FFCCPV inbound hosting journeys are managed by a club member serving as an Journey Coordinator (JC), generally assisted by a committee. Our JC will thoughtfully match you with a visiting ambassador(s) after carefully reviewing advance information provided by you and them. You won’t get anyone who is allergic to your cats, will smoke in your home or can’t do stairs to your guest rooms. Concerned about having a ‘stranger’ in your home? You won’t be strangers for long, as your bond of mutual respect and friendship will begin as soon as you are introduced. Concerned about having someone in your home who doesn’t speak English? Don’t let that be an obstacle to experiencing true cultural exchange! We have found that most international visitors speak some English, certainly enough to make the home stay a great success.
HOSTING during a Friendship Force journey takes on three roles: Host, Cultural Ambassador, and Guide.
- HOME HOSTING: The Home Host provides home hospitality to the visiting ambassador(s) for up to one week. Can’t home host for a full week but you can do a partial week? That’s okay, just let the FFCCPV JC know.You should plan on offering what is natural for you and your household in the way of food and activities. The ambassadors are here to experience a way of life that is different from their own. Do you belong to a garden club, etc.? Don’t change your plans during the home stay, take the ambassador(s) with you and introduce them to your friends!
Each ambassador couple or single guest should be provided private sleeping quarters, but it is fine for guests to share bath and toilet facilities with members of the host family.
The time spent in the home is used to establish a close personal friendship between the host and guests. This can be done without host and guest sharing the same language. At all times, the host should be respectful of the culture of the ambassador. While the host may choose to invite their guest to participate in religious observances, these should always be optional. Meals in the home are the responsibility of the host, but the ambassador should be expected to pay for their own meals and activities outside the home that were not part of the FFCCPV journey fee. It is also customary for the ambassador to invite the host to dinner one night or to offer to prepare a meal in the home. The host should accept these offers, as they help ensure the establishment of a mutual and balanced relationship. A good host also recognizes the visitors’ need for rest! After a long international trip or a busy day sightseeing, the visitor may need some time to rest and catch their breath, before another busy day.
DINNER HOSTING: Not everyone can home host, so FFCCPV offers the option of Dinner Hosting. This involves a FFCCPV member(s) inviting home hosts and their ambassadors for an evening meal. This is not about being gourmet! Have a picnic, a BBQ, go to a park, invite family, friends and neighbors. This is about giving home hosts an evening off from preparing meals and showing ambassadors true NE Ohio hospitality!
DAY HOSTING: Sometimes, home hosts have a personal obligation that prevents them from participating in a day’s planned activities. DAY HOSTS step in for the home hosts and accompany the ambassadors through that day’s itinerary.
- AMBASSADOR: Although the Friendship Force assigns the title ‘ambassador’ to the visitor, in many respects the hosts are also ambassadors, representing their communities and cultures. The host should see this as an important and enjoyable aspect of serving as a Friendship Force host. As hosts get to know the visitors, they should look for ways to share their culture — through ordinary experiences in the home and through activities in the community that can help the visiting ambassador better understand the host culture. Hosts should also introduce their visitors to others in the community, finding opportunities for family and friends outside the home to meet the visiting ambassadors.
- GUIDE: International visitors with lengthy travel to FFCCPV may be matched by FFI with a second journey. They may also opt to arrange their own independent regional travel before or after their stay with our hosts. While ambassadors are with us, they are provided some formal cultural tours as part of our overall journey program. The host has a great opportunity to serve as a local guide, providing the visitor with insights into the local community and culture that normal tourists never see. To see a new community through the eyes of the local host rather than from the window of a tour bus is part of what attracts people to a Friendship Force journey. On days when no formal activities are planned, the host can take the visitors into the community, sharing places of mutual interest. In some cases, ambassadors may want to explore the community on their own. Hosts should recognize that this is part of the thrill of experiencing a new community. If ambassadors want to have time on their own, the hosts can arrange the best way for carrying out this goal.