Homestay Kitchen

Episode 7: Advocating For and Supporting International Students

November 26, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Holiday, Long-term hosting, Short-term hosting 00:47:37

In this episode, Mary challenged Erin to talk about her being a Mama Bear; tender claws out and ready to advocate for her students. Listen for the way Erin handles challenging situations including when she rescues Christmas for her student’s friend and dealing with high school teachers, which can be challenging all on their own. Then we take a little side track as Mary gets a delivery at the door… all before Mary shares her stories about how she saved a student’s romantic relationship, which causes Erin to feel like throwing up because of the suspense.

(more…)

Episode 6: Selecting International Students for your Homestay Family

November 19, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Holiday, Long-term hosting, Short-term hosting 00:44:11

In this episode, we share our experiences of how we select international students to become a part of our homestay family.  We chat about how one student in Mary’s short-term homestay experience got her to change her number one request on a student profile.  We walk through what you should consider when matching a student profile to your family, and ultimately, how we decide to host a student in our home.  Then we explore Erin’s detailed student profile applications, while she goes on one of her tangents to provide some very insightful tips for what to do with your kids when travelling with your students.

(more…)

Episode 5: Canadian Student Life, Parental Pressure Studying Abroad, and a Passion for Music with Jenny

November 12, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Cooking with Students, Guests, Holiday, Long-term hosting 00:38:59

In this episode, we dive in with Erin’s student from China, Jenny. She’s here on a high school program for a couple years and at the time of the recording, is one of two students in Erin’s home. Jenny has a love of music that we explore and hear samples of during the show. She truly is talented and has a passion for life, which we’ll hear about as she describes her student lifestyle in Canada, the pressures of studying abroad away from her parents, and what her dreams are for the future after completing her Canadian high school education.

(more…)

Episode 4: Weaving Birthday Traditions with Cross Cultural Experiences

November 5, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Birthdays, Cooking with Students, Food, Long-term hosting, Short-term hosting 00:38:06

In this episode, we dive into birthdays! Jon and Blake’s birthdays are one day apart, so we talk birthday plans and what Erin’s students have up their sleeves for Blake… while Mary reveals her one big mistake in communication about birthdays with her first ever student.

(more…)

Episode 3: Traditions of Halloween Past and How We Get International Students Involved Today

October 29, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Holiday 00:37:25

In this episode, we’re talking Halloween! We explore what each of our families does for Halloween and how you can incorporate your homestay student into the festivities. We reminisce about our past Halloween experiences to reveal how sometimes these student situations make us feel old.

(more…)

Episode 2: The One About Erin

October 21, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Food, Long-term hosting 00:32:56

In this episode, Mary interviews Erin.  We talk about how we first met, reminiscing about Erin’s high school experience of being a homestay sister, and we dissect a day in her family’s crazy life to reveal how her students are the best part of her day.

(more…)

Episode 1: The One About Mary

October 4, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Cooking with Students, Food, Short-term hosting 00:31:20

In this episode, Erin interviews Mary. We talk about how Mary got started hosting international homestay students. Mary shares some of her experiences with hosting, her love of cooking, crafting, and how she includes her students in her home life.

(more…)

Coming Soon is the Homestay Kitchen!

September 22, 2018 Homestay Kitchen Homestay Kitchen News

Join us, Mary Chan and Erin Eastman Paulson, as we serve up stories of being a homestay family – the ups and downs of making a connection with international homestay students. We’ll bring a plateful of stories, ideas, interviews and hopefully dish up some anecdotes to share with our community.