New Host Family :)

It has been about 5 weeks since I switched host families, but I have had troubles connecting to the internet and not much time to write, which is why it has taken me so long to write a post. I now have a host mom and 2 host sisters, Cansu (16) and Ceren (13). They are very warm and welcoming, and love to hug and kiss me all the time. I feel very loved here and already a part of the family even though it has been only a few weeks. We live on the second floor in our apartment building. Directly below us live my host aunt and cousin, and across from her is my host grandmother. Another host aunt and her husband are staying with the grandmother while they sell their house in another city and buy an apartment in Samsun. We are always with family here and they make me feel right at home.

There seems to be a curse on the men that marry into my host family because my host mother’s ex-husband, her father, and her brother-in-law have all passed away (I can’t think of another way to explain it). Therefore, I am always with females. The cousin that lives downstairs is a man, but he doesn’t always come up to our house to drink tea in the evenings. It is a completely different experience only living with women because everything is more open. I was a little shocked about how open things in my family were at first, but now I am completely used to the openness. The other side of not having a male figure in the household is that many things are more conservative out of the house. Girls are not allowed to go out at night a lot anyway, but if there is a father or an older brother he can go pick up the girl at night. In my case, the 2 times I went out in the evening after dinner, I had a male classmate walk me home so that my host mom felt I was protected.

my host family and women relatives

My house is in the center of the city very close to my school and TÖMER. It is much more easily accessible and I get to spend more time at home with my family.  It takes me about 5 minutes to walk to my school and about 5 minutes to walk home after language class. The location is partially because of the fact that we don’t have a car as my host mom does not have her license; she doesn’t need one. It is great that I have to walk everywhere because it is the only exercise I am getting these days.

my host sisters :) 

Right now I am on winter vacation from school for 2 weeks. The first semester ended, and since we don’t get days off for Christmas/New Years, we have a break now. I have been seeing classmates, my American friends, hanging out with my family and relatives, and relaxing a lot. It is really good to get a break from school, and TÖMER as well.