A few days ago, my six fellow students and I returned from the last of our SEVEN different family stays (each!) over our fifteen weeks here. I'm back with my Managua family, who I've been living with for almost three weeks and who I'll stay with for the rest of the program.
My program's emphasis on family stays was one of the primary reasons I chose it. I haven't been disappointed. Even though I've spent plenty of time in classrooms, my true classrooms have been the seven places I've called home in Central America - some for as few as two days, others for as long as five weeks.
For me, the homestays have been a nonstop exercise in adapting and being flexible. I've had to learn new ways of speaking Spanish, new ways of bathing...even new ways of flushing the toilet! |
"We're aware that we can't offer you the same conditions you have in your country. What we can give you is love." |
Let me give you an example. When I arrived at my first host family in Guatemala, one of the first things we did was eat lunch together. The food looked delicious and, as soon as everyone was seated, I took a bite. Wrong move. I quickly learned that that family was quite religious and that they were accustomed to long prayers before every meal.
Oops.
Having learned my lesson, when I moved to my host family in San José, Costa Rica and my host mom served me my first meal, I waited politely for her to pray. She, in turn, looked at me like I was some crazy Jesus-freak and asked, "Tu quieres orar?" ("Do you want to pray?") So I fumbled through a prayer in broken Spanish (thankfully, I had heard a lot of prayers at my previous homestay, so I managed). By the time I left Costa Rica, I was again accustomed to not praying before I eat.
And so, when I arrived at my host family in Managua and they served me dinner...I'm sure you know where this story is going by now (you'd think I would learn!) Let's just say: a few raised eyebrows were enough to compel me to quickly swallow my food and bow my head so that my Pentecostal Christian host mom could bless the food.
But even as I've stumbled through awkward moments like these, I've loved the kindness and diversity of my different homestays. The experience of living with seven different families has truly shattered any monolithic ideas I may have had about Central American or Latin American families. While there have been similarities. each family has had its distinct values and way of life. Even though I didn't get to spend the entire semester in one location, getting to know one family, I'm thrilled that I got to see this diversity and form so many different relationships.
Here's a map of everywhere I've visited during this semester:
Oops.
Having learned my lesson, when I moved to my host family in San José, Costa Rica and my host mom served me my first meal, I waited politely for her to pray. She, in turn, looked at me like I was some crazy Jesus-freak and asked, "Tu quieres orar?" ("Do you want to pray?") So I fumbled through a prayer in broken Spanish (thankfully, I had heard a lot of prayers at my previous homestay, so I managed). By the time I left Costa Rica, I was again accustomed to not praying before I eat.
And so, when I arrived at my host family in Managua and they served me dinner...I'm sure you know where this story is going by now (you'd think I would learn!) Let's just say: a few raised eyebrows were enough to compel me to quickly swallow my food and bow my head so that my Pentecostal Christian host mom could bless the food.
But even as I've stumbled through awkward moments like these, I've loved the kindness and diversity of my different homestays. The experience of living with seven different families has truly shattered any monolithic ideas I may have had about Central American or Latin American families. While there have been similarities. each family has had its distinct values and way of life. Even though I didn't get to spend the entire semester in one location, getting to know one family, I'm thrilled that I got to see this diversity and form so many different relationships.
Here's a map of everywhere I've visited during this semester:
In my next post, I will share with you a little bit about each of the seven families I've lived with.
Check back soon!
Check back soon!
My Managua host sister (3) making her favorite face!
Read Part 2 of this post here.