UNIVERSITY LANGUAGE INSTITUTE 2448 E. 81st Street, Suite 1400 Tulsa, OK 74137, USA
Table of Contents
Your Homestay Family ....................................................3 Names ..............................................................................3 Communication ...............................................................3 The American Lifestyle .................................................. 4 Rules ............................................................................... 4 Your Bedroom ................................................................ 4 Laundry ............................................................................5 Meals ...............................................................................5 Bathroom........................................................................ 6 Living Room ....................................................................7 Television and Stereo .....................................................7 Telephone........................................................................7 Computer........................................................................ 8 Internet ........................................................................... 8 Friends ............................................................................ 8 Transportation ............................................................... 8 Money ............................................................................. 9 Payment .......................................................................... 9 Vacations ........................................................................ 9 Culture Shock ................................................................. 9 What to do if Theres a Problem.................................... 11 Moving Out ..................................................................... 11 Words to Know............................................................... 11
Although University Language Institute facilitates the contact between students and housing providers, any housing agreement or related services shall be between the student and the housing provider and not between either party and University Language Institute. University Language Institute is not liable to either party in regards to the obligations of any housing agreement or related services.
Names
Ask your homestay family what names they want to be called. Many times, adults in the USA want you to call them by their first names because it feels more comfortable to them. Other adults might want to be called by a title like professor, doctor, mister, or misses.
Communication
Most Americans prefer direct, face-to-face communication. If you have a question, no matter how unusual, it is best to ask your homestay family. Do not be embarrassed. If your homestay family asks you a direct question, this is not to be taken as an insult. This should be a learning opportunity for both of you. If something is offensive to you, you should gently tell your homestay family. Talk with EACH member of the family EVERY DAY. Spend time communication with your family. Stay at the dinner table after dinner to have conversations with them. They want to know about you, your country, your family, your dreams, and your life. This is one of the best ways to improve your English skills and build a lasting relationship.
Ask questions, watch, listen, and learn to understand and do things in new ways. Communication and patience are important.
Rules
Most families have rules. If the family has children, you may have to follow the same rules that the children have. It would not be fair for you to be able to do something that they are not allowed to do. Most families also have a curfew. If you have to be out later, please talk to or call your homestay before curfew time and let them know why and what time you will be home. This should not happen very often. Many families will not like it if you smoke or drink in their home. If you do smoke, you should smoke outside far from the house. If there are young children living in the home, please do not let them see you smoke. Never ever smoke inside. You also need to know that Tulsa has a law that does not allow smoking inside most public buildings.
Your Bedroom
You should have your own room unless you have agreed to share a room with another student. You should have a bed,
storage area for your clothes, and a table or desk for studying. Please ask your homestay before you decorate. Please do not stay in your room all the time with the door shut. If you do this, your homestay family will think that you dont like them. It is your responsibility to keep your room clean. This means vacuuming, changing your bed linens, dusting, etc. This should be done at least every two weeks or as often as requested by your homestay family. Please do not stay in your bedroom all the time with the door closed. This communicates to the homestay family that you do not like them. Please try to spend time together with the family when you have the opportunity.
Laundry
You will have your own laundry basket and will do your own laundry. If you do not know how, please ask your homestay family to teach you. You can use your homestay familys laundry detergent and fabric softener. If there are already clothes in the washing machine or dryer, please remove them and place them in an empty laundry basket. You have clean sheets on your bed and are welcome to wash them or change them once a week.
Meals
Since you are living with an American homestay family, you can expect to be eating American food. If you dont want to eat American food, you might want to look for an apartment. Most American families are busy and expect their homestay students to learn how to be more independent with their food. Please ask which foods are for snacking and which are for meals. Breakfast -- While some homestay families will prepare and eat breakfast together, most families will show you what is available for breakfast and expect you to make it for yourself. Lunch -- You will probably also be expected to make lunch for yourself. In some cases, the family may expect you to take leftovers from the evening meal for lunch the next day. This is normal. If you do not know what you can take for lunch, please ask your homestay family. Supper -- Some homestay families prepare an evening meal that everyone eats together. Your homestay family may ask you to help with the meal by chopping vegetables or something like that. You should always offer to help and help to clean up afterwards. Because families often have a busy schedule, meals may not be served at the same time every night. If you get hungry and eat alone or with friends before your family prepares supper for you, please let your family know so that they dont prepare more food for you. If you will not be coming home for a meal, please let your family know so that they do not wait for you.
