I will be an exchange student at l'Université de Lausanne from September 2016-June 2017. I am hoping to find a host family for my time in Switzerland to really immerse myself in French. Does anyone have advice on how to go about finding a host family? I tried the site ensembleavectoit, and though I am still in contact with them, so far the families they have put me in contact with wanted an English teacher and/or someone who would be more like a renter and less like a host daughter.
Not much help but liliput.ch has some au-pair/ child care positions in Waadt/ Vaud and Genf/ Genève. This website has lots of jobs in the Deutschschweiz which seems to be its focus:
Language schools often offer host families as part of the language course. Of course you have to pay for your room and board.... I don't see how this is much different to renting a room, apart from you wouldn't have to do any cooking or shopping. But maybe contact language schools and see if they could help you.
I would have thought sharing with French speaking Uni students would be better. Then you can go out partying with them too
I'm sorry I wasn't more clear in my first post! t think I need to clarify a few things:
First, from the information I have both from UNIL and from past students, the students in the EPFL program are given the option of renting university apartments with other EPFL students OR finding their own lodging. No host families, no native French speakers. While I'm not opposed to this option, I would really, really like an immersive host family experience.
Second, I am of course planning on paying the host family. What I meant about the ensembleavectoit family was that the family told me they didn't really want me eating with them. So it wasn't really a host family situation, it was more of an independent renter situation. I'd really like to find a family or a couple or a single woman who wants a young, eager, language-learner student
Finally, I'm looking for a host family for the immersion and the cultural connections. I love cooking, hanging out with kids, conversing, etc and I'd like to be involved with the family on a daily basis. In EPFL housing at UNIL, a previous student mentioned that some of the other roommates were more interested in practicing English than in speaking French at the apartment. I'm hoping to become as proficient in French as possible during my year (my career goal is interpreting and translating) as well as Swiss culture.
I'm also not interested in partying, which makes rooming with other students even less appealing
Island Monkey, do you know of any language schools that would offer a host family to a student from UNIL's EPFL? I've only found one language school online, and their host family program seemed to be exclusively for their school.
Here are detail of an association that helps students find host families:
familles d'accueil.
14.03.2016
Etre famille d'accueil pour étudiants étrangers - c'est inviter le monde à la maison!
Etre famille d'accueil pour étudiants étrangers - c'est inviter le monde à la maison!
L'Association sans but lucratif AFS recherche activement des familles d'accueil pour les jeunes qui arriveront pour l'année scolaire 2016-2017.
Ils ont entre 15 et 18 ans, ils viennent de tous les continents et ont tous des notions de français. Ils se réjouissent de partager le quotidien d'une famille suisse durant un trimestre, un semestre, une année scolaire (11 mois) ou pour une période plus courte.
I am at a similar situation right now. I am going to speand 2018 in Lausanne and would like to immerse in the culture by staying with a family. Were you able to do it? Please, let me know how.
Hi! Yes, I was I did a little research and found three churches that were in line with my beliefs. I emailed all three of them asking if they would be willing to ask their members if anyone was interested in taking on a host student. Only one church responded, but they had many people say they'd be willing to host me! I ended up staying with a woman a few years older than me. I paid her a little rent, but not much. It was a great experience, and it got me involved in the church right away as well, which was important to me. Surprisingly, I met my husband at that church during my study abroad, so I'm now living long-term in Switzerland!
I had a little luck searching on http://www.ensembleavectoit.com , but ultimately that process was taking a long time and I wasn't finding anything that looked like it would work out well.
Good luck! Don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions!
I entered this website, but there is only one room available and they are seeking a girl. WOuld you mind sharing the church's name? Swiss' religion is aligned with my beliefs.
I think you probably need to find a more niche religion like Jehovahs witnesses to get any help here.
You have to pay tax to belong to a church (official) - just because you are a catholic or protestant will not help you with a permit. Otherwise most of the world would move here.
[kseraph], it worked for me because I am really involved in the church. If you want to try what I did, you should do research and find a church that you could be actively involved in. And realise there's no guarantees.
You should also try any of the various websites, as well as whatever exchange organisation/job/etc you are coming to Switzerland with.