
LEARN ABOUT A NEW CULTURE.
One of the benefits of hosting a student is the richness of sharing another culture. When you host a student, you become receptive, respectful, and engaged with a culture different from your own. Learning about a new culture is a deeply enriching experience that opens your mind, challenges your assumptions, and helps you grow both personally and socially. Engaging with a new culture invites you to see the world and yourself from a new perspective
open your home to a new culture
LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS.
Hosting a student is more than just offering a room; it's opening your home, your daily life, and your heart to someone from a completely different part of the world. What begins as a simple arrangement often evolves into something far more meaningful, a genuine friendship that lasts long after the stay ends.
When you welcome a student, you share meals, stories, and everyday experiences. You watch them grow more confident as they navigate your language and culture. In return, you get to see your world through their eyes. You learn from each other not just facts about different countries, but deeper things: patience, humor, resilience, kindness.
Over time, that student becomes part of your family. You celebrate holidays together, support them through homesickness or school stress, and laugh at inside jokes only the two of you understand. Even after they return home, you stay in touch, exchanging photos, video calls, and letters. Sometimes, you visit each other’s countries and continue the exchange from the other side of the world.
A homestay ends, but the bond doesn’t. It becomes a lifelong connection, a bridge between cultures that keeps growing with time.
new experiences.
See your own culture, community, and daily life from a fresh perspective. Celebrate cultural holidays or try new recipes together. Break routines with shared experiences and learning moments. Travel to places you may not have experienced before.
hosting Eligibility Requirements
Before applying to become a host, make sure you meet the basic criteria.
Have a safe, clean, and private furnished bedroom inside your home.
Able to provide three meals daily, including a packed lunch during school days.
Can commit to cultural exchange and emotional support.
Live locally and within MoE school bus routes.
Pass a New Zealand Police Vetting check and home inspection.