sometimes living with a host family isn't half bad.

After spending the past two years enjoying all of the freedoms that come with being a college student, it was definitely a little bit strange to move in with a host family. It kind of feels like I'm back in high school -- my friends all live far away and none of us can drive, I never know what's going to be for dinner or when it will be served, I report my upcoming plans to my parents, I call home when I'm running late. (And then there are other things that are definitely nothing like my high school experience...like getting my laundry done for me, my room cleaned for me, my bed made for me, and my sheets changed a million times a week. My host parents laugh at me if I even so much as offer to help clear the table. If my mom thought living in a dorm made me lazy, she'll really hate me when I come home from Chile!)

Sometimes it's easy to get frustrated with spending the semester as a guest in someone else's home. I wish I felt more comfortable rummaging through the fridge, and I wish I could tell my host mom not to rearrange my underwear drawer. Sometimes I can't wait to be a normal college student again so I can live on my own and eat ramen noodles at 2 in the morning.

But there are other times I wish I never had to leave this strange little Chilean bubble. This morning, as I was rushing around to get ready for my internship, my host mom set out a coffee cup for me and called me to the table. "Tarita, you have to eat breakfast!" she told me. I was running a little late, but she insisted, so I sat down to eat with my host mom, my host dad, and the maid. They all asked me about my internship and my upcoming classes, we talked about the news, my host mom cut me a huge slice of cake (for breakfast??? I love you, Chile), and my host dad reminded me to take an apple for lunch.

They may be kind of crazy and they may serve me some weird things for dinner, but it's nice to have a family when I'm far away from home. Maybe some nice old DC couple will want to take me in next semester.