Same Language Different Home
Coming to Spain, I had anticipated an easy transition. You know, knowing Spanish and all. I moved in to my new home and met my new family on September 11th. I had learned before arriving that my mother was a designer and dad was a carpenter. My first impressions of my family were that my mom is sweet, charming, and stylish and my dad is humorous, chill, and hardworking.
Back in NYC I see bricks everywhere instead of flowers and plants so it is a pleasant surprise that my new home is very green. We have a huge garden that has won my family several awards and local celebrity status. Our neighborhood is small and feels like family already- kinda like Wheaton!
Despite knowing the language, other transitional challenges have presented themselves. I have now gotten close to a few other students from Wheaton, which I hadn’t known to well before. Even with these new blossoming relationships. I miss my fellow Posse scholars all the time. It’s also been hard being away from my family back home. Leaving my family behind for three months is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Luckily there is a free texting application on my iTouch, which allows me text my momma anytime. I am very fortunate that my homestay family here has done a great job of making me feel right at home!
I’m not going to sit here and lie; the food is currently my biggest challenge. I chose to stay with a family because I wanted to learn about the culture and how people actually live here. When learning about the culture, I mostly meant about the kind of food they eat in Spain and let me tell you I most definitely miss my rice, beans, chicken, and of course my PLATANOS. I don’t like to think that I’m a picky person because I love trying new things, but if I don’t like it once I’ve tried it then get me plan B. At least that’s what I could’ve done at Emerson and Chase. I’ve learned to make it clear to my mom here that I love chicken and so she tries her best to have chicken/meat at “lunchtime” which is the biggest meal of the day here. I have realized that even though I’m only here until December I still need to be as honest as possible because that’s two more months of food. For those who are looking into going abroad, note to self: Try what won’t kill you!
At the end of the day I still look forward to what I’ll be eating for lunch, what my family has planned for the weekend, and what new things I will be learning about the Spanish culture in Spain. It is sure to be an adventure filled semester!