General Information
Judo America offers a homestay program for high school and college or university age foreign judoplayers who wish to:
- Continue their Judo training while in the U.S.
- Study English in the U.S.
- Experience American life and culture
Students will live with an American family, attend an American high school, college or English language academy, and will train at Judo America.
Length of Stay
Foreign students may stay as little as a week or as long as several years depending on their visa status. Visas to the United States are much more difficult to obtain since September 11, 2001. Please check with the nearest American or Embassy in your home country to find out how to qualify for a U.S. visa, which allows you to visit, train or study in the U.S.
Types of Homestay
There are three different homestay programs for foreign students; the full homestay, the renter homestay and the foreign exchange student homestay.
Full Homestay This program is designed for short stays in the U.S. for all students who are new to the U.S. The student is fed, provided a room, helped with transportation, introduced to the city and neighborhood, supervised by an adult, and generally treated like a member of the family. The cost for this full homestay program is $650 per month. Sharing a room with another person can cut the cost down. Judo training fees are included in this cost.
Renter Homestay This program is designed for the independent, self-supporting college age student. In this program, the student rents a room in an American family and is then responsible for everything else; buying and cooking food, transportation, laundry, etc. The cost for renting a room under this program generally ranges from $300-400 per month. Judo training fees are an additional cost.
Foreign Exchange Student Homestay This program is designed for high school students who will attend an American high school for an entire school year. The only way to participate in this program is for the student to register through one of the many official foreign exchange programs in his or her own country, pay the program fees and ask to be put with an American family that is involved in Judo. Under this program, all fees are paid to the foreign exchange program and not to the host family. This makes it very difficult, but not impossible, to find a volunteer host family in an area of the U.S. where there is a Judo club. Judo America will assist the foreign exchange program in your country to locate an American family.
How to Start
Contact Judo America at info@judoamerica.com or call us at (858) 578-7748 to let us know you would like to come to the U.S. to participate in our program. We will need the following information:
- Personal information; name, age, address, etc.
- Full homestay, renter homestay or foreign exchange student?
- When you would like to come?
- How long will you stay in the U.S.?
- What visa do you plan to apply for?
- Judo rank and Judo experience? Competitor or non-competitor?
- What are your goals when you come to the U.S.?
- What is your level of English?
Once we have received your initial request, we will let you know what spaces are available and give you further information regarding your stay in the U.S.
