The first 10 days of my homestay were incredible. They were filled with laughter (mostly at my lack of ability to speak Spanish), and I both taught and learned a lot. I taught my sisters Italian and English and in exchange they taught me Spanish and Quechua. I think some of the most important things I learned were responsibility, self – sufficiency, and that it´s ok to make mistakes (no matter how frequent). There were many embarrassing moments – asking my 13 year old host sister how to wash my clothes was up there – but it definitely helped me become more independent. I learned how to cook and prepare meals, hand wash my clothes in the sink, and wash dishes without a dishwasher – all skills I had never needed before but now ones I felt proud to be able to accomplish, I feel less reliant on others (and technology) for simple tasks.
The benefit of a homestay is becoming part of a family. I didn´t just hang out in my room and sit and wait for meals. I helped cook, I worked alongside my sisters in the store, I came home to feed the cows and cut plants in the yard. My two sisters (13 and 15) came home from school at 1:00 and from then on more or less ran the house. It was very different from the culture I grew up in, sure I had chores, but my mom somehow managed to do almost everything while still taking care of my brother and I, but here it was almost the opposite. The responsibility made me more aware of my impact on my surroundings and how much I could help with little things every day (or big things) if two girls younger than me could run an entire household.
