{"id":562,"date":"2016-04-12T19:47:31","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T19:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/?page_id=562"},"modified":"2025-04-15T14:55:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T12:55:51","slug":"homestays","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/student-services\/housing\/homestays\/","title":{"rendered":"Homestays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Syracuse Florence students live with an Italian host family, an experience that offers linguistic and cultural benefits throughout the semester. The combination of formal Italian lessons in class and the opportunity to practice speaking in real-life situations at home, is the most effective way to learn a language. Moreover, being part of a family means participating directly in Italian daily life\u2014the best way to gain insights into and integrate fully with the local culture.<br \/>Students repeatedly describe the host family experience as the highlight of the abroad experience. As one student put it: &#8220;Ten years from now I may not recall the significance of the Brancacci chapel, but I&#8217;ll never forget how my Italian mother threw the pasta in the pot each night!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<hr>\n\n<div role=\"region\" class=\"accordion\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-item border border-gray-light\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-header-text\">\n        <h3 class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n          <button class=\"accordion-header full-width background-gray-light-30 border-0 margin-0 padding-top-2 padding-bottom-2 padding-left-3 padding-right-3\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            Matching Students with Local Hosts            <div class='accordion-toggle icon-right' class=''>\n              <i class='icon-chevron-right'><\/i>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class='accordion-content'>\n        <p>Your host family will greatly influence your view of Italian life, people and culture. Therefore, using the information from your housing application, the housing office chooses a family that is compatible with your needs. Host families are carefully screened by our Housing Office. They come from all walks of life and professions, and many have hosted Syracuse students for years.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"accordion-item border border-gray-light\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-header-text\">\n        <h3 class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n          <button class=\"accordion-header full-width background-gray-light-30 border-0 margin-0 padding-top-2 padding-bottom-2 padding-left-3 padding-right-3\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            Location of Host Families            <div class='accordion-toggle icon-right' class=''>\n              <i class='icon-chevron-right'><\/i>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class='accordion-content'>\n        <p>Most host families are between a five and twenty five minute commute from the Syracuse Florence Center building.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"accordion-item border border-gray-light\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-header-text\">\n        <h3 class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n          <button class=\"accordion-header full-width background-gray-light-30 border-0 margin-0 padding-top-2 padding-bottom-2 padding-left-3 padding-right-3\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            The Italian Family Today            <div class='accordion-toggle icon-right' class=''>\n              <i class='icon-chevron-right'><\/i>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class='accordion-content'>\n        <p>Consciously or not, you may arrive with pre-formulated ideas about Italian families\u2013perhaps based on a friend\u2019s experience or from your own Italian-American heritage. The Italy you encounter upon arrival can be quite different from expectations.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/homestays-002-300x201.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2224 alignleft\" srcset=\"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/homestays-002-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/homestays-002.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> Just as American society changed drastically during the 1960s and 70s, Italian society, too, has seen major social changes since then. The increase in women working outside the home, the number of young people who seek higher education, and the legalization of divorce have all caused profound changes within the family structure since the 1970s. Yet family values are still the focus of Italian society, and the family has remained a very close social unit. Whether married, single, or divorced, all Italians tend to maintain strong ties to parents, adult children, and other relatives. Often generations share housing; grown children or elderly parents may live with your hosts. Even if they do not share a home, extended families may eat lunch (pranzo) and\/or dinner (cena) together every day or on Sundays. Elderly parents are respected and looked after, sometimes on a daily basis, whether living with their children or on their own.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"accordion-item border border-gray-light\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-header-text\">\n        <h3 class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n          <button class=\"accordion-header full-width background-gray-light-30 border-0 margin-0 padding-top-2 padding-bottom-2 padding-left-3 padding-right-3\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            Italian Meals            <div class='accordion-toggle icon-right' class=''>\n              <i class='icon-chevron-right'><\/i>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class='accordion-content'>\n        <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/homestays-057-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2180 alignleft\" srcset=\"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/homestays-057-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/homestays-057-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/07\/homestays-057.jpg 959w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Food and meals in Italy are a very important part of family life. They tend to be more formal affairs where the entire family sits down to a carefully-set dinner table, tablecloth and all.Italians have certain taboos when it comes to food combinations and what is appropriate to eat when. For example, cappuccino is considered a morning beverage and is not taken after lunch or dinner (because the quantity of hot milk would interfere with digestion after a large meal). Instead, caffe\u2019 (Espresso) or caffe\u2019 macchiato (Espresso with a spot of milk) can be ordered anytime of day. Italians drink water and wine at meals (generally no soft drinks and never milk), although with pizza it is common to have a soft drink or beer.