Customs and manners -- Some families say a prayer before they eat. If this is your homestay familys custom, wait until after the prayer to start eating. In the USA, you should eat your food without slurping or making noise. Soup served in a bowl with a spoon should be eaten quietly with a spoon. You should chew with your mouth closed. Burping is considered to be impolite. Some families will discuss their day after or during the meal. It is polite to enter into this discussion and afterward to help with clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. Cooking for yourself -- In some homestay families, you might sometimes (or always) be expected to cook the evening meal for yourself because the family is too busy and all the adults in the family take care of themselves. If this is your situation, please let the homestay family know what you like to eat so that you can have good food available to cook for yourself. If you eat alone, you should always put the dishes in the dishwasher or wash them by hand. Do not leave dirty dishes in the sink. Disliking the food -- If your family provides food that you do not like, it is acceptable to tell them. You can say, Thank you for the _______, but I really do not like it. You should work with your homestay family to find foods that you like. Remember that the food will not be like the food that you have in your country. Try to adjust to eating American food. You might ask your homestay family if you can teach them how to cook one of your countrys foods. But dont be offended if they do not like them. If you want types of food that the family does not normally eat, you need to buy those foods separately. There is no reduction of the homestay fee if you buy your own food unless you have a special agreement with your homestay family about this. If you eat at a restaurant with your homestay family, you should pay for your own meal. If you do not have the money to do this, you can ask to stay at home and make your own meal.
It is part of your responsibility to share the job of keeping the bathroom clean. Jobs that your homestay family might request your help with are: cleaning the tub, cleaning the toilet, emptying the trash, and mopping or vacuuming the floor. If you have your own bathroom, it is entirely your responsibility to clean it once a week.
The Telephone
If your family has a home telephone, you may use it. However, you should limit your phone calls to 20 minutes unless your homestay family gives you permission to talk for longer. You should make your phone calls between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Your friends or family should not call you after 10:00 p.m. unless it is an emergency. You should always make international or long distance phone calls with a calling card. You can buy one at any grocery store or convenience store. You may request to have a phone installed in your bedroom. If you want this, you must pay for the installation of a private phone line. The cost for installation is approximately $50. Monthly service costs about $60. This phone line can be used for phone calls or computer access to the internet. Most students purchase a cell phone instead of using the familys phone. This is really the best choice since you can use your own phone as much as you want to and can talk on it whenever you want to.
The Computer
Your homestay family may or may not have a computer. You may or may not be able to use it. If the family gives you permission to use it, never change the settings, add or remove programs, change the language, or change anything about it without first asking your homestay family. You should buy a package of disks or a USB drive to store your documents on. Never store your documents on your homestay familys computer. Please follow your homestay familys rules about the amount of time that you can use the familys computer. It is a good idea to only use the computer for 30 minutes or less unless you have permission to use it longer for homework.
The Internet
If your family does not internet access, please do not ask them to buy a computer or pay for the internet for you. If you want to use the internet, you should ask your familys permission for you to have it installed. However, you will need to pay for the installation and service and be responsible to stop that service after you leave your homestay. Please never visit pornographic sites. Please do not download music or movies illegally.
Friends
You should always ask permission to have friends over to the house before you invite them. Friends should not arrive after 10:00 p.m. Some homestay families have rules about who can visit you in your home. Most families will not allow you to invite a member of the opposite sex into your bedroom. If you are planning to go out with friends, it is very important that you communicate your plans to your homestay family as soon as possible.
Transportation
Your homestay family will provide transportation for you to and from school. Sometimes this means that a family member or a family friend will drive you to school. Sometimes this means that the homestay family will purchase a bus pass for you to use to get to and/or from school. If you have planned to meet your homestay family at a certain time or place, please follow this plan or call your homestay family many hours before time to ask to change the plans.
