If you think about it, homestays aren't really all they're cracked up to be.
In an ideal situation, a homestay would work like this: A warm, inviting family opens their home to a foreign student because they want to gain knowledge of the student's home culture and help the student acclimate to life in the host culture. The family goes out of their way to include the student in family activities while respecting the student's independence. They expose the student to the wonders of the host country's cuisine while allowing for the student's personal preference. The family gets enough money to pay for the student's food and utility use, but certainly doesn't turn a profit in the arrangement.
Although there are certainly situations that meet this description, most fall short. The whole concept is full of contradictions. You're paying to live somewhere, so you should, in theory, be able to do what you want. Even if your host family hasn't imposed any strange rules, you still feel bound to respect the patterns of living in the house, in which you have no say. In most situations, you eat what's given to you with next to no say in what you eat from one day to the next. I, for example, have choked down hot dogs and peas while I'm here, two foods I haven't eaten for many years.
You have no say in when and how your room is cleaned or when and how your laundry is washed. When at school, I stick to an admittedly slightly compulsive laundry schedule; in Madrid, I may get it back from my señora anywhere within a three-day range. When I do my own laundry, I iron my dress clothes and not the T-shirts I wear to the gym. My señora prefers the opposite.
The whole situation is further complicated by the fact that you've been living on your own for at least two years. You've gone from eating what and when you want, cleaning when (or if) you want and generally conducting yourself in whatever manner you (and your roommates) see fit. Living in a homestay is like going home for break, only you and your host family haven't had 20-plus years to adapt to each other's quirks.
And then, of course, there are the horror stories. The host mom who complains that you have too much laundry. The one who feeds you only low-calorie food in very small portions and crosses herself when she finds you secretly eating Nutella by the spoonful. Another who goes out of her way to cut corners, even if it means turning off the lights as soon as the sun comes up or cutting heating bills by turning off the heat in favor of blankets. A crazy host brother who hides the Internet cable, keeping you from getting online. (All of these stories have actually happened to students on my program this semester.)
My señora is, for the most part, one of the best. She isn't the best cook and can't comprehend my yearlong distaste for ham (the one food I have firmly refused to eat), but she makes sure I'm always well-fed and that the heat is on when it needs to be. I know she isn't in it for the money.
But, by the same token, I know I would be happier in a dorm or apartment while abroad. Rooming with a Spaniard would be the best situation, in order to work on my Spanish. I would make Spanish friends and be less likely to draw inward and stick with the other Americans.
Currently, several AU Abroad programs (particularly enclaves) offer only a homestay as a housing option. Although it's not time to do away with them entirely, it certainly is time to offer other options.
