Homestays
STUDENT HOUSING
The student homestay program offers international exchange students the opportunity to experience American culture firsthand in a safe and welcoming environment.
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Each host family is carefully screened and trained ahead of becoming part of our host family network, and are required to adhere to GBA's Host Family Code of Conduct.
What to Expect from a Homestay
The homestay experience offers exchange students a wholesome, safe, suitable and caring household environment within a daily American family environment.
Host families will provide students with the following:
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A private room and furnishings
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Food and meals
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Transportation
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Activities and interaction
Meet a GBA Host Family
Below is an example of one of GBA's amazing host families offering home stays for exchange students.
The Hafer Family
Orange, California, USA
We are Eddie and Mellissa Hafer. We have been married for 30 years and have 4 children and one granddaughter. Our two oldest boys live nearby and come over for Sunday dinner. Savannah is 21 and lives at home right now and works full time. Mason, age 18, just left to serve a 2 year mission to New Zealand. Mellissa is a part time substitute teacher, and homemaker and loves being a grandma, Eddie is a General Contractor and runs his own business. We have a sweet doggy named Oso and a fat cat named Chloe.
We are all active in our church congregation and attend every Sunday. It is right down the street from us. We are Christian and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We respect all religions. We have hosted students from China, Japan, Korea, and Quebec. We really enjoy getting to know the students and their culture.
Our Home and Activities:
We live in the Orange Heights area and we love our quiet, pretty neighborhood. We have lived here for 8 years. We live in a 5 bedroom home with a pool and jacuzzi and small yard area. We have bikes and workout equipment in the garage. We are an active athletic family. We enjoy playing basketball, volleyball, pickleball, hiking,repelling, skiing, surfing, basically all sports and the outdoors. We also like playing board games and watching movies. We enjoy our family Sunday dinners together.​
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Meals:
We both enjoy good food. Mellissa likes baking, Eddie is the Sunday chef and specializes in BBQ, sauces, and great salsa and guacamole. We eat pretty healthy most of the time. Breakfast is sometimes eggs, toast, omelet, pancakes, smoothies, cereal and fruit, sometimes sausage and bacon.​
For Dinner we usually prepare at home cooked meals, chicken and rice or I like to use old favorite recipes or try something new. We don't eat out very often, only maybe once a week and Eddie cooks big dinners on Sundays.
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Past GBA Homestay Students & Host Families
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