CSUSB Palm Desert Seeks Host Families for International Students

Families willing to open their homes to a cultural exchange are once again being sought by California State University San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus.

Approximately 30 Japanese students will be attending classes at the campus in February 2013-- and perhaps even more if enough families sign up, according to Steve McAdams, College of Extended Learning program administrator at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus.

The students, all females ages 19 and 20, have studied English and consider staying with a host family as part of their education into American culture, he said.

Once here, the students attend classes, and also go on field trips around Southern California to places like Disneyland, Universal Studios and even Las Vegas.  

What's more-- the students will have planned trips around the Coachella Valley to local museums and shops.  Last year, El Paseo was a huge hit among the shoppers, McAdams told Palm Desert Patch.

Families will need to provide the following: 

• a private bedroom (can share a bathroom)
• transportation to and from the campus (car-pooling is often an option)
• access to three meals a day, including dinner with the host family as often as possible. 

"[Students] should also be included in conversations with the host family and the host family’s normal activities," a press release about the search for families said.

The school touts the program as being rewarding for not only the student; but for the host family as well.

“The experience in the past has been very rewarding for the host family as well as the students,” said Steve McAdams, program administrator at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus. “It can also be very educational for host family children by exposing them to a new culture and helping them to think in more global terms.”

Families will be screened, and a background check performed on all adults in the house.  At the school's main campus in San Bernardino, the host family is responsible for a $25 fee per background check, but since this program is only in its second year in Palm Desert, that fee is being waived so the school can build up their pool of families, according to McAdams.

If you're interested in applying for the 2013 Homestay program, visit the “Become a Host Family to an International Student” webpage by clicking here.

You can also get more informtion about becoming a host family by contacting Steve McAdams at mcadamss@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 14428 or Jerdy Sterling at jsterlin@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 78121.