9- Host families

OK, I don’t mean to state the obvious here, but be cool with your families. Obviously I’m not going to say you have to stay totally sober here, but take it easy. It’s not good to come in all the time at silly-o-clock in the morning absolutely shit faced and wake your family up.

My family were the coolest guys ever, but they weren’t impressed when I threw my meal in the bin cos’ I wasn’t hungry at all. They were quite pissed off actually what with all the poverty here and shit. Also, I’m a big music freak, and I normally have my music blasting dead loud all the time in England. This didn’t go down too well in Ecuador though.

Try and respect local cultures and stuff. Also, you’re host families are there to help you, so don’t be shy. Tell them what foods you don’t like if they are going to cook for you. Also, if you really are brassic, don’t be ashamed to ask your host parents to lend you some money till you can afford to pay them back. This is the kind of thing that they are there for. Also, if you smoke let your parents know from the start, so you don’t have to pop round the shed in silence if you’re gasping for a bine.

If your host family don’t speak English, this is actually a good thing. Your Spanish will progress tenfold (I love that word, don’t you?). I was a bit lucky, cos my mum was an English teacher, so she helped me out whenever I didn’t know a word. Before you come, bring some English presents for your parents. I didn’t bother, so my mate Luke gave me some shortbread. However, I got quite hungry one night when we arrived in Quito, so I consequently took my family out for a meal on the first night instead. Don’t just turn up with your hands in your pockets. Do something nice for them so that they’ll like you from the start, cos’ hopefully you’re going to get really close to them. If you’re spending Christmas here, stay with your families for the 25^th, cos’ it’s a proper family time over here.