I’ve hosted over 90 international students in retirement
Bill Visser, 75, was first introduced to exchange students at the age of eight in Holland. The exchange students were from Indonesia and his eyes opened to a new culture (and delicious foods) he had never known before.
Later in life, with a passion to meet new people and discover their cultures, Bill opened a Homestay for international students after moving to New Zealand.
“I was very successful and could work when I wanted. When I was fatigued, I could rest a while,” Bill remarks.
Now, Bill has been hosting international students for over 20 years and has had around 90 students walk through his door.
Over60 spoke to Bill to find out what has made him continue to host students over the past two decades.
The flexible supplementary income adds up
Although the financial aspect isn’t his motivation, Bill’s flexible income from hosting students allows him to pursue his hobbies when has the time. “Financially, you can do more but sometimes you are too busy,” he says.
Bill’s work routine allows him to pursue his hobbies of acting and when he lived in China for two years, he appeared in multiple films, series and advertisements.
Hosting students can be time consuming but when Bill gets a new student, he enjoys taking them out on tours of New Zealand to get a glimpse of the country. He also leaves each of the students with a special memory when they leave his homestay to go back to their own countries. Bill organises for them to plant a tree in his garden so there will always be a way to remember each student.
“For everyone I’ve planted a tree. We dig a hole and they put it in and we write their name next to it. So, every year I take a look and take a picture and send it to them,” Bill says.
You get to learn about other cultures
Bill loves to research the cultures of each student who comes to stay with him. “Different cultures widen the horizon,” he expresses. “What is normal in their own country is not normal here.”
Bill recalls his first student from Korea who still writes to Bill and refers to him as “papa”.
“My first student was big, tall Korean guy and he told me his story. He had spent 10 months in New Zealand to learn business.”
Bill remembers the day the student was discouraged because no one he encountered in New Zealand understood his culture. That’s when Bill decided to research the foods that were popular in New Zealand so he could surprise the student with them.
“I looked into what Korean food was important and learned basic things about their culture. I learned that they sleep on the floor.”
“Now 22 years later, he still writes to me, he still calls me papa. He is the CEO of a large international company and when I see him on the TV I’m standing up and putting my hands on my chest and my shirt and I say, ‘Look, that’s my Korean son.’”
Making life-long friends
“Because I lived in different countries, I can understand feeling a foreigner. When you are in another country, the whole thing is different. You don’t have the friends, you don’t always know who you can trust. Sometimes it can be difficult,” Bill explained.
Bill gets excited that he has the opportunity to learn off his students when they stay and is encouraged when he makes an impact on their lives.
Bill recalls the time a 19-year-old Malaysian student stayed with him. One day she came to Bill and asked to chat with him as she was confused about what to do with her life.
“So, I told her a little bit about my life and then said, ‘You can make up your mind whether you can do the same or something similar.’”
Bill asked the student what had made her journey to New Zealand and leave her single mum. The student explained that she wanted to learn English but her desire was forcing her mum to work extensive hours, scrubbing floors to raise the funds.
Bill talked through different plans with the student and then suggested to her to go back to her country and study English in a university there. She followed his suggestion and is now an English teacher in her country.
Bill reflects on the students who have walked into his homestay with fondness and credits his homestay as filling a void in his previously “empty life”.
Have you ever hosted an exchange student before? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.