Ian and Lesley McDonald have made many connections as homestay hosts for international students. Photo / Judith Lacy
Lesley and Ian McDonald have hosted international students for more than 25 years and have no plans to shut their door.
The Palmerston North couple are sharing their story to encourage more people to become homestay hosts.
Frank from Hong Kong stayed with them for eight years.
He attended Palmerston North Boys’ High School then studied aviation management at Massey Univeristy, then got a job.
Frank left last year when he got a job at Auckland International Airport.
Lesley used to be the homestay co-ordinator at Freyberg High School then managed homestays at Massey.
Ian is an English language teacher.
He says since their three children have left home it is nice to have a youth perspective.
The McDonalds currently have two Boys’ High students and one Massey student.
They also take on temporary homestays, for example when a host goes on holiday.
Each institution has a homestay co-ordinator if there are any problems.
Ian says the sort of student who has got enough gumption to travel to a new culture is usually willing to experience new things.
They once hosted a university student from Oman who asked Ian if he was interested in working in the Middle Eastern country. He was and did.
They have visited students in their home countries and stayed with a student and their parents in Germany. The family just happened to live on the most scenic part of the Rhine.
Other students have returned to Palmerston North to visit.
A student from London who was doing an internship at Palmerston North Girls’ High School had his 21st with the McDonalds. Their friends thought he was great so most of the guests were in their 50s.
They hope to see him in New York next year.
The McDonalds say food is important as a comfort for students away from home and to feed growing and active teens. They sit down together at dinner and talk about what has happened during the day.
Rice is important for Asian students and they provide Asian and Kiwi dishes.
Dinner is a buffet so students can help themselves and there is always baking available.
Kiwi Ian and Scot Lesley met at a mutual friend’s party in London. They got chatting and found they had the same birth date and the rest was history.
They have been married for 38 years and have five grandchildren and one on the way.
Trudy and Tony Plaisted had no plans to become a homestay family until they hosted a student for a few weeks as a favour to another family. They enjoyed the experience so much they decided to become fulltime hosts.
Trudy says her family has learned a lot about the cultures and countries their students come from.
For Angie and Dan Ford, it is their children who have benefited most from hosting international students. Their children have made lifelong friends with many of their students and had the opportunity to travel to their home countries.
Angie says when they first brought students into their home it surprised her that no matter what culture or country their students came from, everyone had a similar daily lifestyle and routine; we wake up, have breakfast, and then run out the door to work or school.
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