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	The homestay is the centerpiece of China Institute’s immersion program in Beijing. Living with a host family offers our students the opportunity to be immersed in the daily life of Chinese families, an experience that living in a dormitory does not allow. During their homestay students learn and practice Chinese, as well as familiarize themselves with customs ranging from diet to family celebrations. Through their homestay, students will also form new friendships and discover qualities about themselves and others that they will remember for years to come. Host families also offer daily opportunities for language exchange.		OUR HOST FAMILIES: WHERE OUR STUDENTS LIVE, LEARN AND GROW Choosing our host families and placing our students appropriately is a task that we take very seriously. What we look for in a host family is the desire to open their lives to an American teenager, even if for only a short period of time; and the flexibility and warmth necessary to make this arrangement work. All host families include a corresponding Chinese host brother or sister of approximately the same age and same sex as the student and most host families will provide the student with his/her own room. Children around the world easily bond with their peers, and having access to a teenaged Chinese student provides an added dimension to the program. Host families are selected after a lengthy application and interview process and consideration of all our student’s applications. All host families have students attending our host school. Colleagues at our host school assist in locating participant families, and we require that they personally know all our host families.		In our experience, the great majority of former students have been very happy in their host family setting right from the start. If there is a problem, we will immediately address the situation; and in cases of real incompatibility, we will arrange a move.
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