Polit Family
There are three members of our host family. The father's name is Carlos and he is an accountant. Despite the fact that he does not speak any English, we communicate well and can understand each other almost all the time, with some help from the mother. The mother is Adriana and she is a stay-at-home mom from Colombia. She speaks little English but we communicate well and sometimes use hand motions to describe things. She can usually understand what we are trying to say and she helps us with the words we need. There is also a 12 year old son named Juan Jose, but he goes by Juan Jo. He does not speak English and is usually very quiet and shy. He loves BMX and does it competitively. Additionally, there are two other foreign-exchange students here named Wren and Brooke. They have been studying at the Academia as well and have shown us around the city a bit, especially this weekend. It's nice to have other students in the same house who are sharing our feelings and experiences.
The most prominent form of collectivism that I have noticed within the host family is that we all eat dinner together at the same time. It's not something that I'm used to doing every night, and I feel as if it is normal to eat whatever we make on our own time. I definitely enjoy eating as a family though, because it makes me feel as if we are more of a cohesive group. Individualism is pretty similar to the United States. After dinner, we all go and do our own things like work, sleep, or go out. It's nice to have the time to ourselves and I feel as if having that short designated family time allows everyone to spend the rest of their time as individuals.
Today, a group of us went to explore the Basilica and to walk around the city together. We saw many different shops and people while we were walking. We tried tamales for lunch and discovered that, typically, you are not given a bill, at least in most places. You simply pay when you are done eating when they come around. Taking the bus was funny but was definitely uncomfortable because people try pushing their way on to the bus even if there is no room. Finally, Paige and I went to MegaMaxi to get cough drops and realized, like in the United States, Sunday is usually grocery day, as it seemed like everyone was there.
The most prominent form of collectivism that I have noticed within the host family is that we all eat dinner together at the same time. It's not something that I'm used to doing every night, and I feel as if it is normal to eat whatever we make on our own time. I definitely enjoy eating as a family though, because it makes me feel as if we are more of a cohesive group. Individualism is pretty similar to the United States. After dinner, we all go and do our own things like work, sleep, or go out. It's nice to have the time to ourselves and I feel as if having that short designated family time allows everyone to spend the rest of their time as individuals.
Today, a group of us went to explore the Basilica and to walk around the city together. We saw many different shops and people while we were walking. We tried tamales for lunch and discovered that, typically, you are not given a bill, at least in most places. You simply pay when you are done eating when they come around. Taking the bus was funny but was definitely uncomfortable because people try pushing their way on to the bus even if there is no room. Finally, Paige and I went to MegaMaxi to get cough drops and realized, like in the United States, Sunday is usually grocery day, as it seemed like everyone was there.
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