Student Takeover: Host Family Day!

This blog post is written by Sonora Goel about her experience on Host Family Day.

Host Family Day!

So instead of spending the day with CIEE I spent the whole day with my host family. This morning me and my roommate were able to sleep in, and left around 11:30AM. Today we were going to spend the day at Ana (my host mom’s) parents' house, and meet all her family and do lunch. It was a little bit of a drive, but once we had gotten there, we were in awe of the beauty. Their casita style beach house was overlooking the most amazing view in Palma. Once we had gone inside we were accompanied by Ana's parents, they were unbelievably sweet and so curious about American culture. Not only was I able to learn more about local living in Palma, but was also able to spread my American knowledge.

We had gotten there a bit earlier than the rest of their family, so we were able to explore the property a bit and stand in awe of the unrealistic view and amazingly perfect weather. After, the rest of their family came. Our host mom is one of 7 siblings, and they all have kids so it was a full house of 22! We were able to meet them and they were all so nice and welcoming to their family home, which definitely put my nerves to ease. While I was trying to have a conversation with Ana’s mom, she mentioned I sounded like i had an English accent rather than an American one, and that was the first time I was ever told I had an accent, haha. I also feel like my Spanish fluidity has gotten better as well while talking with them all, and discussing how America teaches Spanish from Mexico rather than Spain. We all hung out by the pool for a while playing games, and then the best part was ready.

While we were playing outside, the uncles of the family were getting lunch together in the garage. I started to smell the aroma of the fresh paella as I walked through the kitchen. A sizzling pan 5 times the size of a normal kitchen pan, was a atop a grill cooking away. My mouth nearly started to drool. We helped set the table and got ready, and then paella was served! Paella is a traditional Spanish dish that typically consists of rice, saffron, seafood, chicken, etc., and is a staple in most families here. We all sat together at the table, and I felt like part of the family eating the most amazing home cooked dish. After the paella lunch, we had dessert... this is not typical in American culture however in Spain lunch is the biggest meal of the day, so yes to dessert! Lemon sorbet and fresh cherries were the only thing that could’ve made lunch better.

Later after the table was cleaned, it was siesta time. Everyone was tired and found a place to take a nap. I laid outside on a chair by the pool, soaking up the Mallorca sun, enjoying the breeze and feeling very very full. Two hours later, everyone is awake and the games are back on! We all went back outside, played ping pong, fútbol or ‘soccer’ and fooseball. When the sun was setting, it was time to go home, we said our goodbyes and were so grateful to everyone for treating us like family! Today was amazing and felt so culturally immersive. It was so nice to enjoy Mallorca from a locals perspective and enjoy their unmatched food.

Authored by: Sonora Goel