{"id":27786,"date":"2026-04-03T12:23:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preprod.sts-education.com\/?page_id=27786"},"modified":"2026-04-15T09:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T09:39:20","slug":"why-you-should-be-a-host-family","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sts-education.com\/en-nz\/host-family\/why-you-should-be-a-host-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Be A Host Family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-sts-hero sts-block-hero sts-block-hero is-variant-full-background has-text-light has-background-media\" style=\"--sts-hero-padding-mobile:0px;--sts-hero-padding-desktop:0px;--sts-hero-text-color:var(--wp--preset--color--base-10, #fff)\" data-variant=\"full-background\"><div class=\"sts-block-hero__background\"><picture class=\"sts-responsive-image has-pos-center is-skeleton\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cdn.sts-education.com\/10824_hero_lg_xl.jpg\" alt=\"Why you should be a host family\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"low\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) max(100vw, calc(clamp(320px, 100vh, 720px) * 9 \/ 16)), (max-width: 840px) max(100vw, calc(clamp(320px, 100vh, 720px) * 1 \/ 1)), max(100vw, calc(clamp(320px, 100vh, 720px) * 16 \/ 9))\" style=\"object-position:center\"\/><\/picture><span class=\"sts-block-hero__overlay\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/div><div class=\"sts-block-hero__inner\"><div class=\"sts-block-hero__content has-align-center\"><div class=\"sts-block-hero__content-inner\"><h1 class=\"sts-block-hero__heading\">Why you should be a host family<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-sts-text sts-text-editor has-max-width-md\"><div class=\"sts-text-editor__content\"><div class=\"sts-text-editor__content-inner\">\n<p>Welcoming an exchange student from abroad doesn\u2019t just give you a new family member. You will also learn about a different culture, and see your town, way of life, and values through new eyes. By becoming a host parent or host family for 3-10 months to an international exchange student between the ages of 14\u201318, your family will gain not just a friend and an extra international sibling; you will also create lots of wonderful memories together. For the student, staying in your home country will involve lots of different daily adventures and as a host family, you will be a big part of the student\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n<p>For many families, it\u2019s also a wonderful opportunity to prepare for their child\u2019s upcoming year abroad, and you will also have the chance to take advantage of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sts-education.com\/en-nz\/why-you-should-be-a-host-family\/compensation-host-and-go\/\">Host &amp; Go<\/a> discount. Enrich your daily life and open your home to one of our exchange students from all over the world!<\/p>\n<h2>6 reasons why your family should be a host family<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>You want to get to know a young person from another country<\/li>\n<li>You want to learn more about other cultures<\/li>\n<li>You want to learn more about the world and gain a new perspective<\/li>\n<li>You are interested in other languages<\/li>\n<li>You want to know more about what a year abroad entails<\/li>\n<li>You want to help and see how another person grows as an individual during their year abroad<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In both fall and spring, new students come to New Zealand from the US, Norway, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Italy and more. Of course, as a host family, you get to choose which student to invite into your home, so take the chance to read more and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sts-education.com\/en-nz\/host-family\/students\/get-to-know-our-students\/\">get to know the students<\/a> to see if any of them might be a good fit for your family! You can also read our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sts-education.com\/en-nz\/host-family\/faq\/\">frequently asked questions<\/a> and about our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sts-education.com\/en-nz\/host-family\/family-stories\/host-family-stories\/\">previous host families\u2019 experiences<\/a> of their year with an exchange student at home.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-sts-video sts-block-video sts-block-video--landscape has-max-width-lg\"><div class=\"sts-video sts-video--landscape\"><div class=\"sts-video__handler\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"sts-video__play-button\" aria-label=\"Play video\" aria-pressed=\"false\" data-playing=\"false\"><span class=\"sts-video__play-icon\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"play-icon\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3csvg%20width='32'%20height='32'%20viewBox='0%200%2032%2032'%20fill='none'%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%3e%3cmask%20id='mask0_2459_8201'%20style='mask-type:alpha'%20maskUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20width='32'%20height='32'%3e%3crect%20width='32'%20height='32'%20fill='%23D9D9D9'\/%3e%3c\/mask%3e%3cg%20mask='url(%23mask0_2459_8201)'%3e%3cpath%20d='M10.667%2022.8999V9.09993C10.667%208.72216%2010.8003%208.40549%2011.067%208.14993C11.3337%207.89438%2011.6448%207.7666%2012.0003%207.7666C12.1114%207.7666%2012.2281%207.78327%2012.3503%207.8166C12.4725%207.84993%2012.5892%207.89993%2012.7003%207.9666L23.567%2014.8666C23.767%2014.9999%2023.917%2015.1666%2024.017%2015.3666C24.117%2015.5666%2024.167%2015.7777%2024.167%2015.9999C24.167%2016.2222%2024.117%2016.4333%2024.017%2016.6333C23.917%2016.8333%2023.767%2016.9999%2023.567%2017.1333L12.7003%2024.0333C12.5892%2024.0999%2012.4725%2024.1499%2012.3503%2024.1833C12.2281%2024.2166%2012.1114%2024.2333%2012.0003%2024.2333C11.6448%2024.2333%2011.3337%2024.1055%2011.067%2023.8499C10.8003%2023.5944%2010.667%2023.2777%2010.667%2022.8999Z'%20fill='black'\/%3e%3c\/g%3e%3c\/svg%3e\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"pause-icon\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3csvg%20width='32'%20height='32'%20viewBox='0%200%2032%2032'%20fill='none'%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%3e%3cmask%20id='mask0_pause'%20style='mask-type:alpha'%20maskUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20width='32'%20height='32'%3e%3crect%20width='32'%20height='32'%20fill='%23D9D9D9'\/%3e%3c\/mask%3e%3cg%20mask='url(%23mask0_pause)'%3e%3c!--%20Left%20bar%20--%3e%3crect%20x='10'%20y='8'%20width='4'%20height='16'%20rx='1'%20fill='black'\/%3e%3c!--%20Right%20bar%20--%3e%3crect%20x='18'%20y='8'%20width='4'%20height='16'%20rx='1'%20fill='black'\/%3e%3c\/g%3e%3c\/svg%3e\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/span><\/button><strong class=\"sts-video__duration\" data-duration-prefix=\"Video duration:\" data-unit-second=\"second\" data-unit-seconds=\"seconds\" data-unit-minute=\"minute\" data-unit-minutes=\"minutes\" aria-label=\"Video duration: 40 seconds\">40 secs<\/strong><\/div><div class=\"sts-video__media\" data-video-source=\"youtube\" data-video-url=\"\"><div class=\"sts-video__external-shell\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v3BLT3xG8K4?rel=0&amp;controls=1&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;playsinline=1&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sts-education.com\"><iframe class=\"sts-video__iframe\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v3BLT3xG8K4?rel=0&amp;controls=1&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;playsinline=1&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sts-education.com\" title=\"Video poster\nheading\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen loading=\"lazy\" data-provider=\"youtube\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v3BLT3xG8K4?rel=0&amp;controls=1&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;playsinline=1&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sts-education.com\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":9163,"parent":27775,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sts_page_background_color":"","footnotes":""},"wpw_page_folders":[89],"class_list":["post-27786","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6 reasons why you should be a host family<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not only will you get a new family member. 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