This research was made possible through generous support from the University of

Oregon Center for the Study of Women in Society, Global Oregon, and the
Department of International Studies Slape Award.
All photos taken by Sara Clark.
Research Site:
Homestay program in Costa Rica at a Spanish
Immersion School
Rural coastal town of 3,000 with moderate level
of tourism, mostly students
Host mothers paid $22USD a day for a room,
breakfast, dinner, laundry, and sharing language
& culture
Typical Host Mother:
49 year old local with 6th grade education
Married with 3 kids, one child still at home
Works another job based in her home
Hires a domestic worker from Nicaragua
Started hosting 9 years ago
Hosts 1-2 students at a time, almost all year
Costa Rica is
the #1
destination
for US
students
studying in
Latin America
Open Doors Report
2012 & 2013
Switzerland
USA
Germany
Canada

Top sending countries
identified by host mothers
Homestays have been found to improve students
language acquisition, cultural knowledge, and
psychological well-being, as host mothers take the
role of surrogate mother, tutor, teacher, and counselor.
Knight, S. M. and Schmidt-Rinehart, B. C. (2002). Enhancing the homestay: Study
abroad from the host family's perspective. Foreign Language Annals, 35(2):190-201.

What about the host mothers?
What are the benefits and challenges of hosting?
Their views of students cultures?
Larger economic and social implications?
2. Practical benefits, as hosting accommodates:
Taking care of children/grandchildren/spouse
Physical limitations (e.g. back pain prevents working as a maid)
Running a business from the home
3. Overall Health
Staying active and engaged in mothering keeps aging women and
empty nesters healthy mentally and physically
Why do I host students? In the first place,
because it is the only way to maintain a home,
a place to live Having a student provides a
bit of economic security. -Marcela
When asked Why do you
host? 24 of 30 mothers
first responses were
regarding economic income.
Benefits of hosting
1. Financial
Income covers
hosting expenses
(food/rent/laundry)
and leaves a little
extra for: !
Though maybe not
sufficient to salir
adelante/get ahead
Daniela, left her husband
and went to work at
hotels. She says, The
fact is that I dont have
to kill myself as much
[when hosting]. Do you
understand? For me, its
a better option, because
I feel better
When I don't have
students, I feel very, very
sad I cant just sit around.
It makes me sick. When I
have a student, I am
cleaning the house, doing
laundry, I'm earning. I am
like this [active]. I have my
mind and health.
Methods:
Interviews and Questionnaire pile sort
with 30 of 57 active host mothers
Interviews with 9 school staff
Participated in homestay for 3 months

Pile sort identified enjoyable aspects of
hosting and changes in womens lives due
to hosting
Typical Students:
Enjoy beach, night life, and touring
other areas of Costa Rica
Receive school credit for 4hrs of
Spanish classes a day
18-22 years old; total range is approx.
15-75 years old
Stay for one month on average
Challenges of hosting
High food prices and living expenses
(coupled with desire to please students)
Students break guidelines
Skip meals without communicating
Sneak in a new boyfriend
Personalities of students
Squeamish/Delicate
Reserved (conversations are like pulling teeth)
Atropical climate means bugs and
creatures are a fact of life.
Students complaining about bugs can be
tiresome.
Students complaining to
the school that their host
isnt taking care of
pests, without talking
to their host mom first,
is rude and hurtful.
35% of
bikes left
unlocked
20% of
bikes left
insecurely
locked
45% of
bikes were
locked
Students leave valuables, like bikes,
unattended.
For example, outside the school:

116 bikes counted in
total over 5 days.
Host mothers views of students:
Studious
Good company
Fiesteros/party people in vacation
mode
Uninterested in sharing about their
own culture
Human, just like locals or cultural
stereotypes (re: openness, food
preferences, cleanliness)
North American Messy Room (w/food on bed!) European Clean Room
Recommendations from Host Mothers
Program administration
Pay a fair wage
Reinforce guidelines verbally and in writing and in their native
language
Provide clarity regarding how students are distributed/assigned to
moms
Frame homestay as students being guests or one of the family, not as
customers paying for a service
Be fair in resolving disputes
Training for students
Establish realistic expectations of environment
Encourage students to be open to new experience and engage with the
family
Support students in classes to practice communicating about situations
in the homestays, practice giving respectful feedback in their new
language
Overall, empowering women or reinforcing inequality?
Reality is not a dichotomy. Both are true.
Women who continue hosting for many
years generally enjoy hosting and have
ways to ensure the benefits outweigh
the challenges. Hosting is effortful and
does reinforce womens roles in the
home cooking, cleaning, and
mothering; however, it also provides
women income of their own, many
women gain confidence through
hosting, and are proud of their network
of children around the world.
Expectations & attitude of students
Treat homestay like a hotel
Being too trusting/careless
Not trusting enough
(accusations of theft)
Lack of communication!!!