My Host Family♡

Before meeting my host family there were many questions that I had in mind. What is this family going to be like? Will the kids like me? What if there is a language barrier between the kids and I? The day I arrived in Germany the first person that I met was my host mom. She welcomed me with a nice big hug. As we waited for the train home she bought me a coffee from Starbucks and we talked for the full hour that we waited for the train. At the train station I sat next to this girl who heard me speaking english and asked if I was an exchange student so then I told her what I was here for. Turns out she was an exchange student in Las Vegas, Nevada. So, just from the first hour of being in Germany I felt very welcomed.

Arriving at “The Flat”

Once we got to my host family’s house, there were three posters taped on the door made by the children, spelling out “Welcome Airiel” with cute little drawings. It was such a nice surprise. I walked in the house and my host dad also welcomed me with a hug and conversed with me in english. After they showed me my room they gave me a little tour of the flat and showed me where everything was. With this host family, I got lucky because my host parents both know english really well. For the children, not so much. In the beginning the two boys were a little shy, but mostly the younger one. As it got later in the day, the boys were becoming less shy. Within my first two days here, all my questions were answered. The family is very welcoming and are trying their best to make me feel like I’m at home; always offering me something to drink or eat and trying their best to make sure I’m comfortable in my new home.

Today I can officially say that the kids like me! Yay! This evening while my host mom was making dinner, I sat in the playroom with the two boys putting a puzzle together. The younger one was handing me puzzle pieces and speaking full out German like he thought I knew what he was saying which was so cute but also so sad at the same time because I wish I could have spoken it back to him. But that didn’t stop me from trying. I would say the few words I know like “da” which means “there” as I pointed to a puzzle piece that filled a specific space. And with the older one, I would ask him a question in German like “what is katze?(German word for cat)  in english” and he would sit their trying to think until I would tell him the right answer. So little things like this are a way that I communicate with them. I have found that even though I can’t speak their language now, it doesn’t stop us from having fun or playing with each other.

I can be pretty shy at times and that’s something I was worried about when coming here, but it really hasn’t been too bad for me and I can feel myself starting to open up more to this family. So overall, I’m happy to say that my journey has had an amazing start and I’m excited for all the new and wonderful things to come.