Home away from home: the family who have hosted more than 300 students

How would you feel about being asked to wipe a five-year-old houseguest’s bottom? Or getting a visit from the police looking for someone whose last address was yours? Rohan and Liz Woodcraft have experienced all this and more in 27 years of doing homestays.

Rohan, now 63, and Liz, 62, have hosted 339 students from around the world. After initially housing them on the veranda room of their Brisbane home, they had a highset house relocated onto their block. They had two student rooms and a bathroom built in underneath, leaving the upstairs for the family.

While the Woodcrafts’ motivation for doing homestays was to provide an income so Liz could stay home with their children, they soon found it had other benefits. It gave Patrick, now 36, Heather, 30 and Meg, 28, an experience of different cultures. “Heather said to us at one stage, �?Well Dad, I don’t have to travel overseas, because overseas has come to me,’ ” says Rohan. “It’s made the kids very tolerant of other people, of other races, religions; understanding and accepting that people are different.”

It also helped with the children’s speech. Because they had to speak clearly to make themselves understood, and work to understand other people, they developed strong communication skills. “I remember when Heather had a job, and whenever any foreigners came in, they always sent Heather over to serve them, because she could understand them,” says Liz. “They speak well … and they can understand and communicate in a lot of different ways.”

The need for good communication also helps to maintain politeness in the home. “I’ve found having students in the house keeps things civil,” says Liz, “because it’s just like having guests all the time, but as part of the family.”

Welcoming students into their family has given them world-wide connections. They have visited students in the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Denmark and Japan. In Japan, they had the rare opportunity of staying with a student’s family. “Japanese people have said to me that they don’t have people to stay in their homes,” says Liz. “They think it’s very strange what we do. It was a huge privilege for us to be invited to stay in a Japanese home.”

Hosting international students offers families experience of other cultures.

If you’re considering hosting students, here’s some advice from the Woodcrafts:

Be flexible

For Rohan and Liz, starting out with homestays when their kids were young was ideal because it became a normal part of family life. “I think if you were set in your ways, you’d find it difficult,” says Liz. “Probably if we started doing it now we wouldn’t take to it as well as we have done,” says Rohan.

Expect the unexpected

Students can be unpredictable, and you need to be prepared to handle occasional odd behaviours. Liz and Rohan recount the story of a young man who arrived from a Beijing winter, with temperatures well below freezing, into the steamy Queensland summer. That day, he decided to take a walk, declining any assistance or a map (this was before mobile phones). “He disappeared for hours and hours,” says Rohan. “We got a phone call about 9pm. This poor guy had been out all day in the scorching sun, with no idea where he was and he had finally found a restaurant or cafe, and he said �?could you please ring up these people for me and tell them I’m lost and where I am’.” They drove the 12 kilometres to pick him up.

Be prepared to deal with various personalities and cultural differences

While the occasional student has been challenging, some have become lifelong friends. “We had a young lass come out from Japan. Sayo was an absolute darling,” says Rohan. “She was a similar age to Patrick. Sayo was outgoing … and while she was here, she hung out with Patrick and his mates.”

She stayed with the family for 12 months. Liz and Rohan have visited her family in Japan.

Then there were the sisters from Hong Kong, Alice, 13 and Ada, 15. “The younger sister, I loved her, she was a bit of a rebel,” says Rohan. “Their college put on a trip down to the Gold Coast. While they were down there, Alice had her hair dyed purple. Ada was sent home in disgrace because she hadn’t looked after her little sister correctly.”

Rohan and Liz have since visited Alice and Ada’s family in their Hong Kong apartment.

Welcoming students into their family has given Liz and Rohan Woodcraft worldwide connections.

Set ground rules

Being clear about rules has been key for running a successful homestay. “Tell them right at the start what the rules are. Over the years we’ve drafted up a welcome letter,” says Liz. “I tell them to come up and talk to us … because everybody likes to know where they stand. It’s not only a new house, it’s a new country and a new culture.”

Generally, students rarely argue, and are very accepting of house rules. However, there will be some who push the limits, so be prepared to take action when boundaries are broken.

Be available

Running a homestay means you are expected to provide a room for study and sleep, three meals per day and access to transport to their college.

But being available doesn’t mean being a slave. When Liz hadn’t heard five-year-old Kevin for a while, she went looking for him. “He was sitting on the toilet, waiting for me to wipe his bottom,” she says. Rohan adds, “He said, �?Wipe my bottom.’ Liz looked at him and said, �?You’ve got to be joking’.”

Nor does it mean you’re locked into a difficult situation if you and the student don’t get along. “If you’re having problems, you ring up the college,” says Liz. With little to lose, it’s worth a try. “It’s not a prison sentence, so you may as well give it a go.”