Gaining A New Family Over 2,000 Miles Away

When I studied abroad, the biggest fear I had before leaving was whether or not I would connect with my host family. I was worried because I knew this initial connection could make or break my experience and emersion in studying abroad.

My host mom, Cristina, was a very sweet widow, and she lived with Zefe, a woman who had worked for Cristina in her early adulthood and had lived with her since. Zefe felt like a second host mom, and I even gained a third host mom in the housecleaner, Ruth, who came every day to help Christina keep the house tidy. There was also another student from a different program staying at the house, and, even though he only stayed a week, it immediately felt like I had gained a brother. I almost immediately felt like I had gained a family, and I was shown so much love from my host moms. 

Every night, we watched TV while eating dinner, although dinner usually was just tea, and we would usually watch a competition show, Exatlón. Zefe supported the blue team, while Cristina and I rooted for the red team. This competition always had us yelling at the TV in excitement. Every other Sunday, we would set up the TV room and have a movie night together before dinner. We always popped popcorn and turned off all the lights to make the TV room feel like a theater. On the Sundays we didn’t have a movie night, I would bake something sweet for my host moms, and we would eat it during dinner. 

Often, Cristina and I would do one on one ‘mom and daughter’ activities on the weekends while Zefe was at her store. She would take me with her on errands to get groceries some weekends, and sometimes we would grab lunch out at a restaurant. We loved grabbing water ice or ice cream too, and we even went to the movie theaters a few times. Christina made chores around the house activities to do together too. I would help her take care of the garden and cook with her to help prepare lunches. After enough time, I was able to cook authentic Mexican food in the same ways that my host mom could, like being able to flip tortillas on the stove with my bare hands. Sometimes we would go on hikes to the mountains or walk around the center where all the shops were. 

I never expected to find a family so far from home, but now I feel that I have a whole new home – in Oaxaca, Mexico.