No, the family will supply you with towels for showers and for the swimming pool.

It isn’t necessary to bring a present but it is nice to bring a small gift from your home country, maybe some well-known cheese or chocolate or even a book with a description and pictures of where you come from.

Every house is different. We don’t have any fixed traditional food that we eat more than others so lots of families eat a range of food from all over the world. We love Italian pasta and pizzas as well as Mexican tortillas and enchiladas, Japanese sushi, Chinese stir – fries, Indian curries and even Hungarian goulash. We also eat a lot of potatoes and you might find your host family might eat our dinners of meat (chicken, pork or beef), vegetables and potatoes (roast, boiled or mashed) on a regular basis. If there is anything you really don’t like, please tell your family when they ask you on your first day and try to enjoy the new experience of a different diet for your stay in Ireland.

Breakfast is when you get up; usually cereal and/or toast with hot milk or tea or coffee is served on most days but some families might have a traditional Irish “fry” at weekends which is a hot breakfast and consists of sausages, rashers, a fried egg, pudding and maybe mushrooms and beans.

Lunch most days will be a pack lunch which your family will give you, usually consisting of a sandwich, a drink, a bar, some fruit and maybe a packet of crisps or a yoghurt.

Dinner is usually served at 6pm and then we might have a light supper before bed which might be some toast and a drink or some biscuits.