Hi! I've been considering homestay/host family in Japan for a while and have a lot of questions for those with experience and hope someone would be willing to help out.
How do you apply and through what programs? Is there a required age for applying and if not, what would be a recommended age? How old were you and how did you manage school work while being in Japan?
I'm a minor and looking to expand my knowledge of culture and language – as of now, I only know the basics of Japanese but if I happen to apply it'd be in a year or so when I've learned more. However, how much Japanese do you need to know for the trip?
Back to the age-related question – since I'm still pretty young, how do you manage school work from home and/or do you still go to school in Japan? How much and what do you learn?
During what point of the year and how long do you stay? Lets pretend I stay for 6 months, do I still keep up with school work from home overseas? How will exams, evaluations etc. work? What season is recommended and what do you do during longer holidays?
What expenses do you have to pay for yourself and how much money should you be prepared to bring with you? Is flight tickets covered by the program?
Do you 'pick' a host family or is it randomized? Can I add preferences when it comes to this? Is it possible to request an area / city to be in or will the program propose different options to you? Does the hosts usually know / are they required to know English? What do I need to be in charge of myself during preparations and how / how regularly will the program inform me? How will the school in Japan know that I'll be arriving? Do I need to contact them?
Can you apply 'together' with a friend? (As in staying in the same area, going to the same school…)
Is there other types of programs that for example only allows you to stay during summer / holidays so that you rather spend time with the family than in school?
I've done a similar thing in France a year ago and had a great time, however, our communication mostly depended on English and the whole thing was organized by my school. Basically, I have a little experience with me but no idea how I'm supposed to fix and set everything up on my own.
Please tell me about your experiences and other things I should know about – this is just my first peek into the whole thing so forgive me if it sounds like I haven't done my research at all! I'm grateful for all tips and stories you have to share.
I'd also love if someone could share the most efficient ways of learning Japanese and what I should prioritize within the language. Is there any apps you recommend?
(Also excuse me if there's subtle typos or misspellings)
by Bitter-Photograph-10