Host Family

I have never thought I would come to another country. At the same time, I haven’t imagined living in a host family that I had no idea about before I came to their family. I did not know how was their food, how would they treat me, how I would get along with them, etc. But after applying for the precious chance of becoming an exchange student and taking IELTS test twice, I, at last, got the chance.

Packing up everything I may need, I crossed the ocean and started my brand-new life in Canada. Right before I came, I contacted a host family who came from Philippine. To begin with, I found it difficult to get along well with these strangers since we both came from totally different cultures. Actually, the culture of my host family is different from their own culture as well now that they already moved here last century and something they brought here has been changed or at least mixed with Western culture. For instance, they started to eat bread and cheese which I thought I would never get used to. When one culture meets with another culture, as time passes on, one culture must, more or less, be mixed with the other culture as keeping one’s authentic culture may be really hard when it is faced with another culture.Luckily, I just came here for one semester, which only consists of six months. So I clearly know that after six months I will go back to my own country and eat rice and traditional Chinese dish like Radish and Spare rib soup, Green Pepper Parch Meat, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and so forth. For me, I was so struggling about the food here in the first month that I lost entire 5 pounds. For example, I have zero interest in cheese whereas the kids in my host family are crazy about it. Actually, for me, the taste of cheese, especially cold cheese, is just like the taste of the fat of pork, which I am not into at all. So sometimes, it’s hard for me to put cheese in my mouth and chew with the bread.

But my host family was more than nice to me. Before I came, I heard many host families are really mean to some students. For instance, they may require the time of shower and the food students eat. But these things did not happen to me. After I told them that sweet potato is my favorite food, they bought it for me every week. Even though I am not that into sweet potato now due to the over quantities of them, I am still deeply touched by my landlord and I am on my way adapting to the new life here. Actually, I started to love and enjoy my life here.

So the relationship between my host family and me became closer and closer. We tell jokes and then laugh together. In addition to this, they are willing to and do share some experience with me as to how to enjoy my life here. Sometimes I turn to them when I face my problems that are difficult to deal with. Though some contradictions can not be avoided, for example, they once made a joke that a boy had a relationship with me, which did not exist and made me extremely mad at one moment, we still love each other so much. I think this is how a family is like. I love my host family.