THE BACKSTORY

Well, here we go!

I have almost been hosting students for a full year. Here's a little timeline:

[June/July 2006] Worked with EF International Language Schools. My job was to find host families for the school, who had overbooked about 300 Chinese students. They were promised nice American families to live with, so EF showered Santa Barbara County with flyers and advertisements to find potential families.

[July 2006] I was asked to be an RA (a Resident Advisor) for a house close to downtown Santa Barbara. I said yes. I moved in within three days to a 2 bed, 1 bath house. I got paid 500 dollars a month, had free rent/utilities, free cable (the extended plan!), and free food. In fact, each week I would call an older lady and tell her what I needed for the week, and she would hand deliver my groceries. My responsibilities were to prepare meals each night and keep the house nice.

My first six students were all Chinese. Obviously :)

[April 2007] EF headquarters came through Santa Barbara and financially assessed the school here. One of the changes they made was to scrap all contracts the school had with families in the area. No more special favors for loyal families. Sometimes the school would pay a family X dollars per month, whether they had five students in the home or just one. Guess what? No more 500 dollars a month! :( But I can't complain about the free rent and food. :)

[June 2007] Present day! We are about 20 students later. One more room has been added to the house (for myself, so I could stop sleeping on the mattress in the living room). I am a better cook. There are plants and flowers blooming outside!