Saturday, May 18, 2013

REFLECTION #2 - Homestays

Our students are participating in a 2-day homestay with local families in the Monteverde/San Luis area.  Some are in pairs while others are going solo.  The families vary by size and age.  Take a moment to read and share about your homestay experience.  What were your initial thoughts?  How did the transition take place?  How did you feel?  Describe your experience through the members of the family and their daily life.

19 comments:

  1. Homestays are always my favorite part about visiting a country. I have been to Argentina and Ethiopia before and got to stay in local homes in both places, so I quickly learned that I love spending time learning about culture in that way. When I heard we were going to get to do that here in Costa Rica, I was ecstatic. It turns out I had good reason to be. My family is very much like my family at home: crazy, active, talkative, and exciting. I am staying with another girl on my trip and as soon as we got to our home, the girl took us on a walk. It was actually a hike up a mountain to see a sloth, eat wild strawberries, play with a cow skeleton, climb under barbed wire, and see beautiful views. When we got back to the house, we had a quick little snack and then helped our mom make dinner. We cut vegetables for her while she made the dinner delicious. Right after that, we went up the hill to do Zumba, but since we got there early, we went and played soccer: Mom, daughter, Mitchell (my partner) and me. It was really fun but we were already getting tired and we hadn't even started Zumba! After that, we went back to have the most delicious dinner I've had in a while, mind you I am a college student on a college budget so I was on my own there for a while, and then showered. Now, all of that was in a 3 hour period, and the entire time I was translating for Mitchell who hasn't done anything with Spanish in over four years. You may be tired from just reading it, but it is exactly what living my life feels like every day and I loved it. We did get to relax a little after dinner before going to bed but we were pretty tired by that point so we went to bed pretty early.

    I have also been reminded of how much I love Spanish in this experience, and of how much I love communication. I have learned lots of stories about the family, shared many jokes with them, and laughed a lot. I am also glad that I get to translate for Mitchell because she seems to be having a better experience being able to communicate with them than some of our other friends are who don't have enough Spanish to communicate. Overall, it has been a fabulous, although exhausting experience, and that was just the first day! We are heading back for another night of fun in about ten minutes and so I'm looking forward to getting back on here to share what else we get to experience tonight!

    Margaret

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  2. Homestay was awesome! Cristina (mom) was an excellent cook and Geovanny (dad) was a farmer. They had a 16yr old son who was excellent at futbol. Miguel was their other son of 6yr of age. He was always funny and fun to play with. I was with Wally and we had a blast. We did chores, played futbol, cooked donughts and watched movie! It was very fun hanging out with their family. I did not feel awkward at all. I am very glad I was able to have this experience. Thanks UGA y NCSU!
    Garrett

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  3. This is the first time that I have ever had the opportunity to experience the homestay environment and I absolutely loved it! My family was absolutely wonderful in everything they did, and it reminded me so much of my family at home. They were so loving and caring towards one another and myself. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I hate that it was for only two days.

    Throughout the weekend the biggest challenge was the language barrier. Me, nor my homestay partner Tasey, had ever had any formal Spanish language training so the first night was basically us trying to learn new words to help communicate with our family. By the end of the trip most everyone had said that we had become muy bueno at Spanish, although I know it was still difficult to express our thoughts. Also, Marlon, our homestay father, was asking me to translate some words into English for him to use while he worked at UGA. It was pretty amazing to see the two worlds combined.

    Yuriel and Melany were the two children of the family and they were wonderful. They helped us communicate with Ana (mother) and Marlon more than anything. They were also balls of energy. They were constantly wanting to play soccer or frisbee, or with the camera or the phone.

    After this trip I want to participate in another homestay experience. I absolutely have fallen in love with the culture here in Costa Rica and the language too. Everything is so family oriented and reminds me so much of my hometown. I am so glad that I was able to join in on this opportunity.

    -Sarah Anderson

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  4. So after the second day, I found myself thinking in Spanish, speaking in Spanish to my American friends, and dreaming in Spanish. In fact, I even wrote that first sentence in Spanish before realizing that our readers probably don't speak Spanish, or only a little. It was so much fun to become a part of a family here in Costa Rica...I feel like I am just expanding my family as I travel across the world.

