Blog 18: Natalie

The first week of our trip, it felt difficult to manage early trip homesickness with fitting into a completely foreign family dynamic. My roommate, Sonya, and I found it challenging at first to find commonality and effective communication to help break the ice between us and our new family, however as we began to try new activities with our family, especially after what felt like infinite amounts of Uno, we found a language both us and our host family can speak fluently: food. It started with a scheduled time for all students to cook with their host families, but slowly progressed as Sonya and I were fed more delicious meals that we wanted to learn about. Although cutting potatoes or sorting couscous grains seems boring, we have been able to communicate and learn about our family through preparing snacks and meals. My host sister and I both have an irrational fear of hot oil, and watched our host mom brave popping corn kernels. She also loves olives, and piled them onto our pizzas as I learned that there is no sauceless crust here by her confused and giggly face. Sonya and I also aren’t the most experienced with knives, but I have found immense comfort in our host mom’s patience and kindness as we struggle with carrots. Up next on our master chef menu is the most heavenly flat bread I have ever tasted, mlawi. Words cannot express my appreciation for its flakey, buttery beauty, and we are so excited to help out in preparing the crucial food staple for our household. My hope is that learning these recipes will not only help me keep connecting with my family, but that they can also serve as a reminder of my time spent here, dependent on my ability to brave the stove.






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