I am not really in a good mood so this will be a short update. I had a pretty awesome weekend- went salsa and cumbia dancing on Thursday with my friend Holly, which was so incredibly fun, Ecuadorian guys are awesome. I did more or less nothing Friday after waking up quite late, recovering from said night out and going to sleep early because on Saturday I had a stupid class trip. We are required to take a class for Beloit, and I hate it. I had a rule that I wasn't going to write anything specifically negative on this blog, but I don't care if someone from the OIE/the prof reads it- it sucks, it's not related to what I am interested in; it is worthless, the trip was annoying. Plus she expected us to walk around Quito and hike a little bit without eating for 6 hours. Nice.
Anyway, I can deal with one class I hate... have done it before. Saturday night I went out to a club which was so, so, so much fun. It was a girl's birthday party and I didn't know her but I knew other people there and we danced and drank and it was great. Yesterday I hung out with my friend Ali here and we had a delicious dinner at Crepes & Waffles, a restaurant that specializes in said items.
I am kind of down because I have been feeling really uncomfortable in my homestay and I am thinking about switching families. It's weird stuff- this morning my host mom kind of yelled at me for having coffee AND cereal for breakfast (um, what?) and I explained to her that I usually eat AND drink in the morning and she seemed fine with it, but I feel so uncomfortable in the kitchen. I usually eat around 7:30, and today some neighbors were over and she didn't say anything but I just didn't have dinner- at 7:50 I went down to get water and say hi, at 8:10 the neighbors were leaving so I asked her if I could have dinner and she told me to wait, calling me down at 8:40... I'm sorry, but I don't eat at 8:40. I am really hungry at 7:30 and already I never know when I am going to eat; she calls me and I have to stop whatever I'm doing and go. So this evening I was skyping with my friend and they called me and I said I couldn't come and I would heat up my dinner, and I did, and I ate it alone, which was fine, because I really didn't want to talk to them.
This sounds petty, and maybe it is. But I think it's rude for my host parents to make me wait an hour for dinner without telling me; I don't understand why it is a problem to have coffee and cereal- this morning she told me to wake up earlier if I was going to have both because they have a certain routine to the day- WHAT?- and other little things have made me feel uncomfortable here, like I'm always doing something wrong, even though I try so hard to be polite, and I do my dishes and always tell them where I'm going and everything. Honestly sometimes I get stressed just leaving my room because I feel like my host mom is going to point out something else I've done wrong. She yelled at me for having a glass in my room. A glass. FOR WATER.
I don't know. So I was upset tonight and therefore have not done any lit reading for tomorrow... wonderful. I will probably delete this post relatively soon. I am happy and these are minor occurrences but I don't really feel comfortable here and don't know if I should spend the rest of the semester here. Tomorrow I am going to a bar to watch the soccer game, which should be fun. Plus I won't eat here.
Ciao :-/
i'm shitty at this
14 years ago
4 comments:
aw kim! sorry about your homestay. i really think they are hit or miss. try to make it work, but if it's too painful i would just request a new family. it isnt worth it to stay and suffer!!!!!
I'm sorry, dear. :( I hope things start looking up soon. If not, you should definitely look into moving - don't let it ruin your entire semester.
Kim! I'm so sorry to hear about the shitty homestay. Things will be better. I mean, there are neurotic parents that insist on adopting foster kids. It's really a hit-or-miss (to echo Marta.) I hope things get better. The coffee and cereal bullshit is so lame.... Whatever, yo. It's your study abroad. :) You do your own shit. <3 Love and miss you- talk to you soon!
Kim, I think you're probably just going through a rough period with your homestay. Adjusting to a new culture is always going to be difficult, especially when you're living in someone else's home. But you'd probably have misunderstandings anywhere you lived, so moving doesn't solve anything. Just talk to your host mom about it; you both need to understand and respect the other's needs and expectations.
If you're still frustrated in a week or so, maybe it's a good idea to try another place. But don't be so quick to think that just because you switch families you won't have misunderstandings.
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