Kathy had never expected that life in Canada would mean two pieces of ham* per sandwich and two-thirds of a glass of milk. But that was the reality that greeted the student from China when she began her stay with a Canadian family.

The 15-year-old went to Canada two months ago from Shanghai to study in Ottawa. Her mother, through a Toronto-based homestay* agency* called Golden Source International, found her what she thought was the perfect place to stay: a “single-mom family with one teenager.” For 750 Canadian dollars (US$787) a month, Kathy would have a furnished room and three “balanced nutritious*” meals every day.

What she got was far from that. “I always feel hungry,” Kathy said.

Kathy is not the only homestay student to complain about her host family in Canada, which draws thousands of students every year from overseas. According to Larry Guo, director of Golden Source agency, 20 to 30 percent of students who find homestay families through the agency are dissatisfied with their host families. Most of the complaints are about distance to school, food and cultural differences. Guo’s company places 500 students each year in homestay accommodation*.

According to Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Ministry, there were 156,955 international students in Canada in 2006.

(SD-Agencies)