Wow, this weekend marks the official halfway point of him time here in Buenos Aires. It is unbelievable! I still have 2.5 months left, but I know it will fly by.
One thing I was very nervous about was the fact that my university requires that I live in a homestay. I moved out of my parents house 10 years ago, so the thought of living with surrogate parents was something that left me quite skeptical. Plus, for me moving into a stranger’s home was nerve-wracking. It turns out that it’s a really awesome situation, though, because my host parents have helped me so much since I’ve been here, and since they don’t speak English they are a huge source of practice for my Spanish.
My university uses a company here in Buenos Aires called Visiting Buenos Aires. Before my host family was chosen, I filled out some information about myself, basically asking what type of family I’d be comfortable with (smokers, pets, children), what kind of foods I eat, etc. In January I found out that I’d be living with a couple, Graciela and José. I began emailing back and forth with Graciela, and even though I didn’t feel like I knew her very well, she seemed nice and it was definitely nice knowing that on the day I arrived there was going to be someone there who I’d been talking to.
From the moment I arrived at my building, Graciela was really friendly and super helpful. To be honest, that first day was overwhelming, since I hadn’t slept much on my flight and I suddenly found myself thrust into ALL SPANISH ALL THE TIME!! I hadn’t spoken Spanish for two months at that point, so it was definitely an adjustment. Right away I was given a tour of the apartment, a sube (the card used to ride the public transportation), pesos for my dollars, and a cell phone that a previous student had left behind for me to use while I’m here. I was also immediately given dulce de leche and mate, which was a nice greeting. Soon after, Graciela and I rode the bus to my campus so that I would be able to find my way there for orientation the next day, which was so nice. She gave great directions during the bus ride, pointing out easy to spot landmarks to help me keep track of where I was during the ride.
In my first weeks here, the advice and help I got from Graciela and José was seriously invaluable. Every time I was going somewhere new, like a bar to meet up with other international students, Graciela would show me on my map where it was and explain how to get there, and although I now know how to navigate the city on my own it’s great to know that I have people here to help if I ever can’t figure out where something is. They are great for checking to see if it’s safe for me to walk somewhere at night. They are also good for figuring out confusing things, like, hey, why do I feel like when people say ‘Chino’ they’re talking about a grocery store? Oh, because that’s what they call bodegas here.
I will admit that even though Graciela and José are totally laid back and friendly, this is a weird relationship/living situation and I found it a little difficult to navigate at first. Not even because of them at all, just because of my own personal awkwardness. I wasn’t sure how much time I should spend with them, especially because I’m an introvert I didn’t want to seem anti-social or unfriendly. Especially my first few weeks here, I was totally exhausted by the constant Spanish and learning to navigate such a new situation, so I spent less time with them because I needed a break from the Spanish! After some time I stopped feeling overwhelmed and started feeling more comfortable, and have found a balance of spending time with them (I think, although I still feel anti-social sometimes when I come home in the afternoon and they’re here and I hightail it to my room for a siesta). We eat dinner around 9pm every night, so if I’m home I generally spend time in my room in the evening doing homework, chatting with friends on facebook, or reading, and then at 8pm I head out to the living room to hang out and watch TV. That usually give me 2-2.5 hours a day with them which is becoming increasingly valuable as my Spanish improves and we’re able to talk more and more.
The hosties are definitely parent-y on some levels, they are always looking out for me and fussing over me. They remind me to wear sunscreen, ask me every night at dinner if I’m too cold with the sliding door open, and try to get me to eat more food every single night. José has this idea that my feet get cold at night when I’m going to sleep (maybe his feet have been cold at night?) so he has asked me several times if they are, and even though I keep saying no, when he saw the hot water bottle I bought for my black eye he was like “I knew it! That’s to keep your feet warm, right?” If I ever casually mention anything that turns out to be something they could help me with, they go nuts until they have helped me or the thing has passed. For example, I was looking for a rain jacket when I got here and ended up ordering one on Amazon and having Dan bring it, but there was a good three weeks where they kept talking about rain jackets (even after I explained that one was on the way). I think this is a cultural thing, because Argentines in general seem to like to go out of their way to help people. That being said, they don’t try to control me or anything like that. There’s no curfew and there aren’t many rules except for things like I can’t have people over without making sure it’s okay first. I’m very independent (maybe stubborn is a better word) in general, but their desire to help me isn’t bothersome, it’s very sweet.
As part of my home-stay, breakfast is provided and dinner is cooked for me every night except for Saturdays. This is really nice, especially on Tuesday and Thursday when I don’t get home from class until around 10pm, although I have to admit I miss cooking and that’s one thing I’m really looking forward to when I go back home. Graciela is a great cook and I always like what she makes, so I really lucked out! I’m also really spoiled because they don’t let me help with the housework (once in awhile I sneak in and help set the table) so I’m probably going to forget how to do all of that by the time I get back.
Another nice thing about this homestay company is that the owners are really nice and they are another source of support for me here. I haven’t spent too much time with them, but I called them when I had my accident and they told me what to do, and they also came to the hospital with me the second time I went which was so nice. They make themselves available to me any time I need them; they told me that I can even call if I’m buying something in the store and want to know if it’s a good price or not. I feel really lucky to have this network of people here in the city to help me out (plus my family friends in Córdoba!), especially because a lot of students came with no place to live and stayed in hostels for the first part of their time here while they looked for housing. Even though that was obviously doable and everyone found housing, I was overwhelmed enough with people helping me at every turn, I can’t imagine how stressful that would have been!
All in all, I am really happy with my living situation. It’s very different than what I’m used to after living on my own for 10 years, and if I had been able to choose I would have chosen to have my own apartment here, but now that I’m living with my hosties I’m so glad that I am. The language practice, help and company are such positive aspects of my time here.
An Iowan Abroad 