When we select our homestays we make sure that their motivations to become a host family fit with our school’s ethos. We don’t work with families who just want to earn some extra money by renting out a spare room – only those that are genuinely interested in meeting foreigners. The majority of people in China have rarely or never been abroad themselves, so our families are very keen to host international students and hear about their home countries. At the same time, they love introducing foreigners to their own culture. That means you will have plenty to talk about! Even if your Chinese is not advanced enough for lengthy discussions on cultural differences, your family will still teach you a lot about their culture. We’ve been working with the same homestay families for a long time, and they are very patient with students in the first stages of learning Chinese. They will especially enjoy introducing you to Chinese food, and teaching you the names of dishes on the dinner table!