Happy Birthday to HAS!

Host-A-Scholar celebrated its first birthday in December!  It has gone from just an idea in Aunt Kathryn's mind to a small-but-growing network of hosts around the US.  

This monthly newsletter will keep our community up-to-date in three "H-A-S" subjects:  Hospitality, Adventures, and Student/Scholar Profiles.  If you would like to suggest students for us to highlight, please do so!

HOSPITALITY
Our network tripled in size this past year!  (That sounds much more impressive than saying that we have gone from one host home to three, doesn't it? ;-))  We have hosts in Los Angeles, Seattle, and the Philadelphia area.  Many more people have expressed an interest in joining us but have not yet completed the process.  

ADVENTURES
So many adventures this past year!  Too many to recount.  The biggest adventure for founders Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Nic was our trip to Pakistan for the wedding of our former renter (and now honorary son :-)) Tayyab.  We were overwhelmed by Pakistani hospitality— and the food!  

Closer to home, a group of 15 Americans and internationals spent several days around New Years Eve together at Lake Tahoe!  We stayed at tahoemountainhome.com, a wonderful vacation rental.  For some, it was their first time in real snow.  For others, it was their first time skiing.  For all of us, it was a fantastic time to play games, laugh, have deep talks, and eat incredible food together.

To stay current with our adventures, follow us on Instagram @host_a_scholar or Facebook at Host-A-Scholar.

​STUDENT/SCHOLAR PROFILES
Niraj Mahapatra, from Mumbai, India, graduated in May 2018 with a graduate degree in Global Supply Chain Management from the USC Marshall School of Business.  Niraj stayed with Kathryn and Nic as a long-term renter from July 2017-May 2018.  Although their communication began quite formally as simply a business transaction, once Niraj moved in they quickly became friends.  Niraj's first roommate was Vinicius, a visiting scholar from Brazil.  Early in the semester, Niraj, Vinicius, Nic, Kathryn, Liza from Russia (another housemate), and Tayyab and Mobeen from Pakistan enjoyed dinner in Downtown Disney at the Rainforest Cafe!  (For the record, Vinicius says that the restaurant decor is not an accurate representation of the actual Brazilian rain forest. ;-) But they do have excellent food!) This multicultural evening was a foretaste of what was to come.

Over the year, Niraj got to know students from several countries through events like Game Nights and an early Thanksgiving Dinner for international students.  He also brought several fellow Indian students home, who became part of our community as well.

Niraj's parents came to see him graduate in May 2018.  They were glad to meet Kathryn and Nic and were so grateful that Niraj had "a real home" while he was in Los Angeles. 

He received his H-1B visa and got a job out of state.  But soon he transferred back to Los Angeles and stayed with the Nelsons again, this time as a HAS renter.  We were thrilled to have him rejoin us for the summer!  Niraj now has his own apartment in Southern California, but still visits from time to time for Game Nights and occasional chats.

Niraj says, "My stay at Kathryn's redefined not only the student living experience of a home-away-from-home, but also reinforced the power of being part of a global community."