"In the evening make sure you keep to the time agreed < which has been stipulated by your parents and teachers>. If you come in late you will disturb the members of the family you are staying with - English walls are very thin! In addition, if you are later than the pre-arranged time the hosts will be worried - in the past some have actually informed the police and contacted the emergency wards of the local hospital because they feared the worst.
Always keep your host family informed of your plans and movements, especially with regard to meal-times and needing to get up early to go on excursions or catch the airport bus. If you will not be coming home for dinner in the evening you must tell them in the morning before you leave the house.
Food: remember to take your packed lunches with you in the morning. Sometimes these will be left in the fridge. If you can’t find your lunch, ask! If there are things you don’t like, please mention this politely. Under no circumstances should you throw any of the lunch away in the house - this is an insult to the family and also a waste.
Communicate with your host family as much as possible. This means saying more than one word - if you only ever say yes or no it looks as if you are not interested in talking to them. Communication involves asking questions as well as giving answers. If two people are staying in the same family do not speak German to each other when the family is present - it is considered very impolite, and most people assume you are saying something negative about them or the food. English people will expect you to say PLEASE and THANK YOU at all times.
Telephone: do not use the host family’s phone to make calls. If you are called from Austria try and keep the call relatively short so that the phone is not blocked. Never phone while they are out because you think they won’t find out - in England people receive detailed telephone bills with every call listed, including date/time/number phoned etc. You will always be discovered!
Remember that you are a guest in a private home. You are not in a hotel. The host family members are not your servants. Always ask before you do anything <e.g. switching on TV, playing music etc.> Do not help yourself to food.
You should not invite your friends to come round and visit you without asking. If you are going to cycle into town with your friends, arrange to meet them at a certain time on the corner.
As long as you ask politely, there is no reason why you shouldn’t give your host mother a reasonable amount of washing. This service is free, so do not feel obliged to pay anything.
If you have any complaints at all, tell your teacher or local co-ordinator immediately - do not leave things unmentioned until the end of your stay."
Quelle
Always keep your host family informed of your plans and movements, especially with regard to meal-times and needing to get up early to go on excursions or catch the airport bus. If you will not be coming home for dinner in the evening you must tell them in the morning before you leave the house.
Food: remember to take your packed lunches with you in the morning. Sometimes these will be left in the fridge. If you can’t find your lunch, ask! If there are things you don’t like, please mention this politely. Under no circumstances should you throw any of the lunch away in the house - this is an insult to the family and also a waste.
Communicate with your host family as much as possible. This means saying more than one word - if you only ever say yes or no it looks as if you are not interested in talking to them. Communication involves asking questions as well as giving answers. If two people are staying in the same family do not speak German to each other when the family is present - it is considered very impolite, and most people assume you are saying something negative about them or the food. English people will expect you to say PLEASE and THANK YOU at all times.
Telephone: do not use the host family’s phone to make calls. If you are called from Austria try and keep the call relatively short so that the phone is not blocked. Never phone while they are out because you think they won’t find out - in England people receive detailed telephone bills with every call listed, including date/time/number phoned etc. You will always be discovered!
Remember that you are a guest in a private home. You are not in a hotel. The host family members are not your servants. Always ask before you do anything <e.g. switching on TV, playing music etc.> Do not help yourself to food.
You should not invite your friends to come round and visit you without asking. If you are going to cycle into town with your friends, arrange to meet them at a certain time on the corner.
As long as you ask politely, there is no reason why you shouldn’t give your host mother a reasonable amount of washing. This service is free, so do not feel obliged to pay anything.
If you have any complaints at all, tell your teacher or local co-ordinator immediately - do not leave things unmentioned until the end of your stay."
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