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"accordion-item border border-gray-light\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-header-text\">\n        <h3 class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n          <button class=\"accordion-header full-width background-gray-light-30 border-0 margin-0 padding-top-2 padding-bottom-2 padding-left-3 padding-right-3\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            Italian Dress Code            <div class='accordion-toggle icon-right' class=''>\n              <i class='icon-chevron-right'><\/i>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class='accordion-content'>\n        <p>Italians are generally proud of their clothing styles and traditions. For most people, dressing appropriately is important. How you dress will impact how you are perceived by Italians. People dress according to the season and rarely deviate from seasonally-appropriate attire. In general, they tend to wear warmer clothes than their North American counterparts and may worry about you getting a frescata (\u201ccatching a chill\u201d) if you do not sufficiently cover yourself in the winter or when the seasons change. Florentines also tend to wear classic styles, preferring basic colors such as black, beige, and white and dress elegantly in the city. Flip flops are for summer holidays at the beach and sweatpants are for the gym.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"accordion-item border border-gray-light\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-header-text\">\n        <h3 class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n          <button class=\"accordion-header full-width background-gray-light-30 border-0 margin-0 padding-top-2 padding-bottom-2 padding-left-3 padding-right-3\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            Meeting Your Hosts            <div class='accordion-toggle icon-right' class=''>\n              <i class='icon-chevron-right'><\/i>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class='accordion-content'>\n        <p>Students will receive a bilingual food and family check list, which contains dietary preferences and many common questions to get to know one another, which we recommend you go over together with your host during the first Full Immersion Weekend.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n      <div class=\"accordion-item border border-gray-light\">\n      <div class=\"accordion-header-text\">\n        <h3 class=\"margin-bottom-0\">\n          <button class=\"accordion-header full-width background-gray-light-30 border-0 margin-0 padding-top-2 padding-bottom-2 padding-left-3 padding-right-3\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n            Gifts for Your Host Family            <div class='accordion-toggle icon-right' class=''>\n              <i class='icon-chevron-right'><\/i>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/button>\n        <\/h3>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class='accordion-content'>\n        <p>Please note that bringing a gift is not mandatory but will always be appreciated. Past students have told us that they would have liked to bring their host families a small gift from their hometown. Other students prefer to buy flowers or candies when they arrive. Please note that bringing a gift is not mandatory but will always be appreciated.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n<hr>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#ffffff\" class=\"has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color\">Full Immersion Weekend<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cFull Immersion Weekend,\u201d the first weekend of the semester, is different from all the others. While students are normally free on weekends to participate in field study excursions or to travel on their own, the full immersion weekend was established to spend time with the host family and to become oriented to the city of Florence and the immediate neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the semester, host families only provide breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays. During the \u201cFull Immersion Weekend\u201d students will receive breakfast and dinner on Saturday and all three meals on Sunday. During this extra family time, students and host families can talk about food preferences and other household needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students should use this weekend to walk around their new neighborhood and find out where to buy bus tickets or even a great local gelato. Your host family may decide to take you on a small day trip or take a drive around the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From past experience, this weekend has proven to be invaluable for students and host families to get to know each other better before classes begin. Students learn to orient themselves within the host family and the city of Florence. We hope that this weekend is the start of a relationship that will last a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Syracuse Florence students live with an Italian host family, an experience that offers linguistic and cultural benefits throughout the semester. The combination of formal Italian lessons in class and the opportunity to practice speaking in real-life situations at home, is the most effective way to learn a language. Moreover, being part of a family means&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"parent":341,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_featured-nav":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-562","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562"}],"version-history":[{"count":59,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12576,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/562\/revisions\/12576"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suabroad.syr.edu\/florence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}