If you’re staying in a homestay, you probably have a million questions.  This is definitely one of the most nerve-wracking things at the start of the trip, but it’s a great experience once you settle in.  To help ease your mind, we’ve compared the experiences of various homestay students this semester to give you an idea of what to expect.  A typical day in the life of a homestay student can be broken up into these parts:




Breakfast:  During the week, your host mom or perhaps the house help will make you breakfast every morning, normally between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. depending on your schedule.  In most cases, she will sit down and eat with you or maybe just talk to you while you eat.


Classes:  You will walk to the Central House and take your classes.  Most walks are about 5-10 minutes.  Then afterwards, you'll probably hang out to talk with friends or do homework before walking home for lunch.


Lunch:  Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, so when you go home, all of the family will probably be there to eat with you.  Normally lunch is anywhere from 1:30-3:00 in the afternoon.  This is a great time to chat and practice Spanish!


Siesta:  After lunch, things quiet down everywhere and everyone takes a nap! This is one of the best things about México, in my opinion.  So if you have a hammock, this is the perfect opportunity to take a 30 minute or even 2 hour nap if you have the time.  And if you don’t want to nap, it’s a good time to get homework done or just relax.


Classes:  You may or may not have classes in the afternoon, but if you do, you’ll walk back to the Central House to have your classes.


Homework/free time:  For the rest of the night, you will probably be free.  You’ll be able to do homework or whatever else you want to do in your free time.


Dinner:   Dinner here is a lot less casual than it is in the United States.  There probably won’t be a specific time that you eat but normally it’s somewhere between 8-10 p.m.  It’s possible that your host mom will make you a small meal, but she might also tell you that you can just go to the kitchen and get yourself something when you’re hungry.

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Tip:  Try to participate in things your host family does.  If your family invites you to do something, don't decline unless it's for a really good reason.  Getting involved with your host family will make it seem much more like a home rather than just the place where you eat and sleep.





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Also, we’ve asked students about some of the other things they've done with their host families this semester.  Here are the answers:

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-shopping
-going to restaurants
-exchanging recipes
-playing Mexican lotteria (gambling game similar to Bingo) with host mom and friends
-going to the beach
-One host mom let her student’s mom stay in house when she visited.
-watching tv or movies together