Weekend Hosts are needed for July 14 - 16
For the 4th summer in a row, Sister Cities of Newport News and Christopher Newport University are welcoming 25 students and one faculty member from China’s University of Electronic Science and Technology who are attending a two-week summer program at CNU. To enhance their U.S. experience, Sister Cities of Newport News is looking for community members to host a student over the weekend of July 14-16. Hosts are not expected to “entertain” the students. The goal of a homestay is to introduce the students who are from a different culture to typical, American, daily life. Going to the grocery store, running errands, taking kids to events, attending a house of worship…hosts are encouraged to follow their normal routines.
Homestay hosts are a vital link in successful international exchanges and are the faces and hearts of our community. You do not have to live in Newport News to be a host. Quick visits like this make lasting impressions. This email excerpt was recently sent by a Chinese student to his former host.
Dear Bill,
I'm Eric, I hope you can remember me …I am one of the two students who live[d] in your house for a weekend in 2015 summer. It's been a long time since I left America…The memory of the weekend I spent in your home still deeply in my mind. And I will never forget that a good person treated me nicely and kindly. I hope I can see you again in American if I get chance….
If you have not had the chance to host an international student before, this is a great opportunity. The visit is short with no schedule to keep other than pick-up and drop off. Pick-up will be on Friday afternoon July 14 between 1 and 5 p.m. at CNU with a return to campus on Sunday July 16 after 6 p.m.
Completion of a one-page
Host Application is required. More information is available by calling SCNN's Executive Director, Kate Helwig at 757-926-1348 or email:
info@sistercities-nn.com. Details are also available on the
Sister Cities website.