    Yesterday, as we were walking back to our house, all the way down the mountain, we stopped in to say hello to some friends along the way. They had the view of a lifetime! It was mountains, valleys, and ocean all in one. It was incredible. Also, we got to go swing in their back yard down a little trail, and it was just like we were swinging out over a valley from the side of a mountain! Then, when we arrived back at our home, we were asked to go play but since we looked so tired (and were so tired) our dad told us to rest some and let the children play on their own. It was nice to get to talk to him some and rest with some coffee since we had been going nonstop since arriving in Costa Rica. Then, after a little snack and a long break, we played some with the kids. They play the same games as us! First we played hide and seek, then we played freeze tag, and then we played the blindfold game where you try to find people while you can't see. It was very fun for us to partake in familiar games in a different language.

    Then, after another delicious dinner full of laughter and stories, we watched a race that took place last week through the mountains. That was so cool for me since I love to run and I was able to take that opportunity to tell them about how much I run and how I did a triathlon a couple of weeks ago. Then we started seeing people we knew from the university on the tv finishing their race! It was really cool to recognize people we have met over the course of the week.

    My favorite part of the experience in their home was how they embraced us as their own. Our mom called her our children to all of her friends, our brother kissed us hello and goodnight every time, and our sister hugged us all the time (well, between the times when she was chasing us with bugs and animals in her hands). It was so nice and so sad to leave them, but they told us to come visit them again and we all exchanged contact information so you can be assured that they will remain a part of my extended global family (and hopefully get to meet my students as I begin to teach!) It was one of the best experiences of my life.

    Margaret

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  5. Throughout my stay here at Costa Rica I have tried to keep a journal every day. For my homestay reflection there will be two parts: a journal entry, and a summary.

    Journal: Day 5: You walk up the driveway past a banana tree and a sign pointing you to the reception desk (for the, now closed, waterfall) to the left. We go right. A dog greets us at the bottom of the sidewalk as though it had been expecting us. She jumps at our feet and circles around us occasionally looking back to make sure we were still following. Her name is Carmela. At the wooden gate to a porch we are greeted by a short older woman. She embraces me, tells me I'm beautiful, and kisses my cheek. I reply a breathy thank you, exhausted from our hike up there. I am out of shape. She has a sort of wrap around porch except there are living room furniture outside. She takes us to a door, our room, also outside. At night, we're locked out of the house. There are two small beds, simple, sweet. We bid goodbyes to our professor and guide and our homestay mom continues to show us the rest of our new home: two bathrooms, an old stove, and sink are also outside. Then back inside are a kitchen, living room, and her room. She is frying bananas. Mi favorito. Day 6: Woke up at 6:30 to roosters. Apparently they had been up for hours because they woke Molly at 4:30. Manuel just took us through the trils on their land and showed us all the sugar cane his family grows. He told us stories about their trails too, though we only understand parts because of our lack of Spanish. He is really good a bird calls. Molly, Carmela, and Zelmida (Alicia's daughter) sit in front of me gazing out at the mountains. The radio blares. I feel like dancing, how Geovanni showed us. Haha the song just changed to an American Classic Rock song, but it's in Spanish. Carmela is now sitting on my lap.

    Summary: I was extremely nervous about my homestay because I can barely understand Spanish and cannot speak it whatsoever. However, the second night with my family I realized I was the luckiest person in the group and it must have been God's hand to put me where I was. The second night I sat with several members of the family and watched Zelmida and Alica play with a one year old named Samuel (Zelmida's grandson and Alicia's great-grandson). A week before I left for Costa Rica I spent the weekend in Michigan burying my grandfather and two months before that I was burying my grandmother. They were my last remaining grandparents. I distinctly remember a moment during this trip when I sat with friends and they were discussing food their grandparents made and I simply sat and thought I will never make those memories ever again. My grandparents are gone forever. And now, here I sat watching two grandparents pinch the cheeks of Samuel and giggle at his noises. I had inherited a grandmother, that would make me treats, tell me stories, love me, and make me put up the chickens. I no longer have to sit and listen to my friends brag about their grandparents because I have the coolest abuela ever.

