Harmony Homestay and Travel

01/27/2025

🌍 Travelling the world is a wonderfully educational experience.

Make the most of your homestay experience in Canada by:
✅ Trying new things
✅ Being curious
✅ Ask questions if you are unsure
✅ Participating in new traditions and celebrations

01/24/2025

🎂 What are your favourite traditions?

A fun part of travel is experiencing new cultural and family traditions.

What traditions and Canadian cultural experiences can you share with your international student:
🔴 Enjoying beavertails or poutine
🔴 "Paying it forward" at the drive-through
🔴 Watching hockey or lacrosse with friends
🔴 Participating in indigenous ceremonies and traditions
🔴 Giving thank you cards to friends and family

01/22/2025

❤️ February is coming soon. What's on your calendar?

Here are some events and happenings around the Lower Mainland next month:
👉 Family Day holiday (Feb 17)
👉 Dine Out Vancouver Festival (Jan 22-Feb 9)
👉 Lights at Lafarge Lake (until end of Feb)
👉 Ice skating at the The Shipyards District , North Vancouver
👉 Watch a hockey game

01/20/2025

🌙 In Canada, it often gets dark around 4:00 to 5:00 pm in winter. How do you spend your dark winter evenings with your host family?

👉 Drinking hot beverages by the fire?
👉 Curling up with a warm blanket and a good book?
👉 Getting a head start on your homework?
👉 Bonding with your host family?

Does this sound like an ideal evening? Learn more about coming to Canada for an international student homestay: https://harmonyhomestay.com/students

01/17/2025

🥶 Is this your first Canadian winter? You must be wondering what to pack?

Many international students tend to over (or under) pack for winter, but here are our top five winter essentials for Canadian winters:

🔴 1 jacket with layers (wool + down + parka or winter jacket)
🔴 A reusable coffee mug (to cut down on single-use plastics for your hot beverages)
🔴 Waterproof boots
🔴 Warm gloves and a scarf
🔴 Compressable packing cubes (to compress your bulky winter gear for travel)

01/15/2025

❄️ There are many fun ways to spend winter in Thunder Bay, Ontario!

How many of these activities can you check off your list this month:
✅ Browse artisan goods at Goods & Co. Market
✅ Fat biking on the local snow trails
✅ Dog sledding
✅ Voyageur Winter Carnival
✅ Ice fishing
✅ Grab a locally roasted coffee or fresh, hot cocoa
✅ Visit the Thunder Bay Centennial Botanical Conservatory

01/10/2025

🤔 Are you struggling to bond with your homestay student?

If one or both of you are feeling disconnected, try some of these engaging, bonding activities:

✅ Trade recipes and bake each other's favorites
✅ Enjoy time exploring the great outdoors
✅ Attend a local festival or celebration
✅ Volunteer for a local community group
✅ Learn something new together

01/08/2025

✈️ Travelling to a new country and staying with a new family can be scary for a student

Here are our top 4 tips to help your international student feel comfortable in your home:

1️⃣ Create a welcome package with practical (and fun) goodies and snacks
2️⃣ Include them in your regular family activities (and chores)
3️⃣ Maintain open communication (this goes both ways)
4️⃣ Encourage reciprocal knowledge sharing and curiosity

01/08/2025

Thunder Bay!! We have a furry friend looking for his forever home. One of our host families is fostering Trigger. He’s an amazing young dog who has adapted well to the foster home that has dogs, cats and older kids. The foster home Can not keep him for a long time and he’s such a loving guy. Please share and if your interesting in opening your home and heart to love him please contact the Thunder Bay & District Humane Society. If you aren’t his forever family please share to help us find them!!

01/07/2025

👉 Are you an international student planning a trip to Canada in 2025?

Here are our top five travel tips for your upcoming Canada homestay:

✅ Enjoy local cuisine and culture (you may discover a new favourite treat)
✅ Take advantage of stat holidays and long weekends (to explore beyond your immediate community)
✅ Bring clothes for all weather (while Canada never gets extremely hot or cold, prepare for both extremes, especially for longer homestays)
✅ Plan to experience Indigenous culture (Indigenous cultures are of great importance to Canadians, so look for opportunities to immerse yourself in their unique culture during your stay)
✅ Learn about the Canadian tipping culture (it's typical to tip for food service and other personal services, so budget accordingly)

01/03/2025

❤️ It warms our hearts to hear from our homestay families!

Karen and George recently shared this testimonial with us.

We love connecting those like the Paille family with eager, friendly international students... and that they still keep in touch!

01/02/2025

🌏 Hosting an international student in your home can be an enriching experience for your entire family.

Some common experiences and learnings our homestay host families have experienced with their students include:
👉 Learning about and tasting new foods
👉 Experiencing new celebrations and cultural observances that their students practice
👉 Learning about their community through the eyes of their student experiencing it for the first time
👉 Improving their communication skills

Your homestay experience is what you make of it. Put in the effort to get to know your student and their culture, and you'll be better for it.❤️

01/01/2025

🎉 Happy New Year to all of our Harmony Homestay host families and students!

We hope your year starts with health, positivity, and more memorable experiences together.

👉 To make the most of 2025, we encourage you to create New Year's Resolutions. Think of your New Year's resolutions as items you'd like to complete during your Homestay experience.

For host families, perhaps you want to:
🔴 Show your student something new in your community?
🔴 Learn something new about your student's culture and home?
🔴 Sign up to welcome the next international student into your home?

For international students maybe you want to:
🔴 Try a new skill, hobby, or sport?
🔴 Join a community group or club?
🔴 Visit a new area or community that you haven't visited yet?

Do you have a different New Year's resolution for 2025? Share it with us in the comments below. 👇

12/31/2024

👉 Happy New Year from Harmony Homestay! 🥳

We hope your 2024 was filled with new experiences, joy, and health.

Thank you to all students and host families who began or continued their journey with Harmony. We’re honoured that you chose us for this adventure.

Have a fun and safe New Year's Eve, and we'll see you in 2025!

#2024 #2025

12/30/2024

Is your New Year's resolution to make a difference in the global community?

Apply now to become a host family for an international student. A Homestay student can stay with your family to learn a new language, experience Canadian culture, and gain lifelong experiences.

When you host an international student, you'll learn about their traditions and culture as well, creating a true cultural Exchange. You'll make new memories that will last a lifetime.

We're accepting applications now for Homestay host families across Canada now. Learn more and submit your application to get started: https://harmonyhomestay.com/host-families/

12/26/2024

🥳 With just a few days left in 2024, have you made your New Year's Eve plans? Here's some great ideas from the harmony Homestay blog!

https://harmonyhomestay.com/new-years-day-with-your-homestay-student/

What are your plans for New Year's Eve?

Start the new year's day with your homestay student doing meaningful and fun activities! Discover creative ideas to kick off 2025 together.

12/25/2024

🎄Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Harmony Homestay.

From our family to yours, we hope that your holiday and winter season is full of joy and the making of new memories together.

There are many ways to celebrate the season, and we know yours will be full of new adventures and joy.

12/23/2024

Happy holidays! ✨ Our team have been spreading festive cheer this month with a Holiday Cookie Exchange and Toy Drive in Surrey and Coquitlam, BC. It’s been a season of warmth, connection and community spirit.

Swipe to see the sweet treats and smiles that made this season extra warm.

We wish everyone a joyful holiday season, see you again in 2025!