My Homestay

Wow. I am now in my homestay for a second night. The first night was a little chaotic. It started out with meeting my mama tica later than scheduled and there was a HUGE futbol game on. When I first got to where I will be staying for the rest of the week, I was surrounded by my mama tica's familia. I actually ate dinner at my mama tica's sister's house, or la casa de la hermana de me mama tica. I had a small dinner, which was perfect. Then I started to feel like I was shrinking into a smaller and smaller person. There was so much conversation going on around me yet I could understand none of it when they were speaking quickly, and maybe only 30% when they were speaking slowly. They mostly just spoke slowly when talking to me. I sat and ate with my mama tica and her sister but I was the only one eating. After I finished, we went through the back door to my mama tica's house. I have my own room but I have to share the bathroom and shower with my mama tica and her mother and her son. I didn't meet him last night. I believe he was at work, or possibly a party to watch the game.

After the game finished, the younger members of the family, the nieces and nephews of my mama tica and the family friends who live near by came and sat with me at the table. We played Spoons, but with clothespins. This was one of the only ways that I was able to communicate with them because I knew how to play the game and I was able to interact this way. Whenever anyone started talking, I would simply watch the conversation bounce around, similar to at a tennis match, but I had no idea what was going on, also similar to a tennis match.

This overwhelming feeling of confusion stuck with me for most of the night and into the morning. I was trying my hardest to follow along and to understand and it just made me feel so sympathetic to all of the ELL students that I have had in the past. I can't believe the sense of confusion and minuteness that I felt simply because I couldn't understand what was being said around me.

Tonight when I got home from spanish class, which was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, I ate dinner with Luis, my mama tica's son and we talked a little about what he likes to do and how far along in school he is. We were able to communicate a little better than I had done last night, and I feel that my spanish class helped me build my confidence to make mistakes while trying to get my point across. After a while, I sat down to do my spanish homework and to blog about the past few days now that I have found out I have wifi at my mama tica's house.

I am about to pass out from all the walking from the past few days. I'll try to blog tomorrow but no promises. xoxo, much love to the states