Homestay preparation

Hello. I'm a third year university student planning to do a homestay in Tokyo of next year. I'm doing the best I can to be open-minded and culturally sensitive before I go, and not to rely on one set of rules, since every family is completely different. My Japanese professor sent a link to this site: (http://athome.nime.ac.jp) which is extremely helpful in sorting out a lot of the difficult questions a homestay student may ask. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone even thinking about homestay.

I guess my question is, what should I do if I have a question that I do not know how to ask indirectly to my host family? I realize direct communication is not necessarily viewed as favorable or polite, but I'm an American, so direct communication is what I'm used to. If I miss cues, how can I apologize or avoid further conflict in the family? Any advice from people who have HOSTED would also be extremely appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I have stayed in Japan and hosted Visitors from Japan.. The people concerned have been well travelled and pretty well westerenised. I did run into a few issues with the "stall" instead of a "no" answer.

If I couldnt get a direct answer , I learned to assume it was a "no". Responses like .. It might be difficult, it is possible, became my clues.. I dont know If I was right but I ever had only one "issue".
Perhaps phrase the question " do you think Is it possible for a person to .." leaves more wriggling room for an indirect 'no'.

J

That website is great! Thanks for posting the link. :)

From my experience of homestays in Japan, in most cases those people who are offering homestays are already exeperienced with foreigners. They could give long list of countries who slept there. So, more or less nothing can go wrong and they will know how to deal with it.

In Japan, they will most likely be able to understand that in America, answers are more direct. So if you answer a question more directly, the family will probably understand, and not be offended. I have homestayed in Japan many times and I've run into this problem, but all you need to do is talk to the family to make sure they understand the differences.

By the way great website, THX!

Hello,

I used the link you posted to the homestay guide for preparation in my 2004-2005 yearlong homestay in Saitama- and I just wanted to thank you! Through all my research and experience I've not run into a comparably comprehensive and easily available resource. I forward it to all my friends who are traveling there. Thank you!!!