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  6. My homestay was something that I will not soon forget. It was an incredible eye opening experience but not in the way you would expect. The thing I learned about the Costa Ricans is that they are just like us. They go to work, eat dinner as a family, watch the news and sitcoms in the evening and have a routine daily schedule. Their jobs and environment are different but they enjoy many of the same things we do. When I am home it is just my mom, my dad, and I because my sister is already moved out. A typical evening when we are home from our daily activities consists of my mom cooking dinner and my dad watching TV. Then we eat dinner with the television on and then end up watching the news and whatever sitcom is on that night before we all go our separate ways for bed. When I was in Costa Rica the exact same thing happened. My homestay parents were Marco and Lorena. There children were grown and out of the house so I was the only one there just like at home in NC. To my surprise on the first night Marco turned on the television while Lorena cooked. When it was ready the TV stayed on and we sat at the table and enjoyed our dinner. After that we watched the news and a sitcom and went to our separate rooms for bed. It was déjà vu. Costa Rican and American lifestyles are very similar.
    I have an intermediate Spanish level so I found myself understanding most everything that was said to me and being able to form somewhat of a response. I’m sure my vocabulary and grammar was not the best but we were able to communicate and that was so nice! My favorite part of the homestays was the amazing view with the nice peaceful hikes too and from campus. I loved the walks. It was so refreshing and there was so much nature. I learned a lot about simple living from these families. I would love to live this way here full time so long as I don’t have to eat anymore rice and beans.
    When I left my mom was at work so I didn’t get to say goodbye but my dad saw me of. He was such an amazing, nice, funny man and we formed a great relationship. I miss him already! He was always engaging me in conversation and making fun of how tall I was and how long and skinny my feet were. He saw me off with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and told me to come stay with him when I am back in Costa Rica and that is exactly what I plan to do.

    -Kelly Morrissey

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  7. Caroline Gautreau
    Reflection #2- Home Stay

    For my home stay I was with Dona Eliza and Don Alvaro. Before I arrived I was really nervous about the communication barrier. I was worried that we would not be able to talk to each other well and that I would not be able to tell them what I needed or thank them properly. I was afraid of coming off rude. The first day was a little awkward. We did not talk that much but the eight year old girl, Laura, was a really big help. She helped to pass the time at first because I would just follow her around like a puppy dog. After the first day and night I was able to return with a better understanding of how to interact and I was better acquainted with their routine as a family. I loved having the experience of a home stay because it really let me see how other cultures live and interact. Even though it was only two days I feel like I learned "mucho mas" than I would in any classroom. Also, being with a child of another culture for an extended amount of time allowed me to think of strategies of how to teach them. Overall the home stay was an awesome experience and I would love to do it again! I learned so much and am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in it.

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  8. Maddi Abrams- Home Stay Reflection

    For my home stay, I was placed with Don Rafael, Doña Lilliam, and Randy. Before my home stay, I was both nervous and excited. I was nervous that I had overestimated my abilities to understand and speak Spanish, and would have problems with a language barrier. However, I was also very excited to practice my Spanish as well as learn about what life is really like in Costa Rica outside of the city. In my case, I had absolutely no reason to be nervous because they were very welcoming and tried to help me. Once Rafa and Randy realized that I could speak Spanish, they made me feel like part of the family by making jokes and teasing me. At first, it was a bit awkward because we were strangers, but that changed pretty quickly.
    After I got back to UGA, I realized that I was not really nervous anymore. I mostly was just excited at the prospect of getting back to my family and maximizing my time with them. Even though they did not exactly do anything special because I was there, I just enjoyed being with them and doing chores or whatever they were doing. I was slightly concerned about making errors in my speaking or being unable to explain exactly what I would have said in English. However overall I was much more excited and happy to get back to their house than I was nervous or concerned about what I might do or say whether correct or incorrect.
    As a whole, the only way I could have enjoyed my home stay experience more was if I had been able to stay longer. My family opened their home to me the way I hope to open my classroom up to my students one day. Although we did not understand one another 100% of the time, we found ways to communicate and enjoy each other's company. I did a good bit of talking while I was there, but I also did a lot of listening and doing. One thing it reminded me of was that there are times for speaking and there are times for experiencing and learning. This is highly relevant as a future educator because we must remember that the students are teaching us while we teach them. I also reflected about the experiences of ELLs in the classroom. Especially since I will be teaching younger grades where the children are hardly even fluent in their own native language. It is at times difficult to communicate with someone who does not speak the same language as I do, but it is possible and being on the other side of the language barrier is quite a rewarding experience. I loved the home stay experience and would highly recommend it to anyone who comes. It is a way to step outside your comfort zone and learn what life is like as more than just a tourist.

