My Host Family

When I decided to study abroad, I made an almost mandatory decision to live with a host family. They said that the commute would be long, that the curfew would be strict and that the family might not have Wifi. Despite all of this, deciding to live with a host family has been more than worth it.

My host family lives in a city outside of Nagoya, but since it is not too far away, I only have to commute about 40 minutes one way to Nanzan University. My host family consists of my host mom, host dad and my 1 ½ year old host sister. We live on the third floor of a small apartment complex, and despite the size, I think it holds all of us perfectly.

My host mom is absolutely wonderful. She is an amazing cook and speaks English quite well. My host dad cannot speak English at all, but we have the most entertaining conversations over a mutual liking of pizza potato chips. My host sister is the most adorable little girl who is as sassy as she is smart.

My new little family has been so much more than I had ever hoped for. I have only been living with them for about two weeks and they care about my well being as much as my real family does. My host mom has been more than helpful with getting my insurance and commuter passes, taking care of me when I fell ill, and being a translator when needed between my host dad and I.

I cannot express how grateful I am to have been placed with such a wonderful host family. It makes my study abroad experience much more fulfilling and fun.