It takes a few vital parts to make the puzzle

Inviting a person to stay in your home either young, old, native or foreign may never run as smooth as we might think looking from the outside, in fact it’s not until we venture down that road that we can fully appreciate or grasp what’s involved be it good, bad or indifferent there is no way of knowing until we are immersed in the process.

So, what makes it work? Sadly, there is no straight forward answers, but somethings are for sure; an open mind is critical, our reasons are vital and a level of understanding is paramount; because without these, the bare minimum components it might well be a frustrating experience for everybody and that’s not what anybody wants.

• An open mind is critical; always a great asset to have in any situation where differences in personality, whims, emotions and culture can come to the surface in sometimes the most irrational way, and must be dealt with ‘An open mind’ not always easy, but almost always necessary.  
• Our reasons are vital; Is it to help provide a fellow human with a fulfilling life experience, maybe it’s a little extra company for the kids while on their summer holidays or it might help them learn or improve their Spanish or maybe it’s a financial decision? We all probably have different and personal reason, we probably never really analysed it that much, but one thing is for our sure; our reason for hosting are vital and without a good one, it may well be a disaster before the student even arrives.
• Understanding is paramount; We all like to be understood, and I don’t mean just linguistically. Patience and understanding of another person’s mannerisms, habits and ways can be at times be tiresome and hard to comprehend, but maybe with effort and thought we can understand theirs and then just maybe; they might understand ours.         

Human nature can offer so much if given the right opportunity, right environment and encouragement, so when we have a young person in our care it can be indeed an opportunity to make a positive difference to influence and enhance their and our lives; these I beleive are just a few small but vital parts that help us make the puzzle!

Thanks for reading, Peter