La vida Española

The Stanford abroad program in Madrid is strictly home-stay, meaning that every student who comes from Stanford is placed with a Spanish family, either by his or herself or paired with another Stanford student. Each student fills out a living preferences form to discuss eating habits, family structure preferences, etc., much like the form every one fills out before arriving to Stanford their freshman year to pair them with their roommates. No information about the family is shared with the student until he or she arrives in Madrid, and even then we are only given a name, address, and phone number to contemplate while we travel on our orientation trip. After the 5 days of orientation, we arrived back at the Institute to have dinner with our families for the first time.

Anyone who has been in a romantic relationship knows it can be stressful meeting parents. First impressions can be difficult to navigate under any circumstance - so now imagine attempting to make a good first impression to your soon-to-be parents, in a foreign country (culture shock, anyone?), while required to speak a foreign language. I may have had the language part more or less under control, but I still was apprehensive about meeting my host mother for the first time. Am I dressed appropriately? Will I like her food? What will she think of my nose ring? (Hot topic of winter break)- All of these questions and more plagued me in the moments before meeting her.

Fortunately, my host mother is absolutely wonderful. She has hosted Stanford students for many quarters now and thoroughly enjoys helping students become acclimated to the Spanish culture and lifestyle. She is sweet, attentive, and very caring - assuring and reassuring my own mother back in Texas that she will care for me like if I were her own daughter. (Yes, my 2.5 mothers have already skyped together and bonded quite well)

I can certainly vouch that she feeds us like a true mother would! Spanish mothers can be very insistent on giving you seconds, thirds, snacks, dessert, coffee, tea, fruit - you name it. Additionally, it is considered bad manners in Spain to leave food on your plate, so balancing your physical capacity to eat without being rude to your mother can take a little practice. We were also given a multitude of guidelines that different families expect of their students regarding meals, snacks, and cooking, so I was a bit nervous about surviving the long hours between meals and what exactly my host mom would consider to be "vegetarian" cooking. Would I be eating patatas fritas (basically French fries, which are a staple in Spanish dishes) for every meal? Would I have to resort to buying food at a cafe between meals to satisfy my hunger? I breathed a sigh of relief when my host mother told me she has hosted vegetarian students before (students who were much less flexible than I in terms of vegetarian food choices) and that she herself has been raised to cook dishes that are primarily vegetable based.

Hallelujah! She has turned out to be an AMAZING cook who is very attentive to mine and my roommate's culinary likes and dislikes. She makes healthy, flavorful, vegetable-filled dishes including tortilla Española, eggplant & dates stuffed with goat cheese (amazing!), and homemade paella, just to name a few. My only complaint would probably regard Spanish breakfasts- which are usually coffee and a small croissant or piece of toast. I was raised to eat a hearty breakfast almost every day, but I am slowly becoming accustomed to this new schedule.

The only other notable difference of the Spanish lifestyle are the living spaces. Homes are usually apartment-like spaces because living space is limited. My roommate and I share a room, but there is plenty of space throughout the house for us to study, skype, or simply have some time to ourselves. The bathrooms, however, are absolutely tiny. I have difficulty making a 360 degree turn in my shower - and I fear the day when I have to shave my legs because I honestly don't know how I will maneuver my body to make it work.

All in all, I am learning a great deal about the Spanish culture - through school, conversations with my host mother, radio broadcasts, and casual conversation with other Spanish students. I have a pleasant schedule this quarter (12 units, yeah!) so I look forward to exploring various monuments and historical sites around Madrid and beyond very soon. Here is a preview of some of the things Madrid has to offer:

El Palacio Real

Catedral de la Almudena

I will be updating my Facebook with pictures I have taken, though I am sure you have seen the various photos I am tagged in so far. Also, per request, I will be taking pictures of my school and some other places nearby to give you a picture of where I am living- though maybe not today because it is raining outside (and it was forecast to snow!).

Hugs & kisses!