Living Conditions

I gave everyone a preview of what my Host Mom would be like but now after living with her for a few days, I can tell you a little more.

I'm really excited that I did a homestay because I have been able to practice my spanish a lot more than the students who are in the residence halls, who have a single or are rooming with another American study abroad student. My host mom, Carman, is really nice. She reminds me of a grandma. She has this electric blanket that she puts over her and she sits in front of the TV and watches the news and knits. She loves to cook me a lot of food and she's always like you need to eat more. And she's always shoving fruit down my throat (not literally...haha). Her cooking is amazing though! I've got to try all these traditional Spanish foods like tortilla con patatas, tortilla con queso, croquettas, and some sort of female bull meat which reminded me of like meatballs. A tortilla is not a typical mexican tortilla. It is an omelet which anything in it so patatas are patatos and queso is cheese. I liked it a lot more with cheese but its very yummy. The croquettas are these little fried balls with really anything in them. I had them with ham and i think almost like mashed patatoes. But they can come with cheese, fish, and many other things in the middle. They are delicious though! So I'm being fed very well, where the residence hall food I've heard is worst than Mary Wash food. Students say they are going to starve while they are here because the food is so terrible! I on the other hand will be no where close to starving.

Carman doesn't speak any English which isn't that big of a deal, but there is definitely a lot of moments of her telling me something and me just nodding and going "si, si." She likes to talk a lot which is great so I can practice my conversation skills, but there is a lot of room for improvement to be made. It is nice because she is really patient and can usually understand my gestures and horrible grammar, haha. She's also really understanding if I want to go out with my friends or out to eat with them. It is just a great situation!

Also, she has a sobrina, which is niece in spanish, who is 4 years old. I think Carman is more like a great aunt but she just calls her sobrina. Her sobrina, Miriam, is very cute though. She comes over on Wednesdays for a few hours after school. Carman gives her a snack and bathes her before her mom comes to get her. Miriam has a lot of energy and loves to talk. We ended up dancing around the living room at one point to her favorite spanish music. It was great fun!

So, the living conditions are great. I have a nice size room with a good size closet, that feels very empty. And I have my own bathroom which is nice. But I feel that it was all made for people who are 5 feet tall though. The toilet almost bumps right into the tub so I don't know how I'm suppose to sit straight on it because my legs don't fit between the tiny space. And my bed is short but it is ok because I like to hang my feet off the bed but it is also very low to the ground. The apartment is a great space for two people. It is a great situation! Now, I just need to go around Algorta and find the beach. All I have seen of it is the walk from the metro stop to the apartment which is about 2 blocks! But I still have 4 months.