Homestay Opportunities

Okinawa Global Leadership Program

Every summer, high school students from Okinawa, Japan, travel to Bozeman for a three-week program. We are currently in search of host families open to inviting one or two students into their homes for the duration of their visit. During this time, students will engage in English and Leadership courses while immersing themselves in American culture.

Homestay opportunities are a primary avenue for enabling students to truly immerse themselves in the local culture.

This year the Okinawa Global Leadership Program will take place from July 29 to August 15, 2024.

Kumamoto University

Undergraduate students from Kumamoto usually visit Bozeman in September. Kumamoto is considered Bozeman's sister city, and Montana State University has had a partnership with Kumamoto University for 35 years. Students will be taking intensive English classes as well learning more about American culture and society. They also teach the Bozeman community about their own culture. To make this program a success, we are once again seeking families willing to host students in their homes for the duration of their visits.

Kumamoto students will be in Bozeman early September (for three weeks)

Friendship Families

Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Student Leaders Program

Student Leaders live on campus in the dorms during the course of the three week program; however, we invite community members of Bozeman to serve as what we call "friendship families."

Friendship families are people who offer support and encouragement to program participants and are available weekly to have student leaders over for dinner, take them on an excursion, or simply show them their favorite places in Bozeman.

The friendship family component of our programs has proven to be conducive to the fostering of strong cross-cultural connections, mutual understanding, and student success. 

The MEPI program will take place from June 20 to July 24, 2024.

Fulbright Teaching Excellence & Achievement Program (TEA)

Participants of Fulbright TEA are accomplished teachers from all over the world. They live in a hotel in Bozeman for the duration of the program.

We are also looking for 'friendship families' for the TEA program participants to welcome them into the Bozeman community and make them feel at home. The success of past TEA programs serve as testimonials to the importance of partnering participants with members of the community. 

One former TEA participant from Tanzania, Mahamba Sebastian, shared his thoughts on his experience with his host family in Bozeman: "I have been impressed with my host family I was partnered with; I was not only treated as a family member but also as a true blood-related son. They humbly treated my homesickness to great passion."

The TEA program will take place from September 11 to October 28, 2024.

 

For more information, please contact Makiko Diehl: makiko.diehl@montana.edu 

 

A screenshot of several people from various backgrounds in taken on ZOOM, people look excited and smiling in the photos.A man giggles while putting his finger in the mouth of a skeleton amid fall leaves.A man look proud as he poses next to a live hawk on a womans hand, with the sign "Bozeman Raptor Fest" in the background.A women in blue traditional Thai clothing stands in front of a large room and screen that shows personal photos of her life in Thailand.6 people look incredibly cold as they pose with excitement in the snow, in front of a large building.2 young women approach horses in a pasture with caution. A man with a cowboy hat stands next to them.7 people sit on a hale bale in a late afternoon photo. Most are wearing face masks.Photo of the backs of several people standing in a garage (autoshop class).They are all wearing Hawkers backpacks and look adorable. They appear very engaged with the speaker of the group.Two young women put tradition headwear on another woman while sitting on a couch.Many people pose for a screenshot on ZOOM, with a matching background that shows the MSU logo and the logo of a Japanese university. Everyone looks shy haha.A women in traditional Malian clothing (bright prints and a head scarf) discusses her poster with a young women.Three people pose for a photo wile sitting at a table with many documents and are wearing nametags. They look excited.Three women in traditional outfits from their cultures pose with a local Bozeman community member, female, in front of an auditorium. They look giddy.4 people pose at the top of a hike, pine trees in the background. It looks sunny and the sky is blue.

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