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  9. Niether me nor my homestay buddy, Sara, had any kind of formal Spanish training, and now we were going to stay with a family of four that only spoke Spanish. As we were riding the bus down, Sara and I are trying to cram as many "common phrases" as we can before we actually are on our own. Our family consisted of a mom and dad, Ana and Marlon, a 12 year-old girl, Melany, and a 7 year old boy, Yureil. We arrived to what appeared to be a regular day in this Spanish household; the dad and son were watching a soccer game while the mom and daughter were in the kitchen, giggling over something. The next hour we spent at the house were probably the most frustrating and awkward time spent. The family was trying to ask Sara and I some very basic questions, such as how old we were, and it took forever for us to translate and then respond. Finally, Ana gets up and brings us a book of common words and phrases in both Spanish and English. This book broke the ice. We were finally able to communicate the bare minimum, which satisfied both the family and us. After the awkward first couple hours, we figured each other out. The rest of the night and morning was spent working on our Spanish, either by looking in the book or by asking questions.

    The following day, after debriefing and learning that mostly everyone else had the same struggles as Sara and I did, we were ready to go back to our Homestay family. Much to our surprise, we seemed to have learned and remembered quite a bit of Spanish, allowing Sara and I to have a mini conversation with Melany and Yuriel at dinner. It was awesome to finally be able to communicate! After dinner, we went outside again to play with the soccer ball/frisbee that I had brought. (sidenote: games don't require a lot of communication which allowed us to bond with the kids without heavily relying on Spanish) (second sidenote: Ana and Marlon's house is located right across the street from a convenient store, meaning that there were always a ton of people outside of their house) As we were kicking the soccer ball around, Ana and some of her friends decided to make a pick up soccer game for us and the local kids to play. So we moved some big rocks for "goals", made teams, and started playing. ALL IN SPANISH! We continued playing 3 vs 3 soccer for hours, all in Spanish, when Mitchell, Margaret, and their family came over to join in. After several hours of soccer and Spanish, Sara and I were exhausted. Overall, the second day of our homestay was a great success. I was nervous at first, but very happy with how well it went. You don't necessarily have to speak the language to play a game.

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  10. The home stay was a very, very new experience. I was not very sure of it before coming. I was actually extremely nervous about doing the home stay because I speak very little Spanish. Even in America I feel like staying a peoples home can become a burden and I was worried that this was going to feel that way but it turned out to be a lot of fun. I was luckily blessed with a partnered with Margaret. She did very well with making me feel included in the conversations while also pushing me to try and pick up some of the words before just telling me what they said. I had a lot of fun speaking with the dad because I felt like he really wanted to help me. Our little "sister" was very funny and liked to scare me. She would chase me with bugs and make us hike everyday...we got our work outs in. Our little sister really enjoyed talking to us and showing us around. We were blessed to see a sloth and monkeys during our home stay. One fun thing that we did that reminded me of America was the Zumba class we took with our home stay mom and daughter. That was a sight to see all the women dancing along with us. Another fun thing we did was help prepare dinner both nights...we had rice and beans with every meal...duh! I also caught my finger the first night cutting tomatoes. Our "mom" didn't really want me holding a knife the rest of the weekend! Overall, I had a really fun time and a really new experience. It pushed me out of my comfort zone but now I'm ok with that and I would do it again. Next time I would know a lot more Spanish!

