The experiences and exploits of a college grad trying to make it in the "real world:" leaving school and friends in New England, moving south, and living with her boyfriend. Watch as I pretend to be an adult.
Last weekend three of my best friends from college came to visit me. I was thrilled to see them, but their stay made me realize how taxing having guests can be. Suddenly I was responsible for three other people...and, well... It got me thinking.
Basically, there are two kinds of guests: low maintenance, and high maintenance. Low maintanence guests are pretty self sufficient. They have their own transportation, their own agenda, make their own arrangements for food, and don't plan to spend every minute of their trip attached to your hip. While they probably want to hang out with you, they understand you have your own life and don't expect to monopolize your time.
High maintenance guests, are, well, the opposite. They don't make their own arrangements for transportation, come into town with no idea what they want to do other than "hang out with you," expect you to cook for them and/or have special dietary requirements they expect you to cater to, and generally take up a huge amount of your time and energy.
I hate these kind of guests. Even when I love them as people, I hate them.
Look, if you are staying at someone's house, trust me- you are already asking a lot. Before you even got there, they had to clean, do laundry, make up beds, go grocery shopping, and rearrange their schedule. Treating your host like your very own personal tour guide/chef/chauffeur is only going to piss him or her off. Trust me. To that end:
1) If you're flying, try to rent a car at the airport. Age and money don't always make this possible- but you'd be surprised. If you're 25, have three or more people, and are only visiting for a weekend it'll probably only add about $30 a person onto the total cost of the trip, and will make things much, much easier on your host. 2) If you can't rent a car, and are flying into an area with more than one airport (most major metropolitan centers have a couple), ask which is most conveniently located- and then TAKE THEIR ADVICE. Especially if you expect them to pick you up from the airport. Remember, they're going to be making the dive twice, round trip. 3) If you're flying in, check with your host and find out what his or her schedule is like. This goes triple if you need rides to the airport- don't take that 5 am flight and expect a 6:30 am pickup just because it knocks $20 off the price. Try not to book flights that will interfere with his or her workschedule, or put him or her in rush hour. In general, just ask for a convenient time before booking your flight. 4) When traveling as a group, coordinate your arrival and departure times if you need a pick up. Repeat after me: your host is not a chauffeur- picking you up from and dropping you off at the airport is a favor, and not a pleasant one. S/he should not have to go back and forth multiple times. 5) Come with a plan. The internet is a valuable resource- use it! Just about anywhere you go will have a tourist information-y website with suggestions for outings and entertainment. If you can't find one, ask your host. Don't just arrive expecting your host to have a full iternerary planned for you! He or she probably has no idea what you're in the mood to do, and shouldn't have to guess. 6) Don't expect your host to do everything with you. This is not kindergarten, and you don't need a "field trip buddy." Get maps of wherever you're going, and be prepared to spend a day or two on your own if your host has other things s/he needs to do. 7) If your group exceed three people, at least OFFER to get a hotel. Most people don't have multiple spare bedrooms, and while you might not mind sleeping on a couch, your host probably has roommates or family who won't be too thrilled with having to give up their living room for your stay. 8) Make your own arrangements for meals. Eat out, or at least offer to cook. If your host makes you a meal, eat it and thank him/her. Do not pick at your food, and mutter things about only liking the non-green kind of lettuce or some other inanity. If you're that picky, you should have gotten your own damn food. And last, but not least: 10) CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF! This includes washing the dishes you used, asking where s/he wants the dirty towels and sheets put, and straigtening up the bathroom. Do not leave your used linens in a pile on the floor, or crusts of dried toothpaste in the sink. Just make the place look the way it did when you got there.
Thank you, and good day.
After 22 posted at 2:50 PM
