Sidebar #37 - Peace Corps Host Families

 A hallmark part of the Peace Corps model is that volunteers integrate into their communities abroad. Volunteers speak the host language and live at the means of everyone else in their site. Volunteers naturally stick out to a certain extent, but generally they try to become part of the community rather than to rock the boat too much. This is important for safety, security, trust, and reflecting the US well in the host country. Accordingly, a critical tool to help volunteers integrate is through living with a host family. Staying with a family allows the volunteer to have access to community experts who can help them network, provide additional safety and security, and give the volunteer another consistent outlet to develop their fluency in the target language.

I think there are a few Peace Corps countries in which volunteers are not required to live with a host family. However, by and large, the host family experience is ubiquitous throughout the organization. In Costa Rica, living with a host family is a requirement on a temporary basis. Our first 3 months in Costa Rica were dedicated to intense language and sector training in the city of Escazú. During that time, we were assigned host families and had no choice but to live with them for all 3 months. After those 3 months of training, we were given our site placements scattered across the country. Upon heading to our sites, we were required to live with our new host families for a minimum of 6 months. Once the 6 month benchmark at site is reached, volunteers have the option to find their own housing given that it meets Peace Corps Costa Rica’s safety and security standards and falls within the budget of a Peace Corps Volunteer. But, at minimum, volunteers in Costa Rica spend 9 months total with 2 host families.

I reached the 6 month timeline at site in late March, but have elected to stay with a host family thus far, and there are a few reasons for that. First, I had to switch host families at site in February due to some logistical reasons. I wanted to spend more time getting to know my new family. Secondly, once volunteers move into their own housing situation, they are required to furnish their own place and provide their own meals. With a host family, all of my meals, furnishings, and utilities are covered as part of my rent, which is a fixed monthly rate set by Peace Corps. My living situation right now is very comfortable, and the food is good, so I don’t have a strong desire to fend for myself on top of all my other responsibilities. Finally, living in an urban area, I feel more safe with a family. I believe I’d be hard-pressed to find a living situation as economical and convenient as the one I’m already in. With that being said, I have a handful of friends in my cohort who have moved into their own places and seem to be having a great experience. I’m not against the idea of moving out at some point, but for the foreseeable future, I plan on staying with my host family.