About the Host Family Programme and Friends of NUS Programme
Coming to live in any foreign country can be both an exciting and
difficult experience. Exciting because it is exploration into
unchartered waters..difficult because one is far from all that is
familiar and dear - family, friends and familiar places.To help,
the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) has the Host Family Programme (HFP)
to assist international students in adjusting to living in Singapore
and starting in AY09/10, we will be introducing the 'Friends of NUS'
programme as well. Both the HFP and Friends of NUS programme do not
include homestay.
Where hosts can be from all walks of life of NUS Alumni and staff
as well as everyday Singaporean families, Friends of NUS are
senior NUS students. Both programmes offer the opportunity to build
relationships through friendship among people from different
cultures and to provide a sense of what local life is like in
Singapore. Host families and senior NUS students not only benefit
from the cultural exchange, but also provide friendship and can play
a supportive role for the new international students by including
them in their daily activities.
Some of the common activities that hosts/senior NUS students and
students can participate in include:
• experience Asian cuisine at the local hawker centre
• meeting up regularly on campus
• celebrating local festvals
• visiting historical sites and places of interest
• hosts explaining cultural practices foreign to students
Participation in the programme is strictly voluntary for both the
host/senior NUS student and student and the time involved is
minimal. It has been in our past experience and feedback from
participants that these associations often lead to mutually
rewarding exchanges of cultural ideas and lasting friendships.
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