Supporting Educational Communities Around the World: Mark’s Homestay's Sam Casto Visits the “Other Georgia”

Written By: Sam Casto - Mark’s Homestay Marketing Coordinator

International students studying here in the U.S. come from a diverse array of backgrounds and locations. As part of the international education community in America, it is important that we do our best to understand and support international communities and be advocates for members of our global village.

In April, I went with a group from Marietta, GA's First United Methodist Church to visit Tbilisi, Georgia where we would work with a community of teachers, students and their families who had been displaced from their homes by conflict with Russian military in the 90’s. 

The students, teachers and families in these communities have accomplished so much in their efforts to re-build and offer quality education to their kids. Each child and teacher we encountered taught us more than we could ever teach them, and our new found friendship brought a richness to our lives. They taught us about supporting and seeking to understand one another despite cultural or geographical boundaries; about the importance of being advocates for each other through good times and bad, and about how really, at the heart of everything, we are all the same.

During our stay, we helped the community install electricity in the entrance of their school, housed in an old concrete soviet-style building; donated textbooks and literature, worked with the kids on art projects to brighten up their hallways and put smiles on their faces, and built relationships with the teachers in the community to encourage and support their development.

We would like to extend a big thank you to the members of the Tbilisi Sea School community for reminding us that in fostering cross-cultural relationships, we open doors to learning opportunities we can find nowhere else.

By becoming Homestay Hosts, we have a unique opportunity to experience this same valuable cultural exchange, and to help a member of our international community without ever leaving home. Click here to visit our website and learn more about applying to become a homestay host today.

Click here to learn more about how you can support Marietta First United Methodist's ongoing efforts to support international communities through global mission and aid.

Atlanta's Rich Cultural Neighborhoods Are a Learning Experience for Students

Atlanta has a unique culture among major cities in the US. There are countless avenues for foreign visitors to explore the distinct flavor of this southern city through it's soulful food, music and traditions. However, like other U.S. cities, the rich cultural experience that Atlanta offers is in great part because of it's many international influences.

Learn about experiencing Atlanta with Mark's Homestay

Atlanta is home to many of it's own international communities which bring the special traditions and lifestyles of those countries right to our front door. These neighborhoods, restaurants, arts centers and more are a great place to go to learn about these colorful cultures. One of Atlanta's most well known locations for these international communities is concentrated along the bustling Buford Highway.

Learn more about Atlanta's unique neighborhoods

Named "best neighborhood for diversity" by Creative Loafing Atlanta in their 2011 "Ultimate Neighborhood Guide", the Dekalb County community begins north of Midtown and continues through Brookhaven, Chamblee, Doraville, and part of Gwinnett. Among others, the area is home to Korean, Mexican, Chinese Vietnamese, Indian/South Asian, Central American and Ethiopian communities. With more than 1,000 immigrant owned businesses in the community, Buford Highway is said to have the highest concentration of multi-ethnic owned businesses in the Southeast. And they're not just restaurants and entertainment, among the businesses are a wide array of services including law offices and physical therapy clinics.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Loafing
Buford Highway shopping center signs represent the cultural variety of the community.

Buford Highway has attracted many food-lovers and food-centered events, including the Southern Foodways Alliance's 10th annual 2-day foodie field trip where participants grazed up and down the famous highway. The event celebrated the interaction of southern and foreign cuisine. A Creative Loafing article reports that a "Deep South Dim Sum" as well as Mexican-Southern fusion dishes were among the delectable dishes.

Exchange students who make the decision to attend academic programs here in Atlanta get to enjoy the multi-cultural atmosphere of the city, inside and outside of the perimeter. To learn more about how to live with an American host family while studying in this exciting and rapidly growing city, or to apply to be a host, visit Mark's Homestay online.

Mark's Homestay takes students on The ATL Experience Tour, a 15 mile journey which hits many of Atlanta's most famous and historical destinations. This is a great way to get an introduction to the institutions and communities which make up the heart of the city. Hosts, this is a great way to introduce your students to Atlanta. Contact tours@markshomestay.com to book today!

Students - Apply today to live with a host family in Atlanta, Georgia!

A Unique Culture Connection Between Countries & Generations: Homestay!

My name is Gillian and I'm 30 years old.  I host students frequently for Mark's Homestay LLC, a company that places international students with local American families for cultural exchange. A "homestay" is where an international visitor or student lives with a local family in order to learn English and experience American culture. 

What is a homestay?

Typically, most of the students looking for homestays are in their early 20s.  However, I recently hosted two students a bit different from the norm--a retired married-couple in their 50s from Columbia, Harold and Cece. Below is my true life story about how a much younger "host mother" made a cultural connection between a different culture and yes, a different generation through the homestay experience. The result---a new international friendship and a lifetime of memories. Let me tell you about my experience...

Closing the Gap Between Cultures & Generations

I was excited to meet Harold and Cece and hoped we would get along great. Of course, I was nervous they would not receive me well since I was a much younger "Host Mother." However, as soon as they arrived, it was like welcoming home a long lost aunt and uncle.  They were so polite and friendly as we shared stories about our families--I told them about my parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, and they told me about their children and grandchildren.  They even have a daughter with a very similar name to mine who is the same age as me--I think this fact kind of instantly bonded us.  At first, their English was pretty limited--but they studied more than I’ve ever seen students study! By the end of their trip, we told stories back and forth with ease, and I was really proud of their progress.  Even though I was young enough to be their kid, I felt parental pride for their progress--after all, I’m still used to being kind of a “host mom.”  Everyday I supported and applauded their efforts and their consistent progress, and I was glad to help them along the way.

Learn more about the benefits of hosting

I have three especially fond memories with Harold and Cece.  The first is the day we took them to my family’s farm in Marietta.  Here, surrounded by flowers and apple trees, Harold told us that he felt transported back in time to his grandfather’s farm, and that it made him feel like a small boy again.  We could really feel that this brought back some beautiful memories for him, and we loved witnessing his child-like joy.  

The second best memory is of the last dinner we had with Harold and Cece.  A large party of friends and family went to a Mexican restaurant, and Roberto sat at one end of the large table with my father at the other end, and it was two hours filled with the sharing of stories and food.

The fondest memory I have is of when Harold and Cece said goodbye to me and my father, and they told us how much it meant to them that we opened our lives and homes.  We felt that hadn’t done anything extravagant, but as Harold brushed away tears from his eyes, we felt humbled that the homestay experience meant so much to them. Wonderful friendships really can form in even just a month. It couldn’t have been a better experience of cultural exchange, and was truly a homestay experience that was uniquely special.

I hope you will consider this unique experience by being a host family too. 

Apply to be a homestay host at Mark's Homestay!