If you buy your own car, walk to school, or have some other way to get to school, you can ask your homestay family to reduce the amount of money that you pay every month. The amount that they reduce your rent will depend on the distance the family lives from ULI. It is not your familys responsibility to provide transportation for you to anywhere except school. Some families might be willing to drive you somewhere sometimes, but they are not your chauffeur. If you want your own chauffeur, you can rent one for $12 an hour (does not include car). If you want to take a bus, visit http://www.tulsatransit.org for bus schedules and prices. Other options are to walk, ride a bike, roller-blade, or ask friends for transportation.
Money
If you need to open a bank account, we suggest that you open an account at Arvest Bank across from the Cityplex or in Wal-Mart. You can open and account there just by showing them your passport. Please do not put the homestay familys name on the account. Do not keep large amounts of cash money at home or school. If you do, please put it in a safe place. Do not loan money to or borrow money from your homestay family.
Payment
Always pay your rent on time. You can pay by cash, travelers checks, or check. You should pay the day that you move in. Your payment will be due each month on that date. If your payment is 5 days late, there will be a $10 late fee. If your payment is 20 or more days late, you will be asked to move. ULI will not find you a new homestay if you are asked to move because you did not pay. Homestay fees that have been paid in advance will be refunded after all bills have been paid for the unused time.
Vacations
If you leave your homestay to go on vacation, the homestay fee will not be reduced unless you will be gone for more than two weeks.
Culture Shock
All cultures are different. This does not mean one culture is better than another. Everyone experiences some form of culture shock. If you know what to expect and how to react, you will be okay.
Sleeping all the time or having trouble sleeping Feeling irritable or critical of everything Withdrawing from people
What to do:
Realize that it is culture shock Remind yourself that it is normal Know that it will pass Take good care of your body (eat well, get enough sleep, get fresh air, and exercise) Be friendly. Talk to your homestay family. Make new friends at ULI
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Moving Out
If problems cannot be solved, students who did not visit their homestay family before moving in will be allowed to change homestays a maximum of one time without any additional fee. A 30-day notice is required to find a new family unless it is an emergency. You should not move or change host families without talking to the housing coordinator first. You are allowed to stay in your homestay a maximum of 2 weeks after your last day of class. The only exception to this would be if there is no student who will be moving into your homestay immediately after you. However, we request that you move out to accommodate a new ULI student after you have finished your studies at ULI if requested to do so.
Words To Know
accommodate to adjust to make a place for someone or something adjust to change what you normally do appropriate what is good to do in a certain situation approximately a guess of the amount burping -- to make a loud noise of air after you eat chauffeur someone you can pay to drive for you chopping cutting confidence a feeling that you are able to do something considerate to think about the needs and feelings of other people convenience store place to buy gas and snacks couple two people who live together critical noticing all the bad things about everything curfew the time you have to come home deodorant product to use under your arms to make them smell better detergent -- soap dishwasher the machine that washes dishes dusting the process of removing dust from furniture embarrassed to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious fabric softener liquid or sheets used to keep clothes soft and static-free during drying fair the rules are the same for everybody fascinated excited and interested by something fluent to be able to speak a language correctly and without effort
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frustration feeling disappointed and that things arent like you want them headaches pain in your head homework school work that your teacher asks you to do at home immersed completely covered by something impolite to not be nice in advance paid for the future installed to put something into place so that it works irritable easily annoyed or easily made mad isolation alone and apart from other people knock to hit the door with your hand to make a sound lack to not have leftovers food left over from a meal lifestyle the way that people live linens the sheets, blankets, and/or comforters on your bed meals breakfast, lunch, and supper mental relating to the brain mile = 1.6 kilometers mopping wetting the floor with soap and water to clean offensive -- upsetting or insulting opportunity a chance for something good opposite sex the gender opposite yours (male or female) permission to say that it is okay to do something polite to be nice pornographic pictures related to sex prepare make refunded money returned to you relationship a connection of friendship responsibility something that you must do by yourself rules things you must do to live in the house schedule a plan of things to do servants -- people that do house work for you slurping a loud sound you make with your mouth when you eat or drink snacking eating between meals stereo music player transportation travel by car or other vehicle between two places straining to work very hard at something to the limit urinate to wet with body liquids vacuuming using a vacuum to clean the carpet withdrawing removing yourself from people
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