Mi casa es tu casa

Since one of my main reasons for coming to Spain was to improve my Spanish, I decided to live with a host family. I had a few concerns about living with a host family. Wait... scratch that. I didn't have too many concerns until after talking to my mom and my sister because they watch too much Criminal Minds! (Which is a really good show if you haven't seen it!) But, honestly, you never know what to expect when you are going to live with people you've never met in a foreign country where you aren't fluent in the language. I had a million doubts running through my head in the days before leaving for Spain:

What if I don't know a word they are saying?
What if they starve me?
What if I end up on a 20/20 special report?
What if they don't have internet?!?!?

However, all of those doubts left when my host parents came to pick me up from the airport. My host mom greeted me with two besitos (a kiss on each cheek), a hug, and made me feel extremely comfortable *huge sigh of relief* And while sometimes I really don't know what they are saying (I just smile, nod my head, and say,"Ah sí, sí!"), everything else is great (including this internet!).

My host mom, Maite, is a woman in her 50s. She's so nice and loves to talk. She tells me stories about her former students, places I should visit while I'm here, classes I should (and shouldn't) take, etc. A few nights ago, we bonded over our love for romantic comedies. (She really likes Richard Gere, so we will be watching the Spanish version of Runaway Bride and Pretty Woman soon lol) She sings in a choir every Monday and Wednesday and goes to lunch/coffee with her girlfriends often. She is also really helping me with my Spanish. From the first night, she told me that she considers me to be a part of her family and that she would treat me that way. She definitely has so far!

My host dad, Juan, is hilarious. He is retired, so he basically does whatever he wants. This generally consists of watching TV, playing Sudoku, drinking wine, cooking, watching the local fútbol team's games, and fishing. He really likes the Nature Channel and dislikes the TV show Monk and when there are no good movies on TV lol. He said that he would teach me how to cook some of his favorite recipes, so I'm excited for that. I knew we would get along great when, in one of the first days I was here, he insisted that I take a nap for siesta. Anyone who knows me knows that naps are my life.

Maite and Juan

I have a host brother, Yon, and a host sister, Maider. They are both in their early 30s, so they don't live here, but they come over often to eat lunch or just visit. Maider has a 4 month old son, Endika (it's like the Basque version of Enrique), who my host mom takes care of every day. He is soooo cute! If I could bring him back to the US, I so would.

We live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in Algorta. It's a really nice area and I like the apartment. I have my own room and we all share the 2 bathrooms.

The sala (living room)

Our kitchen

I was really excited to find out that the shower has good water pressure and hot water. You would be surprised at how comforting those things can be when you are in a new place!

Left: Bathroom #1

Right: Bathroom #2 right across the hall

Yes, I have two beds (a girl has to have options!)

            

My closet that I lock myself out of almost every day

There are all of these Spanish books in my room because I'm staying in my host sister's old room. Hopefully I'll get a chance to read them some time. My host mom did also give me a few English books she thought I'd like: The Da Vinci Code, "The United States of Europe," and the 6th and 7th Harry Potter books (yessss!)

The only downside of my host family is that the cooking is sooo good and there is so much of it! They give me large portions and keep trying to make me eat more. One of their goals is to have me gain weight while I'm here, but I don't think I'll have to worry about that. All of this walking will definitely balance out the effects of the food! (Food post to come....)

Plan for tomorrow: A group of us are going to San Sebastian tomorrow for the day and it's supposed to be really beautiful there. First weekend trip!

- Kassandra