"Homestay is a form of study abroad program. It allows a visitor to rent a room from a local (当地的) family to understand the local lifestyle better. It also helps to improve the visitor's language ability," said a teacher, during a school meeting last term. "Students who wish to learn more about foreign cultures or to get foreign experience should join this kind of holiday. I am sure you won't be disappointed (失望的)."
After this special meeting, I always thought about this kind of holiday. Last month I had a chance at last to go on such a holiday with some of my schoolmates and we went to London—a place where I had wanted to go since years ago.
As we were still young, we had a group leader who planned things for us and looked after us. After we got to London, we went to stay with different families. I was lucky that my host family (寄宿家庭) was a white couple who had a daughter about my age. They treated me as a daughter of their family during my stay there. They were interested in me and I learnt a lot of things from them too.
The holiday was filled with activities every day. After breakfast, a local teacher would come to take us in his car. Then we would have classes or go on a sightseeing trip to different places of interest, like the Big Ben, the London Bridge and the Buckingham Palace. We would go back to our own homes after the activities.
The holiday was a valuable experience for me. I enjoyed every minute of it. Yet, time really flew fast. Three weeks later, we had to leave "homes" for Hong Kong.
