Info on Host Families??: PLEASE PLEASE HELP

I had posted a message before, but sadly I got no replies....sniff sniff
I am going to spain next year, and I don't know ANYBODY there...I would prefer to stay with a host family for a couple of months to at least a year in order to slowly integrate myself in the spanish culture and improve also my spanish....but where can I find ANY info on spanish host families??? No au-pairs or anything of that kind though....
thank you so much, any help is appreciated!

If you are still in school, you could find out about exchange programs that would link you up with a host family. I found a place to stay while I studied at the University of Madrid, but I would not call that a "host" situation as I paid rent!

What had you planned on doing when you got to Spain? Do you have a job lined up? Once you start work/school I'm sure you'll feel less lonely!

thanks for the reply ,
I am going to be done with my studies next year in april. I am going to be taking a TEFL course in Madrid next year and then will start (hopefully) teaching english in spain in the later months (I live in canada but have a german passport, i.e I am a EU resident). I need a place to stay and I am wondering where to find a good cheap place....what's better, an apartment or a host family? I don't know anybody in spain yet with whom to live and share costs!!!

A host family, to me, means you stay there for free with no strings attached while you learn Spanish. This is usually done when the host family has a child they would like to have visit YOUR country someday. So if you can get it, that would be sweet. As an independent person, though, you can't just go up to someone and ask that they "adopt" you for a while! So next you get to look for a roommate...and you might be able to do that once you get to Spain and start your classes.

While the ideal "host family" situation that la maestra describes really would be great, I think the term "host family" often takes on a really different meaning a lot of the time. Ive studied abroad twice, and both times lived with, what was always called a "host family". However, they were paid to keep me.

The first time, in Bilbao, even though they were being paid, the family was AMAZING. I was the first exchange student they had ever had, and I really felt like a member of the family. I still keep in close contact with them and have visited multiple times (not paying, and they insist on paying for everything, its really sweet).

That said, and I dont mean to make anybody mad by saying this, good situations can always be found.... I think the experience I had in Bilbao was the exception, not the rule. They werent in it for the money, and that was clear (to this day Im the only student theyv ever hosted). I found that out really quick during my second study abroad experience with a host family, a semester in Granada. This 2nd host family situation was awful. They clearly were in it only for the money, and could have cared less about who I was, or getting to know me at all. It was pretty much: here is your room, meals are at this time, have a nice semester. Very unfriendly, and not a good situation. They had hosted students for almost 10 years, it was pretty much a job, and they made that pretty clear from day one. Luckily, I hade already been living in Spain for a while, and really didnt care, since I was hardly ever at home, and was still in close contact with my Bilbao family.

I don't mean to scare you away from a host family in any way. With a good family, it can be a wonderful experience. But really check it out before making that decision. If you could swing it, the ideal situation would be living in an apartment with spanish roommates your own age.

Kelly

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR REPLIES!!!

You might check with the universities. They are the ones who match students up with host families. Our son stayed with a delightful family for four months spring semester in Alcala de Henares. I think I figured the cost at about 21euros per day for room and board.