Welcome to Intern China's unique and unrivalled homestay programme. We have arranged host families for hundreds of interns over the last half a decade, facilitating unique experiences and cultural insights which you will not get anywhere else in the world. We have a network of over 500 families in Qingdao and Zhuhai, who are all keen to host interns like you. China is gradually opening up to the world, so our programme is not only designed to give international students an insight into Chinese culture, but giving many local families an insight into foreign culture.
Meals
As breakfast, evening meals and shared use of all facilities in the home are included in the price of our homestay program, it is also one of the cheapest forms of accommodation for short stays in China. We pay a generous rent to our host families, but we find that the vast majority are motivated by the cultural exchange involved rather than the extra income. It is only relatively recently that such opportunities are even possible for regular Chinese families.
We visit every single host family to ensure the safety and comfort of their apartment and that the family themselves are motivated to host interns for the right reasons. Almost every family has a family member who speaks good English, but you will inevitably learn a lot about non-verbal communication to get your point across. The homestay also gives you an unrivalled chance to improve your Chinese, no matter what your level at the beginning of the stay.
Living with a Host Family
You will be treated as a normal member of the family during your stay and therefore get a perfect insight into Chinese daily habits and customs. Especially at the dinner table communication might touch on topics that are difficult to discuss with Chinese people if you don’t live with them. You will get to know the family well, so that you can go beyond typical small talk which Chinese people often have with foreigners. You will hopefully learn something about your host families dreams, hopes and expectations. Besides this, they will include you in their daily activities – this can be simply watching TV, but you might also play Chinese games such as Mah-jong, go for a traditional Chinese Massage, go for meals with friends and much more.
You should bear in mind that life in a homestay is not like living on your own in an apartment. You will have your own bedroom, but to a certain extent you must give up some independence and regularly spend time with the family. Chinese culture can be conservative and young people are not usually seen in clubs and bars during the week. This means that you may have to limit the evenings you spend in bars, clubs and restaurants to once or twice a week.
Accommodating You
We make sure each family's apartment has a western-style toilet in the bathroom and is furnished with standard home appliances like a TV ,washing machine, refrigerator, microwave, DVD-Player etc. Most of the families (but not all) have air-conditioning and internet access. For special requests we will always do our best to make sure your host family has the facilities or can provide for your special dietary needs as you require. All the families are located in areas where it is easy to buy groceries and most of the time there will be even a 24 hours shop close by. We always try to find a family near your internship company or our language school, but be aware that Qingdao and Zhuhai are large cities by western standards, with millions of inhabitants, so some travel by bus or taxi might be inevitable.
We have offices and international staff in both Qingdao and Zhuhai, so we can mediate between you and your host family in the event of any problem to ensure your stay is comfortable. If there are unsolvable problems we also guarantee to find a new family within 10 days, but can usually place you in a new family within 2-3 days, depending on the season.
We set down some basic rules for staying in a host family, which will also be defined in your welcome package upon arrival. The basic rule is that you should behave in the same way that you would also expect from a guest in your own home. We ask you to not use the family's phone for making phone calls abroad, we will give you a SIM card with which you can do this. Another rule is not to bring friends over without permission and not to bring a member of the opposite sex back to the apartment to stay over.
Please also don’t smoke in the house without asking for permission. If you plan to stay out late or miss dinner with the family, it is a sign of respect to call the family and let them know
We have a lot of families who have stayed in contact with their previous guests after they have gone back to their home country. We hope your homestay will be the start of a lifelong friendship and in the long term the programme will enable a better understanding between different cultures.
If you are a potential host family in Qingdao or Zhuhai that is interested in accommodating foreign guests, please contact us.