    Mitchell Chrismon

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  11. This homestay experience was really just a cool life moment. I have never stayed with a family from another country before and it was so interesting to see how other families that belong to other cultures live. I stayed with another girl, Lauren, from our group and we were pretty nervous because with both of our skills combined, we only spoke a little Spanish when our host mom spoke absolutely no English. At first it was a little awkward because we didn't know what to say since our language skills were limited but then her 7 year old daughter came out to meet us and she was about fluent in English! Compared to the other families I heard about, we were super lucky that our host sister was able to relay our words back to her mom and vice versa. In a way it was kind of unfair because Lauren and I didn't have to try and understand the mom, we just had Johanna saying everything back to us. But in a way I think we were extremely lucky because if Johanna hadn't been translating, we would have never gotten to hear some of Edith's stories about living in Costa Rica. It was a very small house and the layout wasn't at all what I was used to but it definitely helped me to understand how people that lead a simple life, also lead a happy one. Edith treated her children with so much love and tenderness and they also treated her the same. The good she made us was amazing and always so fresh... She was even accommodating to the fact that we wanted nothing to do with rice and beans after we had had so much of that at UGA. Even though we didn't get to stay long, I felt like Lauren and I definitely created a relationship with this family even though our cultures have so many differences. But that's the thing about meeting new people in different cultures... If you can learn to communicate in the same way, then you create a bond that no amount of country boundaries can separate.

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  12. Initially, I was really nervous about my homestay because my Spanish is less than impressive and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to communicate with my family. I found out that I was paired with Heather and she knew more Spanish than I so that calmed my nerves a little. I arrived at my host family's house and at first I felt extremely awkward. My host mom was really sweet but couldn't speak any English and talked really fast. Heather was able to translate a lot for me and I was grateful for that! When my host brother, Jorje Mario showed up, I was much more relaxed. I feel like he was extremely accepting and being able to play legos with him helped us make a connection. He was also learning some English and I helped him some with that as he helped me with my Spanish. My host father spoke a little English as well. My mom asked if we wanted to go to Zumba with her at the community center and I really enjoyed that time that we didn't have to talk. Dinner was amazing but afterwards, I felt a little uncomfortable because I couldn't hold an intelligent, adult conversation with my host mom or dad. The sleeping situation wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! My bed was pretty comfortable and although the room had a lot of bugs, it could have been much worse! Unfortunately, I was unable to get any hot water so my showers were taken at UGA. Breakfast was delicious both mornings and I also was able to attend Jorje Mario's soccer practice on Saturday and game on Sunday! I also helped my family build a biodigester on Saturday evening which helped pass the time. Overall, I enjoyed the opportunity to be completely submerged in the culture of Costa Rican people. Even though I was out of my comfort zone, I feel I learned more about them and myself through the experience.

