Introducing: Host Mom

So since I’ve neglected to do this earlier, I’d like to introduce you to my host mom. Her name is María Jesús, and she’s 70 years old. I believe she’s a widow, but I haven’t asked (I didn’t know if it would be indelicate to do so, so I decided to play it safe). And she has one daughter – who I have met and who is super nice – and one son, both of whom are married and in their 40’s. Her daughter lives here in Pamplona (as far as I can tell) and her son lives in the Canary Islands. María Jesús also has three grandchildren, who are all her son’s children.

She and I live together in a two-bedroom, one bathroom piso with a balcony, a nice living room, and the tiniest kitchen I’ve ever seen! Our piso is great – the décor is beautiful, and it’s just the right size for two people. The only thing that could make it better is if I could get internet here without spending my life savings, but one can’t have it all.

Anyway, I love living with my host mom! She’s a great surrogate mom, and she even reminds me of my grandma sometimes. She’s done so much to make my transition and my life here easier. When I first got here, she told me the things I needed to know and do just a little bit at a time, which was great because it made things feel much less overwhelming. And the first night I was here, she put her hand on my shoulder and said, “It’s all right, I’m going to be like your mom while you’re here, so you don’t have to worry.” That made me feel a lot better, since I was feeling pretty out-of-sorts at that point.

Also, she really likes to have things neat and tidy (Mom, the two of you would get along well, I think :-P) and she shows me how she likes things to be done. I try to do things the way she shows me, but I think I’m still getting the hang of it. :-) However, she does a lot of stuff for me – like making yummy meals every day and washing my clothes. It’s been so nice not to have to worry about that stuff! It has taken me a little bit to get used to someone coming into my space and moving things around, but I can’t complain, because I don’t have to clean!

My host mom is very mother-ish, but that’s kind of nice in a lot of ways. She was joking with me some about her being too “pesado” (which roughly translates to “smothering,” I think), because she’s always telling me that I need to wear more clothes and be safe and stuff like that, but it’s sort of nice to be mothered a little more for a while, so I don’t really mind. She’s always trying to make sure that I have what I need and that I’m not too hot or too cold or too hungry. And she’s really good about letting me hang out with friends and not expecting me to be back at certain times, etc. She made sure to warn me to be careful with the wine, though – “Es muy fuerte, toma solo un poco!” (It’s really strong, just drink a little bit!). And she makes sure that I know how to get where I’m going so I don’t get lost. On the first day that I went to the university here, she rode the bus with me to make sure I got there all right. Her help is the main reason that I know anything about the bus system, and she’s always willing to tell me directions to where I need to go if I ask.

Another nice thing is that she knows that I’m learning Spanish, so she makes a point of helping me practice by talking to me, asking me questions, and telling me the words for things. She often checks to make sure that I’m following her, and says, “Did you understand? Tell me what I just said.” She probably thinks I’m a little slow :-P – I have a hard time understanding her sometimes – but she’s really patient and is always willing to repeat herself, since she knows I’m still working on my Spanish.
So basically, I’m so blessed to have such a great host mom! I’m really glad to be living with her. I honestly don’t know if I could have made it this long here without her! I’m so thankful to God for putting great people like my host mom in my life.