Language Barrier

Often times we watch movies where someone is thrown into an uncomfortable or strange situation. We laugh at how we wouldn’t do the same actions as them and act more “normal,” but the fact is you never know unless you’re in that situation. I would say staying with a host family counts as being thrown in a different environment. I love talking to people and learning more about others so adapting to a host family in Madrid was not hard for me but not everyone is as lucky.

A piece of advice I give my friends who aren’t as acclimated to the host family setting is to find similarities. In order for people to connect, we rely on similar experiences and small similarities we hold. Communication is the backbone of any relationship. We all aren’t excelled at speaking Spanish and our host families know that. The main thing is to put in the effort. For example, one of my first conversations with my host mom was about her favorite hobbies and pastimes. From observing the photos on her wall, I noticed that she was a ballerina and liked to dance. When I asked her about it, she told me how she used to teach ballet and danced her whole young life. It was something she held near and dear to her heart. After hearing this, I shared my own love of watching musicals, dances, and any shows. Because these are skills I don’t hold, I enjoy watching others share their passion through art, music, and dance.

A week after this conversation, she told me and my roommate that she had three tickets for all of us to go see Billy Elliot, the musical. It was a wonderful time and such a great experience to listen and watch a musical in Spanish. Although some parts were very fast and hard to understand, I was able to use context clues to figure out the storyline. I am so happy I shared with my host mom some of my likings and related to her as well. If I never told her about me liking musicals and shows, we probably wouldn’t have gone to the musical. Don’t build a wall around yourself just because you don’t know the language, communication, and body language is key. With our high-tech smart devices and google translate, there is no reason to feel divided.

Do you have any advice for staying with a host family?

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#hostfamily #studyabroad #spain #billyelliot