    Tiffany Hales

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  13. When I initially found out this trip included a homestay experience, I was really excited. However, as the time grew close, I felt nervous. I felt particularly nervous after we received our homestay assignments and I was alone. There were a couple of reasons for my unease. For one, just for the fact that I was going to stay in a stranger's home for two nights. Secondly, because they likely speak little to no English and I speak very little Spanish. I resided with Sylvia, Roy, Axel (13), and baby Alejandro (11 months). Upon arriving at the homestay, I thought the home did not look as bad as some of the ones I had seen already since we've been in Costa Rica. However, my room was VERY small. I felt really awkward at first because Sylvia didnt attempt to communicate very much with me initially. Maybe she was uncomfortable too. Fortunately though, one of my group members, Brittany, was assigned to the home of the sister of the lady who I resided with, which was right next door to my home. So this helped. Also, as I later relayed to Sylvia that I was engaged and had not been able to speak to my fiance in a couple of days, she excitedly informed me that they have internet! I couldnt beleive it. This was a God send. She gladly showed me to the cable where I could connect my computer. I was able to speak to my fiance that night and after that, all was well. I thought, " I'm going to make it. I'll be fine." The first night was still a little awkward. Sylvia pulled out her Spanish/English dictionary and we referenced that quite a bit. I carried on more conversation with Axel than with anyone else. I showed him pictures on my computer and we did the best to bridge the gap between our languages and hold a conversation. I also held and gave attention to the baby which helped to ease the tention a little as well. We had dinner and I volunteered to clean the dishes afterwards. They gladly allowed me to. Everyone turned in early. I felt relieved because I felt I had had enough for one night. The next day, Saturday, was considerably more comfortable. We started the day with coffee and toast with pina jam. This was a welcome change from the rice and beans breakfasts at UGA. Sylvia seemed more friendly and we talked a little more. Then I set back out on the trail for UGA. Upon reuniting with my group members and hearing their stories from their first night, I realized I had gotten lucky and was obviusly living in a luxurious situation, as some students were in homes with lots of bugs and some werent even inside the house, but were in a shed outside with no electricity! I was thankful. After returning back to the home on Saturday afternoon, Sylvia happily greeted me and asked if Iiked pizza. "Si!" I said. She said that we would make it together. I thought this was great. We did make pizza for dinner and it was delicioso! Sylvia's sister and her little boy came over for dinner, and her mother and another sister popped in as well. I interacted comfortably with all of them although there was a lot I did not understand. I was able to understand some. After dinner, I washed the dishes again. The family turned in early again. Obviously, this is their routine. Early to bed, early to rise. On Sunday, we had breakfast again. Then I took some pictures with my family and prepared to head back to UGA to depart. I had prepared some words of appreciation to share with the family with the help of the Spanish/English dictionary. I gave my little speech and they seemed very appreciative of my words. I walked away relieved that I had made it through the experience, but really glad to have had it. It was definitely an experience I will never forget. I feel that I will think of it often as I deal with Hispanic students in the school system.

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  14. I stayed with a family in upper San Luis, down the road from Heather and Tiffany's host family, as well as Caroline's host family. When I arrived, I was greeted warmly with a banana bread dessert and hot coffee, and one of the men in my family and I watched the Atleticó Madrid vs. Real Madrid. I found out quickly how important soccer loyalties are here. After the game I met the young member of the family, Cristel, who is 10 years old and knows lots of English (much to my relief). In the evening I played frisbee with the family, and tag/hide-and-seek with Cristel. The only bad thing about the homestay came when the sun went down. I entered my room and saw that cockroaches were flying, spider webs were sprawling, millipedes were crawling... I massacred as many bugs and spiders as I could before checking my sheets and laying down for the night. I slept with my contacts in and the overhead light turned on because I was afraid of what I would find crawling on me when I awoke. At 4:30 a.m. when I was startled awake by the neighbors' roosters, I sat up to find at least 20-30 small roaches and insects crawling across my "comforter". Not surprisingly, I found it a little tough to fall asleep again, so I started my day early. At 7 I went with my host family's son to soccer practice in bajo (lower) San Luis, which was a lot of fun. That afternoon Cristel and I went over to her friend Laura's house to play tag. Laura happened to be the daughter of Caroline's host family, so we ended up hanging out for the afternoon. After dinner, I went over with Cristel and her grandmother to Heather and Tiffany's host family's house, and we played games and talked on the fornt porch until our eyes became too heavy. The overall experience was one that I will never forget and I am happy to have done, but I can say I am happy to be reunited with our entire group, and I am most excited that I do not have to worry about being eaten by a tarantula in my sleep. If asked do I recommend doing a homestay however, I will say yes; the positives of the homestay far surpass the negatives.

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  15. During my homestay I lived in Alto San Luis with Tiffany and a family that consisted of two parents, Margot and Mario, and their 7 year old son Jorge Mario. I was a little nervous about this homestay prior to arriving because I did not know what to expect, my Spanish is not proficient enough, and I knew it could be very far outside of my comfort level. However, the homestay was a fantastic cultural immersion into what life is like as a Costa Rican living in San Luis/Monteverde.

