
Me encanta mi señora. Ella es muy generosa y
agradable. Ella siempre sonríe y hace chistes, aunque yo no entiendo a veces.
Nos gusta ver Pasapalabras y Lo Sabe y No Lo Sabe en la televisión.
En el almuerzo y la cena, charlamos sobre cosas cotidianas. ¡Me gustan todas
sus comidas también! Mi favorito hasta ahora es jamón con garbanzos, pollo y
otras verduras. Me ofrezco a ayudar a preparar la cena, pero ella no lo
permite. Sólo puedo poner la mesa y preparar las bandejas para el almuerzo y la
cena. Lava mi ropa cada día también. He pensado ya en el día que la tendré que
abandonarla. Me siento triste, pero quiero disfrutar del tiempo que tengo con ella.
Desearía que a veces hablara más despacio para mí, porque no entiendo todo el
tiempo. Me siento bendecida por tenerla como mi mamá española. Ella me llama su
hija, niña, su corazón. Ella es mi familia.
I love my host mother. She
is very generous and nice. She always smiles and jokes with me albeit I do not
understand her sometimes. We like to watch TV game shows together,
“Pasapalabra” and “Lo Sabe No Lo Sabe.” At lunch and dinner time, we chat about
everyday things. I like all your meals too! My favorite so far is a chickpea
soup, chicken and other vegetables. I offer to help her with preparing dinner,
but she does not let me. I am only allowed to set the table and prepare the
trays for lunch and dinner. She also washes my clothes every other day. I have
starting to think about the day I have to leave Spain. It makes me feel sad
because I enjoy my time with her. I wish she would sometimes speak more slowly
because I cannot understand her all the time. I feel very blessed to have her
as my Spanish mother Spanish. She calls me her daughter, her girl, her heart.
She is my family.
Amelia
Anderson
Indiana
University

No tengo nada malo que decir sobre mi familia. Yo
amo a mi familia española. Mi madre siempre me pregunta si quiero comer algo
más, y ya estoy llena de comida. Como muy bien cada día y me encanta. Me ayuda
también con ir al banco para recibir más dinero o prestarme una maleta pequeña
para el viaje a Asturias. Mi hermanito es fantástico y me encanta jugar al
ping-pong con él. Me siento muy feliz con todo.
I have nothing bad to say
about my host family. I love my Spanish family! My mother always asks me if I
want to eat something more even though I'm full of food. I eat really well
every day and I love it. My Spanish
mother also helps me to go to the bank for more money and has lent me a small
suitcase for our weekend trip to Asturias. My Spanish brother is also great, I
love playing ping pong with him. I am very happy with everything.
Catherine
Kuecker
University
of Wisconsin Madison

Me gusta mi familia mucho.
Son muy acogedores. Mi madre es muy agradable, y se asegura de que
yo tenga suficiente comida. Me gusta la comida, mi madre es una buena
cocinera. Mi hermana tiene mis mismos años más o menos, y me ayuda con mi
español y ofrece ayuda con tarea. Mi madre y hermana me prestan su ropa,
lo cual es bueno. Mi padre habla mucho conmigo, sobre los EE.UU. entonces
mis conversaciones con él son muy interesantes. Mi madre tiene un gran
familia que vive en Alcalá también, entonces les conocí a otros personas de su
familia. En general ha sido una gran experiencia hasta ahora. No
hay problemas :)
I love my home stay family
very much. They are very welcoming. My Spanish mother is very nice and makes
sure that I have enough food. I like her food, my mother is a good cook. My
Spanish sister is very close to my age and she helps me with my Spanish. She also offered to help me with my homework.
My Spanish mother and sister also let me borrow their clothes, which is kind.
My host father talks a lot to me about the U.S. so my conversations with him
are very interesting. My mother has a large extended family living in Alcala
and I have gotten to know other people in my home stay. Overall it's been a
great experience so far.
Rachel
Johansen
Indiana
University

Me
encanta Gema. Porque ella es muy joven, podemos hacer cosas juntas. Nosotras
fuimos al cine juntas, y asistimos a un concierto con una de sus amigas. Como
yo tengo un descanso entre mis dos clases (de 11,30h-15,30h) yo regreso a la
casa mientras ella no está allí. A mí me encanta un poco de tiempo libre para mí
misma en el apartamiento y hacer mis tareas. Por la noche siempre cenamos
juntas, hablamos o vemos una película. Pasamos tiempo con su novio, Igor, que
es simpático. Gema tiene mucho que contar sobre todos sus viajes a otros países
por el mundo. Siento que yo no pueda decirle cosas importantes, y pedirle ayuda
con mis tareas de clase. Gema me corrige mi gramática y me gusta porque
me ayuda a aprender, pero a veces es difícil cumplir un pensamiento propio
cuando estoy pensando cómo prevenir errores. Estoy contenta
con mi familia.
I love my Spanish host, Gemma. Because she is younger we can do things
together. We went to the movies and a concert together with one of her friends.
Because I have a break between my two classes (from 11:30 am-3:30 pm) I return
to the house while she is not there. For me, I like a bit of time to myself in
the apartment for exercise, etc. In the evenings, we always eat dinner
together, chat or watch a movie. We spend time with her boyfriend, Igor, who is
friendly. Gemma has much to tell of all your trips to countries around the
world. I feel that I can share important things with her and ask for help with
my homework. Gemma corrects my grammar a lot, which I appreciate because it
helps me to learn, but sometimes it is a little disheartening because I'm not
able to get through what I'm saying. I am happy with my home stay.
Lauren Linder
University of Iowa

Orientation Friday afternoon was spent eating lunch (which is a 3 o'clock meal here) and dinner (which is a 9 or 10 o'clock meal) with a small siesta in between. Saturday was a whole new story... Waiting so long to meet them made us all very nervous, as we were not given any information whatsoever about our families before that day. During orientation we were given a photo and description of our family as well as the address of their home in Alcala. After much anticipation, I found out that my host family would consist of a single mom named Matilde and her16-year-old daughter named Eva. I have to say that I was very open-minded coming into the experience of living with a Spanish family, but I definitely was blessed to be placed with this one. They are both pretty talkative which is difficult for me to keep up with right now, but it will definitely help me to learn. Matilde works at the Universidad de Alcala de Henares which is where I go to school. She is a very sweet woman and I really appreciate how patient she is with my limited abilities in Spanish. She is a very good cook and prepares all three meals for us every day. Eva is very smart and spends a lot of time studying. She is a dancer which I think is really awesome, and she attends modern dance classes across the street from our building. Like me, she loves taking photos and said that she would help me to better understand my camera and help me improve my photography skills. Matilde said that they have hosted students for close to 8 years and that she got involved with the exchange program because she didn't really want Eva growing up as an only child. It sounds like they have really enjoyed doing this, and I am really glad to not be the first student they have hosted.
Their apartment is really great, and I am very comfortable here because it is so inviting. We live on the 12th floor which is the very top, and the view from my window is gorgeous. I'm not facing the historic district of Alcala where all of the interesting architecture and plazas are, but I can see small mountains in the distance, and I love being able to see the "everyday life" of Spain happening outside my window. My most favorite parts in el piso (our house) are the little pieces of art all over. Matilde has A LOT of books, and they cover any empty space that might have ever been. There is also a pencil drawing of Matilde done by one of her friends and a painting of Eva as a young girl that I just love amongst many other treasures. The home just has so much character, and I am really thankful that they have welcomed me here.
Katherine Schlimm
Indiana University