Full House

Currently, I am living with my homestay family. Yesterday was our week-aversay of living together! My host father, Cristobál, is a horseback riding tour guide, my mother, Elieth is a stay at home mom. I also have a 5yr old brother named Christopher, and a 19yr old cousin named Katerine. They are wonderful people who have opened their home to me, and truly make me feel like part of the family (okay, I still kind of feel like a guest, but the other morning I got to help cook a little!). The coffee is so good here that I take it black, and every morning Cristobál asks “quiere azúcar?” and every time I say no he shakes his head a little.

“Cafecito para Chris, cafecito para mi, y café sin azúcar para Emilia…(smiling) guácala.” Coffee for Chris, coffee for me, and coffee without sugar for Emily…Yuck. Yes, you read that correctly, my 5yr old brother drinks coffee every morning. I can only think of his poor kindergarten teachers… Katerine and Elieth are quiet, but seem to share a bond like sisters rather than aunt and niece (dear CJ and Laura, I miss you). The girls and I talk about boys and our families, and this weekend we watched Sleepy Hallow with Johnny Depp (in Spanish) on TV…just in case you were wondering, yes Johnny Depp’s attractiveness is international—Katy and Elieth love him.

            Chris is thrilled that I’m not a vegetarian (Madeline, their last student was and so they ate a lot of fish…Chris does not like fish). And Cristobál takes me on every tour with him. I’m going on one this afternoon actually! The little girl inside of me that still asks Santa for a pony has never been happier (seriously, you can ask Santa).

            Also, my family doesn’t have a car—instead we have a 4-wheeler! So every weekday morning I jump on the back and go with Cristobál to drop Chris off at the Quaker School, and then he takes me up the mountain to the biological station. It’s a pretty sweet deal. Except that Chris likes to drive…yes the 5yr old operates the steering, gas and brakes, and yells “cambia papi, cambia!” when he wants his dad to shift gears. At first it was terrifying, but the little guy is actually a pretty good driver. So now I just hang on and enjoy the ride!

          My family has been incredibly patient with my intermediate Spanish, and it has been a joy living with them. Although my strict feeding schedule has been severely interrupted, I really really like living here.