We arrived in Guatemala last Tuesday, January 25th. Thursday night was our first night with our host families. My host family is big - parents, 2 host sisters, a host brother, a cousin, an uncle and aunt, and a grandma, and some pets as well. I´m the 10th person, so the house feels quite full when everybody´s there. We spend all of our time there, and they rent a room down the street that I share with my my mom and 2 sisters. We´re hardly there except to sleep.
It has been an interesting experience, and I´m learning a lot from my host family. They are very patient with me, have showed me great hospitality, and have adopted me as one of their own. I´ve shared in many family activities with them - I´ve gone to church with them, shared many meals, made tortillas, watched movies, gone to the store, and participated in nightly family meetings of prayer, singing, and reading the Bible. Best of all, they´re willing to repeat or rephrase Spanish for me if I don´t understand, or teach me what I don´t know. No one in the house speaks English, more than a few words. It´s hard sometimes, but it will definitely help my Spanish!
Spanish has been going well for me, and I´m enjoying learning more. I´ve had many conversations with my host family already. I usually can´t say exactly what´s on my mind because my vocab isn´t that great yet, but I can get my point across.
The best times, though, are when language doesn´t matter. I can laugh along with them, or share a smile. I probably don´t understand their jokes or what is funny to the same extent as them, but I can still share a smile or laugh.
Secretly, though, I love their dog Spike. He may come when called or be quiet when they tell him to be (sometimes), but he doesn´t speak Spanish or always understand what´s going on...just like me!
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