“I arrived in the U.S. and I don’t really know anyone, I don’t know the city or the culture, and I am not sure where to get connected…”

No need to worry! You can meet a FIUTS host, a local volunteer who is passionate about making global connections and helping out international students through our different cultural-exchange programs. FIUTS hosts offer a smiling and welcoming face when you meet them, guide you through Seattle living, share their cultural traditions, and can potentially help you find resources you may be searching for!

How to get involved as a student:

You can participate in our cultural-exchange programs and be connected with local hosts through:

Welcome WEek Homestay

The FIUTS Welcome Week Homestay Program is a cross-cultural experience between an international student and an American host. As part of this program, new international students and scholars who have just arrived in Seattle spend 7-10 days in the home of a volunteer host. Homestay is available to students for all quarters, depending upon suitable availability of a host for you. That is, the homestay option is open to all new incoming international students.

Applications for Winter 2025 are now closed! You may apply for a Spring 2025 homestay during your initial arrival for spring quarter studies. Applications will open on February 1, 2025 for a homestay running for 7-10 days, approximately from March 20-30, 2025.

The Welcome Week Homestay fee is as follows:

• Individual : $200

• Couple: $250 (committed couple seeking a homestay together in one room)

• Family: $275 (multiple spaces permitting)

*Please note that FIUTS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and FIUTS fee collection is to cover our administrative costs for arranging a homestay for you. Local families are not paid to host! All Homestay Hosts are FIUTS vetted volunteers.

Thanksgiving Dinner

FIUTS students are invited to sign up to be matched with a host for a Thanksgiving celebration. Thanksgiving is holiday celebrated in the U.S. that is always on the fourth Thursday of November. A traditional celebration of this holiday is usually done through a dinner with friends and family members. Hosts are excited to invite you to their own celebrations at their home to partake in their Thanksgiving traditions. (Open to ALL international students) - FREE OF CHARGE

Community Hosted Dinners (Quarterly)

Once a quarter, FIUTS will organize Community Hosted Dinners to connect hosts and international students. Students are matched with hosts and then meet with them on the according day for a dinner (sometimes a lunch) at the host’s home, or restaurant. This is a great way to connect and network with local Seattle-lites and meet other international students! (Open to ALL international students) - FREE OF CHARGE

Next Community Hosted Dinner: Coming soon!

Applications are currently closed and will re-open soon. Read about our most recent Community Hosted Dinner here!

Welcome Week Homestay

The FIUTS Welcome Week Homestay Program is a cross-cultural experience between an international student and an American host. As part of this program, new international students and scholars who have just arrived in Seattle spend 7-10 days in the home of a volunteer host. Your host family will help you to setlle in and learn more about Seattle during your first few days in the US. This program is primarily for students who have never studied or lived in the US, and who want to stay in someone’s home for their first week in Seattle.

Frequently asked questions

Thinking about applying for a homestay and need to know more about how it works? Take a look at these questions and answers to learn about the program.

Application

You can register here for the next available homestay opportunity!

Program information

Some important information about the program to help you before, during, and after your homestay experience.

FIUTS Code of Ethics (PDF) and Ethics Case studies

See the NAFSA code of homestay ethics FIUTS uses here. These are the guidelines for our homestay program to help ensure students and hosts both have a positive experience. The Ethics Case Studies provide examples for potentially difficult situations and advice for how to deal with these situations.

Experience Thanksgiving

Sharing Thanksgiving dinner with local hosts in their home is a unique cultural experience. FIUTS students are invited to sign up to be matched with a host for this occasion. Our hosts live all over the greater Seattle area and are excited to share their holiday with you!

Information for Thanksgiving sign-ups will be shared on the e-news and event calendar. Please read below for more important details on this program!

When is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November.

What is Thanksgiving?

Traditionally, Thanksgiving celebrates people coming together to show gratitude for what they have, and is a time of year when friends and family get together to eat a meal and often recognizing what they are thankful for. Certain kinds of food are often eaten at Thanksgiving, including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, with different variations depending on different families' or groups’ cultural backgrounds, diets, and traditions. While some religious institutions hold Thanksgiving services, Thanksgiving is not necessarily a religious holiday, and it is celebrated by people all over the country regardless of religious belief.

It is important to acknowledge that the traditional “story” of Thanksgiving is highly controversial. Many people in the United States were (and still are) taught about a historical event known as the “first Thanksgiving” that was supposedly celebrated by Pilgrims (European settlers in what is now Massachusetts) and Native Americans during the Pilgrims’ first harvest in 1621. However, in recent years, there has been increasing public acknowledgement that this narrative is both historically inaccurate and deeply harmful to Native people. We encourage international students participating in Thanksgiving celebrations to read more about these issues in this article from the National Museum of the American Indian, which provides historical context as well as the perspectives from many Native Americans on the holiday.

In light of this growing awareness, many people are refocusing their Thanksgiving celebrations to place more emphasis on family and gratitude, rather on the holiday’s historical origins. For many people, they value the chance to share this special meal together with others, which is why they want to welcome you to their homes.

How does the FIUTS Thanksgiving Dinner program work?

Students sign up to be hosted by local community members who are volunteering to host because they want to welcome you to their celebration. Hosts sign up through FIUTS and let us know how many students they can host. Then, FIUTS staff connects students with hosts via email, and hosts contact students directly to let you know where their dinner will take place and what time to be there.

Where and when will the dinners take place?

Hosts live all over the greater Seattle area. When you are matched with a host, you will receive their address, and they will contact you to let you know how to get to their house. Thanksgiving dinner is often a little earlier in the day than a typical dinner - sometimes around 3 PM or even earlier. However, the schedule depends on the host, so they will tell you what time to arrive.

Who are the hosts?

All kinds of people! Some are families with children, some are students or young professionals spending the holiday with friends, some are retired people whose families are visiting for the holidays. Our community of hosts is very diverse, but what they all have in common is that they are interested in meeting people from other countries and cultures, and want to show hospitality to international visitors by inviting them for Thanksgiving.

How much does it cost?

It is free to participate, though we do suggest that students bring a small gift for your hosts to thank them for their hospitality. A good gift would be something like a small dessert (for example, a box of chocolates) or some flowers, or a small item from your home country if you have one. A gift is not required but it is a nice gesture!

Can my friend and I be hosted by the same host?

Sometimes. Some hosts can accommodate more than one student, and some cannot. If you and your friend sign up together, we can try to place you with the same host, but you MUST let us know at the time that you sign up!

Please be aware that hosts are usually inviting you to their Thanksgiving celebration with their own family or friends, so not all hosts have room for many more people at their tables. Even if you can't go with your friend, going by yourself and meeting new people can be a great experience!

DOES THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON HOLD classes on Thanksgiving?

No. Thanksgiving is a national holiday and the university will be closed.

If I sign up and then decide not to go, can I cancel?

Unless there is some kind of emergency that prevents you from attending, once you sign up you are expected to attend Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that hosts must make plans in advance for how many people will be coming to dinner, and it is inconvenient for them when people cancel at the last minute. It is important to be respectful of hosts who are offering their hospitality, and canceling at the last minute is not acceptable.