Wednesday, June 27 – Yesterday we arrived in Santa Rosalia and were paired up with our host siblings. I was so, so nervous, even though I had heard good things about our host families. I speak Spanish, so the language barrier wasn’t an issue for me, but I would be staying by myself in a stranger’s house. Who would I talk to? What would we talk about? I knew we would be having breakfast, lunch and dinner cooked by our host mothers, and I am a picky eater; I was afraid that I would not be able to eat or like any of the food. Also, having 3 meals a day is new for me. I usually eat one meal and some snacks during the school day. It was culture shock.
I felt at home when my host brother and I walked to school. Walking to school is something that I also do at home. To calm myself, I listened to music on my phone and also walked outside or looked at the baby chicks.
The typical Paraguayan breakfast is bread and coffee. One day we had tortilla which was eggs and lettuce cooked over a makeshift grill, and it was delicious. For lunch we would have milanesa, thin fried chicken cutlets, rice, boiled mandioca (yucca), sopa (like cornbread but it’s actually a solid soup) and other foods commonly eaten in Paraguay. I haven’t gotten used to eating 3 meals a day and get full really quickly, but I try at least a bite of everything, and eating with my host family eventually became a comfortable experience.
I have grown to love the animals in Santa Rosalia. Many of the homes have chickens for eggs and meat and roosters who cluck at all hours of the day and night; some have pigs, turkeys and peacocks. Parrots and dogs are pets, but many dogs (the pets and the strays) also roam the streets with the chickens, cows and horses. Animals are everywhere, and I love that! I’ve been tempted to take a chick or puppy home to Washington, DC. Binni, one of our teacher chaperones, said I should think about becoming a veterinarian (or at least volunteer at an animal shelter) since I love animals so much.
I have had ups and downs during my homestay, but I’ve surprised myself by getting used to Santa Rosalia and am slowly becoming more comfortable in the small town.
Christopher S., E.L. Haynes Public Charter School