    When we first arrived the only person home was Margot. Neither Tiffany or myself were proficient enough in Spanish to ask questions or talk during this time, so we awkwardly sat in the living room fiddling our thumbs, looking around their house, and watching television, all the while pretending that it wasn't extremely awkward. After a few minutes would pass Tiffany, myself, or Margot would think of a question to ask, the conversation would hold for a minute or two and then die back down into silence. We were shown around the farm, which houses three giant pigs, six piglets, four dogs, and a plethora of chickens and ducks. When Jorge Mario and Mario arrived home we helped Jorge Mario to put together a Spiderman Lego set, which helped to break the silence. We played with him and then went to Zumba at the Community Center. I did not participate but took lots of photos and videos of Tiffany, Mitchell, and Margaret dancing. Then I went outside and played tag with Jorge Mario and his cousin Pascal. Both knew how to play and even had base, just like we would at home! After we went home and ate dinner.

    That night we laid down to sleep in our room that was added on to the house and outfitted with two single beds and a desk. Tiffany said good night and zonked out. I laid down, cuddled up under the blankets, closed my eyes, and listened to the dog bark, then the thunder and rain outside, then the roosters crowing, and finally the ducks quacking. I was able to sleep a few hours amongst the noise but it was definitely different than at home. It made me think about the difficulties that Costa Ricans or other people of similar living quarters that may move to the city where it is loud in a different way, or the suburbs where it is very quiet might encounter problems. Living in different areas comes with different environmental noises that one must become acclimated towards in order to live comfortably.

    The next day we went to soccer practice in Bajo San Luis, helped build a biodigester for the family we lived with, and ate dinner with the family. On Sunday we were able to attend Jorge Mario's soccer game which was entertaining. The kids all follow the ball around just like little kids who play soccer in the United States do. The were all falling around and playing their little hearts out. Overall the homestays were an excellent experience, I just now wish I knew more Spanish!

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  16. I was really excited to get to my homestay house because I had heard about how awesome it was from students that have been on this trip before. The family that I stayed with had two boys, Miguel age six and Danny age sixteen. Their father and mother, Giovanni and Cristina were great and were very welcoming to both me and Garrett. I was prepared because of the pas stories I had heard and because this was not my first time living in a different house in another country. The only thing that I was nervous about was the language barrier but Danny spoke English and assisted whenever there was confusion between us and the family. Their house was beautiful and had a great comfortable environment. The family was welcoming and let us experience their lives for a couple of days. We played a lot of sports such as soccer, frisbee, and baseball which really helped all of us bond and get to know each other.
    The food that our homestay mother prepared for us was delicious and really gave us insight to the culture and lives that they lead since it was all from their animals and farm. I was really impressed with the interactions that took place between all of us and really enjoyed the homestay experience.
    Before we left Sunday morning, Giovanni let us know that we were welcome in his home anytime we are back around Costa Rica. I hope to keep in touch and that is possible since Danny sent us friend request on Facebook allowing us to send our way wishes and keep up on our homestay family.

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  17. To say the very least, my homestay was certainly an experience, but definitely one that I will never forget. My parents, Paola and Kattia, were absolutely amazing and my two little brothers, Gustavo and Nicolas, were the cutest things ever. Paola and Kattia spoke very little English, but we communicated so well - it was kind of crazy. For the majority of the time during the day, I spent time with Gustavo and Nicolas playing outside with two of their cousins who lived next door. At night, though, Kattia and Paola were home from work so we had more time to hang out and watch television together. Of course it was in all Spanish, but, surprisingly, we were able to react to what was happening and communicate that way.

    Prior to the visit, I was extremely nervous and knowing that I was going to be there by myself did not make it any better. I do not speak very much Spanish and the things I do know are not very formal. I had no idea what to expect walking in, but after meeting my family and seeing how much they actually wanted to communicate with me, my nerves calmed down a lot. It made me realize how big of a misconception I have of communication. The only form of communication is not talking at all and it showed me how important it is to rely on my instincts rather than strictly relying on my voice to communicate with people.

    Looking back, it is so funny to see how awkward I was at first. I am pretty sure my answer to everything they said the first night was "que?!" - the Spanish word for what. However, I can see how well it helped me form a bond with my family. They made me feel like I was right at home with them and they welcomed me in as if I was their own family. Leaving on Sunday was actually bittersweet. They will never know how much of an impact they had on me as a person, but I'm sending them a token of appreciation when I return home tomorrow. Can't wait to keep in touch with them!

