What are the benefits of a Homestay experience?

Posted on by Yesica

We know that living with people you don’t know can be awkward only initially, but it takes few seconds or minutes to be part of a new family. Living hundreds of miles  away from home can be difficult, and  it can be challenging if you live in a place where people don’t speak the same language as you but we can assure you this will be part of an unforgettable and incredible experience!

A Homestay experience is a journey to achieve proficiency in a language, experiment a new culture and unlock your potential as human being. At first sight, it can be intimidating but the benefits of this experience far outweigh uncertainty. We share with you some reasons why this experience is so unique and beneficial.

First of all, a Homestay is a home away from home because families from a different country are opening their doors and their lives to you. Finding yourself in a strange city and country far from the comforts of home can be very intimidating. A Homestay Family provides a familiar place with friendly faces, helps to find your way around the city, and gives you invaluable advice that cannot be found in any guidebook.

Additionally, if you want to increase your language proficiency, living with a Homestay family pushes your comfort level. This will help you to learn from your mistakes, take your risks in language use, and grow in confidence every day. Keep in mind that an immersion experience is essential for achieving levels of proficiency in any language. Not everything will be easy, you’ll experiment setbacks and frustrations but at the end of the day, you will be able to eat, drink, think and dream in your second language.

Don’t wait for it, make it happen!! The most important issue is that you are going to discover yourself because you will develop an intercultural sensitivity which will allow you to break down cultural barriers with other people, integrate different cultural practices into your own life or even start to take joy in simple things.

Keep yourself out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself every day. Staying with a Homestay family could help to be who you want to be and grow in confidence.

5 Tips to keep your New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on by Yesica

Happy New Year to everybody!!! Another year is ending and we’re so motivated, because thanks to that, many of us are gathering up our willpower to achieve a set of New Year’s Resolutions. However, according to statistics, almost half of the people will give up on their goals within six months, so probably by February 1st, you may already have blown it.

For this reason, we share with you 5 tips to keep going on in order to achieve succesfully your resolutions and avoid being part of the 50% of the people.

1.Keep your resolutions simple, specific, and realistic

Most of the times people find themselves trying to improve their entire lifestyle at the beginning of the year, however, this can be really disapointing if you don’t set realistic goals. The best approach is to focus on short-term goals on your way to a big achievement. For example, if you want to lose weight set concrete dates on which you aim to lose a precise number of pounds to shed.

2.Plan a time-frame and make notes

A time-frame is vital to measure your success because it will allow you to see how you’re progressing. Buy a calendar or a diary in which you can write down your plan actions for the coming weeks or months. Remember to add your motivations. They can be inspirational quotes or even magazine clippings which represent what you want to achieve, anything that reminds you why you’re doing it.

3.Substitute good behaviors for bad

You will need more than willpower to achieve your goals. it’s better if you substitute the bad behavior with a healthy one. According to the book “The power of habit” of Charles Duhigg, you can’t eliminate a habit but you can change it. For example, if you want to save money, first of all, you need to identify what you spend more money on and why you do it . It  may be because when you’re so stressed so you get relaxed by going shopping. Then, since you already know the cause, instead of going shopping you can go for a walk or do something else that helps you to relax.

4.Treat yourself

It’s really important to keep you motivated by giving yourself rewards or treats because you’re doing a great job. However, don’t fall into the trap of putting your goal in danger. For example, if you wish to travel to a different country and you’ve been saving money, don’t reward yourself by going shopping and spend too much money.

5.Track your progress

Last but not least, you must track how you’re doing it. Check your notes and your time-frame in order to see how much you’ve progressed if you achieved your short-term goals in time or what else you need to improve.

Now that you have read these tips, you have the magic recipe to improve your life this new year. Feeling good and satisfied with yourself is worth time and effort, Good Luck!