Kai Home Stay Program

Comments from students

What was your purpose in choosing to participate in Kai Home Stay Program?

• This program gives the chance to communicate in Japanese even before /after school and to learn something about life in a Japanese family.
• Improving and practicing acquired knowledge. I wanted to feel the Japanese way of life.
• I wanted to learn as much as possible about Japanese culture and Japan.
• To live with Japanese in Japan and speak Japanese.
• Experience Japanese culture and learn Japanese more intensively..
• Getting to know Japanese lifestyle better. Close connection to everyday life.

Did home stay fulfill your needs and/or help you reach your goals?

• Yes, absolutely.
• More than I thought. Really satisfied.
• Absolutely yes. They helped in many ways.

Please talk about your satisfaction with KAI Home Stay Program.

• 100%. Amazingly kind family. High knowledge improvement and delicious food! One of my better experiences in life.
• Kindness, food and lots of communication. They are very good people.
• My host family was kind and funny. They always helped me.
• I'm 80% satisfied. It was more expensive than usual home stay program.
  
We have different organizations that provide home stay program in Japan. What is unique about KAI Home Stay Program is that we visit each family and talk about the smallest details to make sure everything works out fine. With good cooperation with the host families, KAI supports the guests to have a comfortable stay and enjoy life in Japan to the fullest. We believe this is what differentiates our program from other programs.
• I am 90% satisfied. The family was very nice and always looked after me and tried to fulfill my needs or helped me at every point, but the travel everyday was quite long.

Do you have any suggestions for KAI Home Stay Program?

• No suggestions. Really great experience.
• I think it's really good. If it becomes cheaper it would be even better.
• No, everything was fine.

Host Family

Were you able to adequately communicate with your host family?

• Yes, the family explained very well when I did not understand some words.
• Not so much at the beginning (common issue) but from 2nd day we always had a very adequate communication.
• Absolutely yes.
• I think we communicated pretty well.
• Yes, in Japanese and English explanations.
• Yes, they spoke really good English.

How was your living environment?

• Yes, it was wonderful.
• Amazing!
• Excellent.
• Yes, very clean and comfortable place.

How were the meals?

• Incredible meals everyday!
• Great quality and quantity.
• Yes, delicious food, and they tried to let me try as many different dishes as possible.
• Yes, cooking together with host family was really fun.
• YThe meals were delicious. My family cooked a lot of different dishes for me.

Do you have any suggestions on how your host family might improve?

• No. I am 100% satisfied.
• Nothing to say. I would come back to stay with them next time.
• To my eyes, they are perfect.
• No, I really liked everything we did.
• No, I was totally satisfied.

Others

Did you have fun or interesting experience with your host family?

• Maybe. First day the host mother teach use how to use the heater, but we didn't understand. So, we were almost frozen about a week! Finally she noticed and explained again!
  
We hope you didn't catch cold...! Japanese houses usually don't have a central heating system. It is common in Japan to turn on the heater only when needed and turn off otherwise. People usually wear warm clothes and turn off the heater when sleeping. Not knowing this habit, some guests don't wear enough clothes and catch cold during home stay. If you feel the room is cold, don't hesitate to tell your host family!

How were the meals?

• Rent a bicycle and go! It's so awesome. They (host family) explained much things about many thing.
• I went to visit the shrine and temple in Mejiro. We took a lot of photos and they told me a lot of stories. It was a great fun.
• We went out to restaurants a few times. I really enjoyed it.

What were the advantages of doing a home stay?

• The family shared their knowledge with me, so I have also learned many things about Japanese mentality and important things for the family members.
• Over all, the opportunity to practice everything at every moment.
• You can talk everyday in Japanese with the family.
• You can talk Japanese everyday and also learn about Japanese customs.
• Practice, family life, being a lot nearer to Japanese daily life.
• I had the Japanese language always around me and also helpful family members, especially the grandmother to teach me and learn hiragana together.

Do you have any suggestions for future home stay students?

• Please take part of the home stay program. You will have fun, improve your Japanese and learn many things about "real" life in Japan. The family will always help you when you have questions.
• Instead of buying a lot of converters for the electronic stuffs, taking a big hub to use is more useful.
• Maybe people should learn something about Japanese people before going to Japan.
• Probably look first for a home stay on their own because it's way cheaper. Be open-minded and take part in your host family.
• The family is very welcoming and friendly. If you behave adequately, it will be a very pleasant stay!