Sue Williams, Associate Executive Director, is working to identify families willing to serve as hosts for our Spanish exchange campers. This home-stay experience for our international guests is a wonderful opportunity to share your home and our culture with a young leader from another country.
Details of daily life in America and daily life in Spain share many similarities as well as differences and their home stay week gives them a chance to experience “life in America” in a more realistic and personal way than just being a tourist. They are your guest, but they are also something akin to an extra member of your family for the week. You should not feel compelled to organize anything extravagant but we want them to have a nice, enjoyable week and possibly do some fun and memorable things as well.
The main points to consider:
- The home stay is the last part of the program this year for our Spanish campers.
- Our Spanish campers spend four weeks at Camp Conrad Weiser which includes day trips to New York City, local shopping malls and a baseball game.
- They will want to do some shopping and you may want to take them to a mall or other stores as they will have money to spend on souvenirs and clothes etc.
- Ask your camper of their interests. They may well have some things in mind that they really want to see or do while they are here.
Some last details:
Your guest understands the need for courtesy, good behavior, cooperation. The drinking age is much younger in Europe, but here in the States they have a rule of NO alcohol. They also understand the rule that smoking is forbidden throughout the trip as well. One of the requirements that the Hannover YMCA and the YMCA of Spain sets for campers is a functional level of competence in English. Of course, reading a language is often easier than speaking, so be patient with communication. The group leader will be available for you to contact throughout the home stay if you have any questions or concerns.
If you are interested in hosting a young person from Spain an application is required. Please contact Sue Williams directly at 610-670-2267 or via email at swilliams@smymca.org.
