Living with a family: Good or bad?

Hi everyone! Here is my post with the advantages and disadvantages of living with a family. First of all let me explain why I wanted to stay with a family instead of living in the halls or a shared apartment. Before leaving home, I decided that for the one year I will be away, I wanted to stay with a family. My main reason was that it would be cheaper, I did not have to prepare my meals and it would help me cope with homesickness. Was I right? Yup, my expectations were achieved! I paid £150/month (including room, food, bills, internet, etc); I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with the family, and there were two kids whom I got along with really well, which helped lessen the homesickness. The most important thing was that we got along and thus I have a second family :) Now the disadvantages. I did not have as much privacy as I was used to ( I am a single child, so most of the time I do not have kids sticking their noses in my business). The kids were nice (one was 14 and the other 9) but they wanted to know what I did, especially the little one. Mostly, I was the one who brought a little bit of fun ( I guess having a bubbly, nutty personality helps :P ), so they wanted to watch movies, cartoons, play games, but most importantly I was someone wthey could talk to openly about their problems. The second disadvantage was that I could not come home after dinner, not only because I lived far from the uni (so not a lot of soicalization in those areas), but also because it would be rude and I would have to miss dinner :( (I love food! Check out my other blog: http://bdgcooking.blogspot.it/ ) The third disadvanatge is I had to be a role model for the younger ones, which means I could not be the lazy, sloppy person I usually am at home. On the one hand this could be a good thing, but on the other, having a day where you get to your 'bad' self relieves your accumulated stress. In the end, it really depends on what kind of family you end up with. Everyone will have different experiences depending on their personalities and the host family. I was lucky to have a good one with whom I got along :) Ciao!