In Kilkenny everyone of us stays with a host family. Some of us are located in the city centre and others live outside. Before we came here we could choose if we either wanted to be together with someone or alone and most of us got what they chose. The host families have the responsibility to drop us off at work und pick us up again, they also have to drive us to our official trips and events. If we want to get picked up or dropped of somewhere else it’s up to each host family, if they want to do us a favour. The host families also pack us lunch if needed and provide dinner as well as breakfast for us. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we are supposed to stay at home to improve our English and get to know the host families better. Some families went with students to the cinema, to a special market or on a hurling match! They really enjoyed it. Most host families also have own children and even some at our age. This way we could make new friends because we went out together with them.

We are all really glad that we get the chance to stay with an Irish family and that all of them are welcoming us. Of course it always depends what host family you get, but no one of us had any big problems and we all get along very well.

-Victoria Fink

At the beginning, many were still very skeptical about how life in the host family will be. On our arrival in Kilkenny, however, every spark of skepticism was gone, as we were greeted and welcomed very affectionately. We ended our first evening in Kilkenny with a dinner prepared by the host mother, which was very delicious. The next day we were driven by one of the two host parents to our jobs. After work, it was up to us whether we would like to meet with friends in town or to be picked up by our host parents. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening we spent time with our host family. On such evenings, we talked about different things to get to know each other better, watched Disney movies or our host brother taught us a few words in Irish. On one evening our host parents invited us to a pub for a meal and a drink. In my opinion it was a great experience to live in a host family and I can recommend it to anyone who would like to live in another country.

-Denise Wohlgenannt