Company history
In 1989, the founder, Carol Ouradnik, had a vision of bringing together people of different nationalities and cultures by having them live together under one roof. While working as an area coordinator for several other homestay companies, she quickly realized there were none at that time which truly promoted interaction between students of different clutures in the home.
Because of the enriching experience her family had by combining cultures in their home, they soon became deeply involved in the programs. They began to combine cultures on day trips, and were excited to see how well the students interacted. They began to promote hosting more than one culture in a home to other families. By doing this, walls of prejudice crumbled, many lasting friendships developed and even some marriages were born. At that point, (GIFT) Gateway to International Friendship & Travel was born. Amazing programs were provided for more than a thousand foreign students over this 14 year period. The programs were succesful, the growth was overwhelming, however, finding quality host families was becoming increasingly difficult each year, so in 2004, we decided to close our doors. Sadly, it was just not working any more. Missing the interaction, we decided to simply host students for a local company during this time.
And then- In 2007,due to the request of our former Spanish client, and much thought, we realized the objections we previously experienced could be overcome. We entered into a new agreement with our long time Spanish partner, chose a new name "San Diego Coastal Homestays" and developed a new concept. We decided to make some major changes. The programs should not be all about the foreign students. The host family must be respected, appreciated and included. There should be no out of pocket expenses to host a student, so we offer a stipend to cover meal costs. The American teens should be included, so we include the hosting teen on the full day excursions in our Interactive program. We also provide airport transfers and daily transportation.
Our host families participate in our programs for the cultural experience, a new friendship, and a future Int'l trip for the serious hosting teen. SDCH will be sending several Amerian teens to Spain or China each year, as trips are earned by hosting SDCH Int'l students.
The central focus of our program is to improve the student's English ability, so our families must speak English as the first and only language spoken in the home. Also the students want to experience the Southern California life-style, many with a surfing program. We strive to maintain the personal touch by limiting the number of International students accepted in a program.