Bring the world to Portobello!

[curlygirl]

Hello everyone,

Thought there may be some of you out there who may enjoy offering home hospitality for a weekend to an overseas student. I am a 'host' for an organisation called HOST UK who pairs up overseas students with friendly people to visit while they are here.

HOST UK need more hosts in Central and Southern Scotland

The students come from all over the world. They are at universities all over the UK. Some are young undergraduates, others are postgraduates and professionals. They range in age from 18-60, although the majority are in their mid 20’s and 30’s

Most international students spend long periods away from their families and really appreciate the opportunity to relax with friendly people in homely surroundings, seeing the country and experiencing the culture in the company of people who live here. And where better to experience a warm welcome than Portobello!!

There are many students applying for a host visit but sadly there are not enough hosts to meet the demand.

Being a host is voluntary but some expenses can be claimed.

If you feel that you would like to get involved with HOST UK then please contact Lynne & Roy Sutherland for more details on 0141 573 7544 or email sutherlandr9@aol.com

If you wanted to ask me a question about being a host I'll try and answer it (although I am a 'newbie' to it all myself!).

It would be good to hear people's thoughts / experiences..

Curlygirl xx

[Scorpion]

Years ago my wife and I used to take in French students. They were aged from about 12 to 15 and we would have two of them for 5 days at a time. Then in August and September we would have one older student who would stay for a month. One of the students actually came back a further two times. However, he was eventually conscripted into the army . We really enjoyed having them stay and as a bonus we were paid a fee. However, we then became foster parents and eventually we couldn't cope with doing both . We therefore reluctantly gave up the French students.