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  18. I had no idea how eye-opening my homestay would be. For starters, I was especially happy to be staying with another student...but not so excited when I walked inside and the family did not speak English. All I could think was "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I know VERY little Spanish...what am I going to do?" It was then that their six year old daughter walked out and started speaking to us in proper English that I sighed a breathe of relief.
    My family lived in a little house in Monteverde. There was a gated fence at the entrance and flowers everywhere. Their home was very beautiful. However, it was still a bit different than homes in America. There was no air conditioning, no hot water, and spiders climbing on the wall was apparently no big deal. As a gift, I gave my homestay family one of my favorite childhood games, Chutes and Ladders, and I got especially lucky since the kids were only four and six. We played that a few times and it broke some of the initial awkwardness.
    For dinner, the mom had me in the kitchen cutting up tomatoes, onions, avocado, cilantro, and limons for pico de gallo and we ate that on top of a homemade tortilla with refried beans and chicken. We also had chocolate cake for dessert and coffee.
    After dinner I was really surprised when the mom told me her older son was in college in Tennessee and that he would be graduating next year. For some reason it just said a lot to me that a Costa Rican kid from the countryside had made the necessary steps to travel to the US to study.
    That night was rough, though. I couldn't sleep because all I could imagine was spiders or beetles crawling on me or my pillows...
    The next morning at breakfast we had a feast of french toast, eggs, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, bananas, and coffee. The mom took us out to the farm and had me digging up onions and picking up apples that had fallen from a tree. It made me feel like I was at my grandma's house, outside in the garden sweating while digging and picking.
    After earning our keep, the mom gave us her house key and told us that while we were gone to UGA for lunch and our meeting, she was going to her mom's and wouldn't be back until later...and by later she meant 7pm as I learned.
    The second night was much easier on all of us, the mom had friends over and we ate a type of spaghetti with cheese sauce and played with the kids.
    Saying bye was really hard. In just two days I had already gotten attached to the family. We took tons of pictures and exchanged email addresses so we could add each other on Facebook.
    My homestay made me realize so many things that Americans take for granted. Costa Ricans don't run to Food Lion when they need something, they grow it; they don't complain about the heat and not having air conditioning; they enjoy the simpler things in life, things that Americans have long since forgotten.
    I'm glad that this experience was a part of our Study Abroad Program, if anything it definitely contributed to the "cultural immersion" aspect of the trip.

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  19. For my homestay I had the opportunity to stay with Doña Alicia who was described to me as the matron of San Luis. Upon hearing this I was very excited to learn about the culture of Costa Rica and attempt to remember the three semesters of Spanish I had when I was in a high school. When Mary Jo and I arrived at Doña Alicia's house she greeted us with big hugs and fried plantains and I was instantly in love with my homestay family.
    The first night with our homestay mother we were also introduced to her daughter Zelmira and her 30 chickens that were running around in the backyard, which was an absolute paradise by the way - filled with hummingbirds, blue crowned mot mots, and every other type of bird imaginable. When we first heard our assignment we thought we would be spending a lot of time with Doña Alicia by ourselves, but throughout our three days at our homestay we were introduced to not only her daughter Zelmira, but also 3 of her other children; Manuel, William, and Lorena, four of her grandchildren (one of which spoke English!), and also one great grandchild. Seeing how connected the community of San Luis was through this one woman was an amazing experience and we not only learned from her about Costa Rican culture, but also from a variety of her family who were of all different ages. Doña Alicia also made sure that we were very comfortable and fed and after coming back to UGA for lunch one day in the middle of our homestay and hearing stories my friends were telling me I was truly blessed to have been put with a family that had clearly been participating in homestays for a while.
    A typical day at our homestay consisted of waking up at 5 o’ clock in the morning because several of the roosters were crowing, then helping cook and eating breakfast with the family, then either hanging out with the family or going on the trails that led to the waterfall that students from previous years on this experience actually got to swim in, at night we would help cook dinner and then eat again with Doña Alicia and whichever family member was over visiting at the time. Overall this experience was definitely my favorite part of our time here in Costa Rica and I will never forget the memories made with a family that was so willing to accept a stranger into their home.

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