The Home Stay Experience

If you study abroad, I beg you to stay with a host family. Immersing yourself, into the lives of people that eat, drink, communicate, etc. in the new culture you have entered is such a key part of the abroad experience.
My time with IGE in San Jose, Costa Rica was phenomenal. One of the greatest parts of my time there was the personal relationship that I developed with my host family. I remember pulling up to the front gates of what was to be my new home for the next 3-4 months. I was excited, nervous, tired, you name the emotion and I probably had some of that in me right then. The house was beautiful. It was small, but very clean and had really interesting architecture too. It was quite different than the sort of hut I had envisioned in my mind when I thought of living in Central America. San Jose is filled with nice homes like this one. The exterior can be a bit intimidating at first, as every house is bordered by tall iron fences, but it offered nearly all of the luxuries of your standard American home.
More importantly than the home itself though, was the incredible family I got to live with. I had a single host mother or Mama-Tica as I liked to call her (Costa Ricans refer to themselves as Ticos) as well as her two children. Daniel, my host brother, was twenty three and a passionate soccer fanatic. Marcela, their daughter was twenty seven. In Latin America the family dynamics are similar in many ways, but quite different in other regards to those in the states. Having children in their late twenties living at home is not at all uncommon. In fact, this would usually be the norm for them until they are married. Marcela did just that. Two months into my stay there, Marcela married and moved to a new apartment. Getting to see a wedding in a new country was incredible. They actually had the wedding in our house. The ceremony was brief, yet elegant. The reception was neither. Ticos certainly know how to have a good time. Participating in experiences like these is what made my time abroad a true cultural immersion.
The food. I can’t say enough about it. Well actually, it really isn’t all that great, but the experience of it house was. Some of my favorite times were sitting around the small kitchen table with the other three, most likely eating rice, beans, and something else. You’ll soon find how much they love rice and beans. It was these times sitting around the table that some of the best conversation had and new perspectives gained. It is a truly priceless experience to be able to sit around and discuss current local and world issues with people from a different country, especially a country as different as Costa Rica. My entire perspective on life and the world itself was changed after my time abroad. We often don’t realize what narrow lenses we have upon us when looking at the rest of the world from the comforts and privileges that we have within the United States. Getting to spend so much time with a Costa Rican family was a huge factor in opening my eyes to a new culture and way of life.
The last thing I’ll mention about a family home stay is the Spanish. If you are at all serious about improving your Spanish then I would encourage you even more so to stay with a family. It forces you to think it and speak all the time at home. That can take a lot of energy sometimes, but trust me, it is well worth the reward of seeing your Spanish and ability to communicate with family and friends increase so drastically. With that said, it is totally upon YOU to take what you want out of the experience. I know some students that had very little interaction with their family, only seeing them in crossing and for a couple of meals a day. Make the effort to get to know the family and show an interest in their lives, the favor will be returned I can assure you. I was fortunate enough to go on several family weekends to the beach with my family. The home stay experience while abroad is a must in my opinion. Besides the Spanish, your eyes will be opened to a new culture, you can gain new perspectives on the world, and make some truly life long friends.
-Travis-