures and customs with one another. Thank you ITD for making this possible.
We all had some great philosophical banter. All in all, a truly wonderful weekend.
We had really interesting conversations about our view of America and were able to draw them out about their real, not just polite, impressions of our country.