10 reasons for taking a foreign student in the family

The non-profit volunteer organization AFS Latvia provides an indispensable opportunity for every family to know another culture in their home, to show their national traditions to other people in the world and share experience and knowledge, thus making the world more friendly. This can be achieved by becoming a hotel family for one of the foreign guests who are coming to Latvia in August.
What really is the real benefits of families from becoming a hotel family, Ilze Liepiņa, the co-ordinator of “AFS Latvia”.
10 reasons for the family to take a guest pupil from abroad

1. Culture and traditions. Becoming an “AFS Latvia” hotel family, taking their home in foreign pupils, gives every member of the family the opportunity to explore other culture and traditions. As experience shows, foreign young people often assume the role of the Ambassador of their native country and try as much as possible to introduce their new family to a variety of cultural nuances, such as food traditions, festival celebrations, daily differences in life;
2. Family relationships. As a result of becoming a guest family, family relationships are often improved, as such experience improves the way in which disputes are dealt with, allowing more tolerance to other cultures, thus making it better for themselves and their families to be better acquainted with;
3. Foreign languages. Language learning is one of the greatest benefits that can be happy as parents, as well as younger family members. Despite the fact that the aim of the pupil is to learn the Latvian language, the English language is also spoken at least at first, which greatly improves the skills of communicating in a foreign language. Similarly, foreign guests have the opportunity to learn and learn another foreign language. For example, as the experience shows, by taking a guest pupil from Italy or Germany, the basis of these languages is often derived from the family.
4. Values. The hotel family grows with the host pupil – after the admission of the guests, the family recognises that the family values have changed, a larger number of positivisms have come into life, a broader view of the world.
5. A friend for life. As a hotel family, it is not only a new member of the family, but a friend for life. The guests have contacts with their hotel families after the end of the programme, continue to visit the villages and take up their family in their home country.
6. View of the world. Foreign guests are enthusiasm full of enthusiasm and with wide-ranging vision, they also show their “world view” to other family members.
7. Satisfaction. It is an opportunity to do a good job for a child, letting you feel like home and helping to know a foreign country. Becoming a hotel is an undetectable sense of satisfaction.
8. Communication. The ability to communicate with children of different ages and life is improved.
9. Time together. Together with a family of guests, the family spend more time together, go to rest in various recreational and entertainment journeys along Latvia, reopening Latvia's wealth.
10. Comrades. New World and “AFS Latvia” Community. More than 30 guests are admitted to Latvia every year, so the hotel families are several, parents regularly meet, discuss their experiences, and a new friendship between families with similar stories is often formed. These have been acquired by new members and similarly mindful friends.