HOST FAMILY GUIDELINES

1. The HOSTS will provide you with your own bedroom, linen and towels.

You are expected to keep your room tidy; this includes making your bed daily and hanging up your clothes. Avoid snacking in your room. Do not store food in your room.

2. The HOSTS will provide you with breakfast daily and with two evening meals per week (Grand Paris) or three (Center Paris).  At the beginning of the semester you should set the days on which you dine with the family. On other days you have access to the kitchen to prepare simple meals at hours that do not interfere with the family's use of the room. You can store food in the kitchen. You are expected to clean up after yourself, washing, drying and putting the dishes away.

You cannot keep alcoholic beverages anywhere in the apartment or house. Avoid eating or storing food in your bedroom : you have access to the the kitchen.

3. You have access to the toilet and bathroom.

You are allowed "unlimited" use of the bathroom, but in reality this means one shower or bath per day. The French do not take long showers. You should be ecological in your use of water, as water is expensive and France is in the midst of a water conservation program. Again pick up and clean up after yourself both in the bathroom and the toilet.

4. A minimum amount of laundry will be done per week. You may hand wash laundry following the family's instructions.

Ask your family for instructions—how much and when the laundry will be done, whether you have access to the machine or not. Be aware that not all French families have dryers due to space limitations and the expense of electricity.

5. All of the HOSTS will provide you with access to the internet. You can use this access to do email and to search the web for information, you can use it to talk to family and friends at reasonable hours. You cannot use this access to download movies, TV shows, or music illegally. French law holds the family legally responsible for all illegal activity on their network.

5. You may receive telephone calls at reasonable hours (approximately between 8 AM and 10 PM). You may make local telephone calls from your family’s fixed line; you should not exceed 15 minutes total per day.

7. HOSTS understand that you are an adult and free to act as one, as long as your actions do not seriously interfere with their daily lives.

You are expected to keep the family informed of your movements, especially for your weekend trips or late-night clubbing. You should telephone your family if your plans change in such a way that the family might be concerned for your safety. You may not bring alcohol into the apartment or house.

8. You may not receive any guests in the house or apartment without the prior permission of the HOSTS. Under no circumstances can you have a person sleep overnight in your room or elsewhere in the house. Furthermore, permission to invite one or two people to talk or study or even eat is not permission to invite all of the program participants when the family goes away for the weekend—or at any other time.

If you have family and friends who will be visiting you, consult the appropriate guidebooks in the library for hotel recommendations or ask your host family for the name of a near-by hotel.

9. The HOSTS will communicate to the student any particular rules governing behavior (e.g. smoking) or the use of appliances, etc.

The student is expected to abide by these guidelines.

10. The student is responsible for expenses entailed by the loss of keys (replacement of key, of locks, etc.). Students are also responsible for any unusual damage that is the result of their behavior or that of their friends. The student should have personal civil liability insurance which will cover him or her abroad.