Spanish and Integration

This is going to be a semi-stream of consciousness of thoughts and experiences with my language learning and a little more about my host family.

My first day arriving at my host site with my host family was difficult, yet interesting and rewarding. The biggest challenge has been the language barrier for me. There are many words I obviously do not know which has made it harder to try to relate to the family, but everday I am understanding more and more; and I have only been here for about 3 days so far. Our language classes help immensely because for about 2-4 hours per day we are in deep immersion learning only speaking, writing, and thinking in Spanish. I am finding the classes right now helpful for improving my speech, but not my audiocomprehension which is filled in by virtue of the homestay. This has led me to run into a problem in my host site where, I meet someone new, they think I am better at Spanish than I am when I first speak. Then when they speak, and I have to listen, they become confused when I have a hard time understanding and I have to explain that I am only learning. However, I view this as a good thing overall because starting in this more advanced spot makes my learning journey easier.

I feel I am integrating into mi familia anfitriona well too so far. The family, like the rest of the majority of the community, has their heritage in El Salvador. Last friday we celebrated Mother’s day at the local school where we were fed chicken pupusas (traditional griddle-style El Salvadorian food) nonstop with rice and beans. In this culture the guests are treated very well, better than in the states, and are always fed the best the family has the offer. They are all very nice people, the dad is a farmer and I have been chatting with him and one of the sons about the farm I used to work on. The son even showed me the farm he works on in the foothills of some mountains! In addition to farming he does some contract work around the village and having 2 jobs seems to be common. The kids are all grown up, but there are a good amount of grandkids with varying ages. Last night I was playing with one of the grandsons (I want to say he is 2?), who like all kids, seems to have an endless amount of energy. One of the granddaughters is about 3 years old and very scared of me - the new big guy who has seemingly invaded her space. As my language improves and I can communicate more I am excited to become a more natural part of the family unit, learn their traditional recipes, and further help out with their work if possible!