Aero: Patricia Wallace – Costa Rica 2013 – Family Life
Aero: Patricia Wallace – Costa Rica 2013 – Family Life
Aero: Patricia Wallace – Costa Rica 2013 – Family Life
Living with a host family was a very unique aspect of this trip. I had the opportunity to live with the wonderful Mayra for sixteen days. If you imagine the most motherly and caring woman you know, multiply that by two and you would get Mayra. Her older son, Pedro, lives with his ten year old daughter, Maria, in the apartment above her house. Mayra’s daughter moved out and was married the first week Kay and I arrived to Costa Rica. We were astonished how she moved out of her room and got married on the same day! In the U.S. women get their hair and nails on the big day, instead of moving their bed to another house.
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Our daily routine started off with a knock on our bedroom and a “buenos dias” an hour before we had to leave for the day. A half hour later, Mayra would come in to tell us that breakfast was ready. After eating, we sent off with a hug and kiss, plus a reminder to bring our “chaqueta” (jacket). When we returned she would always ask how our days was, while being greeted with another hug. Kay and I would show Mayra pictures of the sights we saw and do our best to describe everything in Spanish. It was a very similar feeling to being home when I was younger. My mom would wake me up, holler upstairs when breakfast was ready, than ask me about my day when I got home.
The only challenge about living with Mayra was the language barrier. Kay and I knew very limited Spanish and Mayra knew no English, therefore creating a confusing environment at times. However, despite this set back we feel in love with Mayra just as she strongly cared for us. When we would sit down and have a conversation it involved using the dictionary, writing words down, acting, and showing pictures. Pedro knew some English because he grew up in New York. When he wasn’t working it was great to have him home because we could ask him how to translate a phrase to fill Mayra in on a story we had for her. The day we left them at the airport I knew the language barrier had no effect on our close relationship with our host family. Mayra and Pedro told us to always remember them and that they loved us; needless to say, there were tears shed by both of us.
– Patricia Wallace
The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
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