很多留学生喜欢住在寄宿家庭里，他们认为“寄宿家庭可以提供英语氛围，能够体会到家的温暖与当地的文化。”然而，事情并非如此简单。
Chloe Cai， 16， will never forget the great despair she felt on the night she got trapped in the snow in the US。 She could not get a taxi and was hoping that her host family would make the 30-minute drive to pick her up。 But they didn’t。 She ended up waiting for a bus to come。 “I did not feel the warmth from my host family at all，” said Cai。
16岁的克洛伊·蔡永远也不会忘记在美国那个夜晚的极度绝望，当时她被困在了雪中，打不到出租车的她希望寄宿家庭能开30分钟的车来接自己。但是，他们没有。最后，她只能等公交车回家。“从我的寄宿家庭那里，我没有感觉到一丝的温暖。”蔡说道。
One of the growing numbers of Chinese students who resort to staying with a host family to study abroad， Cai moved to the US at 13 in 2013 and lived with three different host families in as many years。
越来越多的中国留学生选择与寄宿家庭住在一起。2013年，13岁的蔡来到美国。几年期间，她前后住在3个不同的寄宿家庭。
According to a report from ftchinese.com on June 20， statistics from the Institute of International Education， a non-profit that focuses on international student exchange， Chinese students are now entering schools abroad at a younger age。 From 2004 to 2015， the number of Chinese students with F-1 international student visas studying in American high schools increased a hundredfold， rising from 433 to 43，000。
《金融时报》中文网6月20日报道，关注国际留学生的非盈利机构国际教育协会统计的数据表明，中国学生在国外留学的年龄越来越小。从2004年到2015年，拥有美国高中F-1签证的中国留学生数量从433增长到43000，增加了100倍。
According to Wang Meng， a senior consultant at Meten English， a training center for learning English and studying abroad， as the overall numbers grew， so too did the number of host family programs。
美联英语是一个学习英语和出国的培训中心，其高级顾问王蒙表示，随着留学生数量的增加，寄宿家庭的数量也大大增多。
“More Chinese parents now send their kids abroad at an earlier age，” said Wang。 “Since most of them are under 18， they need a legal guardian overseas， which means host families are a must。”
“现在，越来越多的中国父母在孩子很小的时候就送他们出国，”王蒙说。“这些孩子大多数不满18岁，所以在国外需要一个合法的监护人，这意味着他们必须住在寄宿家庭里。”
He said staying with a host family is also preferred by many students over 18 because they offer an “English language atmosphere， homey warmth， and native culture。”
王蒙表示，很多18岁以上的学生也很喜欢住在寄宿家庭里，他们认为“寄宿家庭可以提供英语氛围，能够体会到家的温暖与当地的文化。”，
However， the reality is far from easy。 Cultural and lifestyle differences between the Chinese students and their host families have caused many conflicts with problems ranging from different dining habits and relationship expectations to the usage of electronic devices and household duties。
然而，事情并非如此简单。中国留学生和寄宿家庭在文化和生活方式方面的差异导致了很多冲突，比如他们之间的饮食习惯不同，在使用电子设备以及家务活的分配方面也存在诸多差异。
