{"id":7739,"date":"2022-09-29T00:21:14","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T14:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blackfriars.sa.edu.au\/a-home-away-from-home-for-our-international-boys\/"},"modified":"2023-10-26T14:55:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T04:25:41","slug":"a-home-away-from-home-for-our-international-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackfriars.sa.edu.au\/a-home-away-from-home-for-our-international-boys\/","title":{"rendered":"A home away from home for our international boys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fancy a full-on cultural experience without leaving the comfort of home? Blackfriars is looking for homestay families for some of our international students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And International Students Program Officer Angela Honner says the homestay families get just as much out of the experience as the boys they host.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a wonderful thing to do,\u201d says Ms Honner, who has opened her own home to dozens of international students over the past 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s learning about another culture. We\u2019re all so very closely connected with technology \u2026 nothing\u2019s very far away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut this is first-hand. Learning different things about how they get on at school, what they do with their parents, their parents\u2019 way of life.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I think it\u2019s also really good for the children of those homestay families to be able to understand a different culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of Blackfriars international students, from countries such as China, Vietnam and Korea, live with family or friends in Adelaide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Ms Honner says as well as learning English more quickly, living in a homestay environment provides huge benefits to the international students.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Blackfriars International Students Program Officer Angela Honner with some of the 2022 international cohort.<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cDipping into the local culture and improving speaking skills are some of the most rewarding experiences for students living in homestay,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut there are many more positive things, including having a home away from home, making life-long friends and becoming a valued family member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout knowing it, in no time at all, the boys develop a sense of belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homestay families must be able to provide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n