1. Earplugs: It is a myth that roosters crow in the morning, in truth they crow all darn night!
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2. Eye mask: Without curtains the moon can be very bright which could be romantic, if you weren’t sharing the house with 10 other people all sleeping within 10 feet of you.
3. Sheets: blankets are often provided, but aren’t always that clean, so we travel with a set of sheets or you can use a sewing machine and turn a king sheet into a cool sleeping bag that’s great for trains as well!
4. Pillow: For some reason the pillows in Asia are a mile high. I know packing your pillow from home isn’t always possible, but there are great traveling pillows that are clean and won’t strain your neck.
5. Towels: most people in the village air dry, I like a nice towel so I pack my own.
6. Sarong: this is great for everything! If you forgot a sheet, no worries, forgot a towel, here you go, no pillow, fold it up, nowhere private to change, you can get good at changing under a sarong. It’s also great for wearing to and from the shower/bathroom as a sarong!
7. Coloring books and crayons: Whether you’re traveling with kids or not you are sure to find kids at or around your homestay and it’s fun to interact with them. Callie and Couper have colored with kids in over 8 countries and art has no language barriers.
8. Your photo album: Because we’re so interested in their culture, we often forget how interesting our home life is to them. Before you leave home put together a quick photo album of your house, your car, your friends, you doing your hobbies, even your dog. Your hosts will love flipping through it and it gives you a conversation starter and means you both get to check out each other’s lives.
9. Snacks: No one will take offence if you have a Kit Kat or a pack of chips after dinner, bring enough to share or sneak off and have a little treat…meals at homestays aren’t always as big as we’re used to and it’s nice to have a comfort food.
10. A gift: This doesn’t have to be big or fancy, but bring something from home that is a fun treat for the hosts. We have had people bring pins with their countries flag, baseball hats for their favorite teams or just some fun magazines to flip through.
Putting homestay on my list of things to do.
To stay the night, host families are the best option for the travelers. They are always moving so host families are less expensive to stay over the night.