Gift Giving

By Julia Steinberger

Living with a family in your host country adds a whole new dimension to your study abroad experience. A homestay will extend your visit far beyond the classroom and open your eyes to daily life.

Stepping into another family’s personal life can be an intimidating experience for everyone involved, especially if you’re still learning the language. It’s important to remember that the family that has opened their home to you is probably just as curious about your culture as you are about theirs.

Teaching your hosts about American culture and your personal culture can teach you about parts of your own life that you may have taken for granted. The more you offer, the more you will learn, and the closer you will feel to your new family.

With the help of recent returnees and some tips from the School for International Training, AV has compiled a few ideas to get you thinking about the best gifts to bring your new family.

Some ideas of what to give:
How do you choose a gift for a group of people you’ve never met? Gifts that spark conversation about where you’re from or the things you enjoy are good choices, and they can make great icebreakers. Some good novelty items that work across the board:

• Games that don’t require words: Bring a baseball and a couple of mitts and teach your family some skills. A younger brother or sister will cherish the time you spend teaching him or her to pitch. Having a Frisbee on hand when you’re traveling can turn a lazy afternoon into a pick-up game for you and the people you meet in your neighborhood abroad. 

• Sweet treats. One student from Vermont took a bottle of real maple syrup, along with her favorite pancake recipe, and shared a true comfort from home.

• Calendars with pictures of the U.S. or your home city.  You can go through the photos and tell your family about different places you’ve been in your own country.

• T-shirts or caps from your college or favorite sports team. Though familiar to you, these are classic “American” items that your host family might only recognize from movies or TV, and they’re fun to share. 

• A favorite candy. Imagine how much fun it would be to test out all the Jelly Belly flavors, slurp on saltwater taffy, or crunch on a packet of Pop Rocks for the first time. Fill up an attractive jar with something colorful that’s unique to eat, and you’re sure to please all tastes.

• Tapes or CDs. American pop music is enjoyed throughout the world because it’s catchy and easy to get into even if you don’t understand all the lyrics. If the thought of hearing the Billboard Top 10 one more time makes you queasy, you may want to bring music more suited to your own tastes and expose your family to styles they’ve never heard before. 

• Picture books. Beautiful illustrations are enjoyable in their own right, and they can provide a good opportunity for you to translate simple phrases aloud to your family. Best of all, the messages in many folk and fairy tales, such as love, family, and imagination, are universal.