Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – Family Life
Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – Family Life
Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – Family Life
Family life in Alajuela, Costa Rica was so very different from that in the United States. My host family consisted of my host father, mother, their 3 year old daughter, and her 15 year old son. The first night after arriving was the most shocking. My roommate and I were picked up from the airport and since it was late we got a quick tour, we were shown to our room, and that was it. I wasn’t sure what to expect so being thrown into a strange house so quickly was a lot to process.
The next morning was the first time I saw his wife and the first time I really got a feel for their daily lives. Our host mother was up super early every morning. She would make us breakfast then serve us but she never ate with us. Stephanie and I ate together alone some days but most of the time we were joined by our host father. We were surprised how the roles that we would consider old fashioned in the US were standard in our home in Alajuela. Every morning our host father would take his time getting ready upstairs while his wife prepared his meal and served his place at the table. When he was ready he would come and join Stephanie and I to eat at the table. When we all finished he would stand up and go to collect his things for the day. On the first day Stephanie and I tried to bring our plates out to the kitchen but our host mother stopped us from doing so. After we would eat she would clear all of the places and bring them to the kitchen. After doing all this she would then go get ready for the day. It was odd to us that the male and female roles were strict and a lot like they used to be in the US. Dinners were very similar but most days our host father, mother, and their three year old daughter would join us.
See The Flickr Gallery!
The language barrier that we experienced in our family life was sometimes difficult. Our host father spoke good English where our host mother spoke little to no English. Speaking with her was sometimes challenging but we always seemed to figure out what each other was saying. One day she told us not to be shy or embarrassed when trying to speak with her. She said that she doesn’t know much English so there is nothing we should be worried about and to just speak even if we make mistakes. This was comforting to hear because it mad us feel better about trying to communicate with her. Every night at dinner was where we would speak with her most. She would try to ask us simple questions about home. It was nice that our host father was there because he could help us translate if we didn’t understand. Their three year old daughter also didn’t speak any English. I found that it was much easier to communicate with her in Spanish than any adult. Most of the time she would bring her dolls into my room and Stephanie and I would play with her for hours. We found that simple words like the colors, “hello”, “goodbye” or “baby doll” was all that needed to be said for us to get along. It was interesting to see the difference between communicating with adults and communicating with a child.
There home was very different from mine and the other homes that I see in the US. There home was very narrow like most homes in Costa Rica. Their home was conjoined with both neighbors. Although it didn’t look like a large house they had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The reason for this is because the houses are taller rather than wider. They had three stories one consisting of their garage, the second of the main living area, and the third of the bedrooms. Seeing the difference in structurally how Costa Ricans live was interesting. Another thing that took me by surprise when living in a home in Alajuela was the bugs that I encountered. There were many cockroaches in the bathroom and also unfortunately in my bedroom. They often leave the doors wide open during the day, even when they are gone. Since their houses are secured by tall fences and barbed wire this allows them to do so. This also allows bugs to come into the house. I wasn’t used to seeing these bugs all over but after a while I got used to it. In the beginning I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t a big deal to them but after two weeks I can understand how it would become normal to encounter these bugs.
My family life in Costa Rica was a very interesting and exciting experience. If we had stayed in hotels, which cater to Americans, I don’t think we would have gotten the same experience that we did. Being thrown right into the daily lives of people in Alajuela really immersed us into the Spanish culture which was one of the main objectives of our trip.
– Meghan Kelly
The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
