Come and experience life with a 'typical' London family!

Mexico

5

Haider's parents are very kind and hospitable people. The activities at Haider's parents' house mainly consist of keeping the house clean and occasionally doing tasks like painting or patching up a wall. One of the advantages is that their house is fairly central you can get to the city center in about 30 minutes by metro. I should also mention that the room where I stayed was very clean and comfortable. Thank you very much, Haider, for allowing me to stay at your home. I hope to return soon and see you all again.

4 months ago

Costa Rica

5

Great family, very friendly, feels like home, excellent food, the house is quite cosy, the schedule is flexible, very good if you have remote work, the tasks are easy :)

6 months ago

Colombia

5

It was my first time as a volunteer, and really it was awesome, I learnt many things about the local culture and I had the opportunity to visit many beautiful places in the city, about my target of practice English I feeling it improve very much and now I have confidence to speak, the host, Haider is a good guy and very relaxed and his family is pretty kind, I just say thanks for that unique life experience!!!

8 months ago

Colombia

5

It was all a great experience, the kindness of their parents and the patience they give you is admirable. They help you improve your English and teach you their Muslim culture. If you stay at their parents' house, You will try their traditional food (spicy and delicious). I learned that they value your effort and good work very much. But above all, they value the respect and kindness that you provide, because they expect to trust you. Si eres un futuro voluntario, procura organizar tus horas de trabajo y alimentación y separar tiempo para ti, flexibles siempre que te sepas comunicar a tiempo.

9 months ago

Japan

5

Haider and his wife were very kind and welcoming! The tasks assigned were great, as I had experience with a few building-related tasks. These mainly included caulking, painting, putting up doors, building shelves, cleaning, and more. I enjoyed talking with him, his wife, and other family members who occasionally showed up to help. The only difficult part was lifting heavy materials, which was challenging due to my back problems, but Haider was very understanding and open to communication. With your own room and bathroom, overall, it was a great experience!

10 months ago

Chile

5

I had a great time with the home, they treated my like a was part of the family. The schedule is flexible, adjustments can always be discussed. The bedroom is very nice, you have your own space and about food you can eat with all or prepare your owns meals. Just a detail, the house is not central but the city is well connected. It was a very good familiar experience!

over 1 year ago

Malaysia

4

Haider & his family were very welcoming. The tasks given were okay, mainly need to organise the house and clean. I enjoyed spending time and talking to his parents too. I only stayed for a week though, because I got really sick from the previous volunteering place I came from in a Greek Restaurant. I decided to leave early so I can rest properly. Thanks Haider and mom :-)

11 months ago

Austria

4

Haider is a kind guy and his family is very lovely. I met his parents as I've also worked at their place. The neighborhood is nice and going into London takes about an hour. You have to have a very independent working style and work can be quite intense but you can always give feedback. He is a perfectionist and pretty busy with his corporate job. I had my own room with a bathroom which was really nice.

11 months ago

Jordan

3

My experience with the home had both positive and challenging aspects. The family was warm, especially the parents, and made me feel at home during my first volunteering trip. Although the work was tough, the overall atmosphere was positive.However, Haider's feedback style was problematic. While he was respectful at times, his feedback was often rude and unnecessarily sharp. He could have been more considerate in his approach.I also faced cultural differences, which are natural for a first volunteering experience. I view these differences as part of personal growth.

12 months ago

Haider replied

This was Qusai's first independent stay outside his family home in Jordan who came to improve his english, on the whole a nice guy but can't recommend for future home hosts, might be better suited to a hostel environment.

We agreed a one week trial at the family home, provided early feedback when it was clear it wouldn't work due to the points below and offered to host at my home in shared accommodation for the next weeks given the distance he'd travelled.

A little surprised at the review as I shared pics and videos prior to arrival and had at least 2 feedback sessions, if it was so bad he was free to leave at any time, particularly after the 1 week failed trial.

Good: Flexible
Improvement points:

Focus: more concerned with phone than tasks - continued despite feedback
Initiative: 0/10 - could have used translation tools to improve his english communication - didn't listen to feedback on this, arrogance was quite frustrating
Speed: 3/10
Attention to detail: 3/10 perfunctory completion of cleaning tasks, not fully cleaning, slight improvement after feedback but still didn't meet basic quality standards.
Cleanliness: General lack of hygiene, not cleaning shower after using and dirty room
Skills: took more than 3 days to repair a bike tyre puncture, couldn't follow basic instructions or source replacement parts

Overall in the bottom 10% of c. 50 guests we've had over the past 10 years, hopefully a learning experience for him.

Have worked in the middle East so aware of cultural differences however feedback required repeating due to its basic nature.

Will provide more daily feedback in initial trial week as a learning for me and wish him the best for the future.

Jordan

2

Haider was initially very accommodating and flexible, allowing me to arrive early and stay later than planned. However, during my stay, I often felt more like an employee than part of the family. Some communication issues and unfulfilled agreements, such as shared accommodations and unclear tasks, were challenging. There was also a misunderstanding regarding a faulty toaster, where I was blamed for its malfunction. Despite these issues, the family was generally respectful and kind, and I appreciate their hospitality during my stay.

12 months ago

Haider replied

This was Alaa's first independent stay outside his family home in Jordan who came to improve his english, on the whole a nice guy but can't recommend for future home hosts, might be better suited to a hostel environment.

We agreed a one week trial at the family home, provided early feedback when it was clear it wouldn't work due to the points below and offered to host at my home in shared accommodation for the next weeks given the distance he'd travelled.

A little surprised at the review as I shared pics and videos prior to arrival and had at least 2 feedback sessions, if it was so bad he was free to leave at any time, particularly after the 1 week failed trial.

Good: Flexible
Improvement points:
Consideration of others: (loud prayer alarms at 4am not switched off despite asking)
Attention to detail: perfunctory completion of cleaning tasks, not fully cleaning, slight improvement after feedback but still didn't meet basic quality standards.
Cleanliness: General lack of hygiene, dirty room, shower
Focus: more concerned with phone than tasks initially however this improved after feedback
Carelessness: e.g. broke mums toaster, slight chips and scuffs to new doors and radiators from careless bike placement amongst others, with no attempt at fixing / repairing.
Skills: took more than 3 days to repair a bike tyre puncture, couldn't follow basic instructions or source replacement parts
Initiative: 2/10
Speed: 2/10

On the toaster and other things damaged, some accepted others not, more irksome was the lack of responsibility.

Overall in the bottom 20% of c. 50 guests we've had over the past 10 years, was quicker to do the tasks myself than teach but hopefully a learning experience for him.

Will provide more daily feedback in initial stages as a learning for me and wish him the best for the future.

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