On Host Families
May. 25th, 2016 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebWe just learned that during the Granada part of our study abroad class, we will be staying with host families rather than in a dorm as previously described.
Lately I seem to be taking all news badly at first and this was no exception. Oh, no! I will have to speak Spanish to them and I can't! And I'm set in my ways now! And they probably expect a twenty-year-old!
Okay, really I know that staying with host families is awesome and that we will learn so much more about Spanish language and culture than we ever would staying in a dorm with a bunch of other foreign students. So really, this is a great development.
But families are made out of people, and we won't know what they're like. So I've been reading up on it. Guess the number one reason people host students.
Ready with your guess?
It's to earn money. So, we'll be like foster children.
Okay, no, that makes sense and is perfectly reasonable. And the other reasons are because they think it will be fun in some way. The ones with kids think it will be good for the kids. The old ones think it will be nice to have company. That sort of thing. The important thing is to communicate well and try to get along and be understanding and flexible, things that, at least in English, I am good with.
Another idea is to think about all the ways I am odd and set in my ways to help me prepare myself for living with strangers. I normally think I'm a pretty flexible person, but am I? (I used to think I was energetic before I worked at summer camp.) I am used to:
* eating pretty much whatever I want and I'm super picky - now I will be eating whatever the family is eating (this is the scariest - they could expect me to eat giant cockroaches from the sea for example)
* eating whenever I want - now it will be three meals a day and very few snacks (probably okay; I probably won't get so hungry that I can't pay attention as much as I want to--I won't be at work!)
* eating however much I want - Spaniards might be like Italians with the feeding = love culture (I already weigh more than I need to)
* having a live-in boyfriend - yeah, that's not going to be happening
* telling the truth - will little white lies be expected?
* dressing casually - supposedly you can tell tourists because they're wearing shorts and white sneakers (it's probably okay to wear my regular clothes and look like a tourist, so long as my shoulders are covered if I want to go into a church; I won't have to wear high heels and make-up or anything)
* joking around - I won't know the language well enough to do this most of the time (I might start to feel lonely, but I'll get to see Robin daily, so that should be okay)
* a bunch of American cultural stuff I don't even realize
I don't think I care about laundry differences, cleanliness differences, sharing a room with a host daughter, having to be decently covered to get to the bathroom, or having to share a bathroom. But I'm sure there will be issues of some kind.
Plus I'll have to bring a gift. Something that is typical of where I'm from and can be a nice memento for them. That hopefully they would like. No clue.
(My first thought was Texas-shaped tortilla chips and salsa. Or some hideous longhorn tourist thingy. Uh, no. Bluebonnet refrigerator magnet? Banana chocolate chip pancake recipe?)
I'm just reminding myself--it's better than boot camp or other military living arrangements, it's better than prison, and it's better than being a foster kid (as a minor). And it's only a week and a half.
Plus, I kind of miss having new roommates all the time--learning new ways to do things and new recipes. And maybe it really will be awesome. (Though I do better psychologically if I go in with low expectations and thus am more likely to have the surprises be pleasant ones.)
Lately I seem to be taking all news badly at first and this was no exception. Oh, no! I will have to speak Spanish to them and I can't! And I'm set in my ways now! And they probably expect a twenty-year-old!
Okay, really I know that staying with host families is awesome and that we will learn so much more about Spanish language and culture than we ever would staying in a dorm with a bunch of other foreign students. So really, this is a great development.
But families are made out of people, and we won't know what they're like. So I've been reading up on it. Guess the number one reason people host students.
Ready with your guess?
It's to earn money. So, we'll be like foster children.
Okay, no, that makes sense and is perfectly reasonable. And the other reasons are because they think it will be fun in some way. The ones with kids think it will be good for the kids. The old ones think it will be nice to have company. That sort of thing. The important thing is to communicate well and try to get along and be understanding and flexible, things that, at least in English, I am good with.
Another idea is to think about all the ways I am odd and set in my ways to help me prepare myself for living with strangers. I normally think I'm a pretty flexible person, but am I? (I used to think I was energetic before I worked at summer camp.) I am used to:
* eating pretty much whatever I want and I'm super picky - now I will be eating whatever the family is eating (this is the scariest - they could expect me to eat giant cockroaches from the sea for example)
* eating whenever I want - now it will be three meals a day and very few snacks (probably okay; I probably won't get so hungry that I can't pay attention as much as I want to--I won't be at work!)
* eating however much I want - Spaniards might be like Italians with the feeding = love culture (I already weigh more than I need to)
* having a live-in boyfriend - yeah, that's not going to be happening
* telling the truth - will little white lies be expected?
* dressing casually - supposedly you can tell tourists because they're wearing shorts and white sneakers (it's probably okay to wear my regular clothes and look like a tourist, so long as my shoulders are covered if I want to go into a church; I won't have to wear high heels and make-up or anything)
* joking around - I won't know the language well enough to do this most of the time (I might start to feel lonely, but I'll get to see Robin daily, so that should be okay)
* a bunch of American cultural stuff I don't even realize
I don't think I care about laundry differences, cleanliness differences, sharing a room with a host daughter, having to be decently covered to get to the bathroom, or having to share a bathroom. But I'm sure there will be issues of some kind.
Plus I'll have to bring a gift. Something that is typical of where I'm from and can be a nice memento for them. That hopefully they would like. No clue.
(My first thought was Texas-shaped tortilla chips and salsa. Or some hideous longhorn tourist thingy. Uh, no. Bluebonnet refrigerator magnet? Banana chocolate chip pancake recipe?)
I'm just reminding myself--it's better than boot camp or other military living arrangements, it's better than prison, and it's better than being a foster kid (as a minor). And it's only a week and a half.
Plus, I kind of miss having new roommates all the time--learning new ways to do things and new recipes. And maybe it really will be awesome. (Though I do better psychologically if I go in with low expectations and thus am more likely to have the surprises be pleasant ones.)
no subject
on 2016-05-26 04:07 am (UTC)no subject
on 2016-05-27 03:58 am (UTC)I don't think the food idea will be so great--we're spending a week in Barcelona before we get to our host family in Granada!
Thanks for the compliment and good thoughts!
no subject
on 2016-05-30 08:07 pm (UTC):-)
Cat
no subject
on 2016-05-31 03:59 am (UTC)Yes, not the ideal city for learning Spanish. Apparently our program previously happened in Madrid and Barcelona, but our current teacher prefers Barcelona to Madrid, so she changed it. Barcelona is on my boyfriend's bucket list, so that's fine with us.
We'll mostly be in touristy parts there, so there will be plenty of Spanish and even English available.
I won't be looking for that documentary (things are about to get very busy). But maybe we will notice some Catalan out in the wild!
no subject
on 2016-05-30 08:03 pm (UTC)Don't worry too much... think of it as an adventure!
:-)
Cat
no subject
on 2016-05-31 03:55 am (UTC)