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 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 and amazing programs were provided for thousands of foreign students for over 14 years. The growth was overwhelming...
We decided to take a hiatus shortly after 9/11. In 2007, due to the request of one of our faithful Spanish clients- programs were resurrected with a new name focusing on homestays on the coast, "San Diego Coastal Homestays". The central focus of our program is to improve second language skills while experiencing the Southern California life-style with a surfing program. Our new goal is to maintain the personal touch by limiting the number of students accepted in a program.