2. Don’t be a slob.
You probably already know this, I hope, but while it’s perfectly
acceptable to throw your dirty clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed
in your own home, the same is not true when you’re staying at someone
else’s place. Keep your stuff tidy and isolated. Fold up your clothing
at the end of the day, then tuck it neatly back into your duffel bag or
suitcase which should, if possible, remain zipped when not in use. Keep
your toiletries in a little travel bag, not scattered about the already
cluttered bathroom countertop. Make your bed every morning, and if you’ve
been sleeping on a futon or sofabed in the living room, fold it back up
into couch form as soon as you wake up. In short: be neat, be clean,
even if neither normally comes naturally to you.
3. Go with the flow.
A visit with a friend is a great opportunity to see how someone else
lives for a few days. Enjoy the novelty of that big sausage-and-eggs
breakfast that your host eats every Sunday, and don’t say a word about
how you usually prefer cereal. Give it an eager go when s/he takes you
out to his/her favorite country and western bar Saturday night for some
good old-fashioned line-dancing. Be enthusiastic, be adventurous, be
game -- after all, nobody likes a party pooper.
And do try your best to keep the same schedule as your hosts, even if
it means sleeping a little less than you’d like. Don’t insist on
going to sleep at 9 p.m. if you’re sleeping in the TV room and your
hosts don’t normally hit the sack until midnight. Trust me, they’ll
resent it if they have to spend the remaining three hours of their
evening holed up in their tiny bedrooms rather than indulging in their
usual boob tube addictions. Likewise, it’s rather rude to sleep till
noon if your host has gone to the trouble of planning a fun-filled day
of sightseeing for you.
4. Bring
a book.
Or your laptop, or that sweater you’re in the process of knitting,
or anything else to keep you entertained when your host needs a break
from being Super-Host. A little self-sufficiency is a good thing.