Meredith Steuer — The Road to Santiago (ESHS)

As a fourth-generation American, the American culture runs deep in my intuition. Forming friendships with other Americans is relatively easy for not only do I understand their language, but I understand their references to the movie they saw last week and the classes they are taking next year. Thrown into the life of a Spanish family during my home stay in Vigo, I was forced to absorb as much Spanish culture and language as possible in order to form any sort of meaningful relationship.

I first met my first home stay sister Marta after I got off the train at the Vigo train station. We had very little to talk about at first, partly because Marta talks so fast that not even her own mother can understand her sometimes. Fortunately the car ride did not offer too many awkward silences, since the parents had so much to tell me about Vigo and Galicia, but when we arrived at the house, the conversation fell rather dead. Then Marta got out her guitar, and, as she would continue to do for much of my stay in Vigo, started to play and sing some popular Spanish songs. I listened as attentively as possible, but I could tell that Marta was disappointed that I was not familiar with any of the songs. Later that night, as I checked my email on the computer, I saw Marta's play list open on the computer screen. Curious, I pressed play and heard some of the songs that Marta had been playing on the guitar earlier. The lyrics were simple—after listening to the songs a few times, I had them memorized. The next morning when I woke up Marta was once again playing her guitar, and this time I knew what to do. When she got to the chorus of one of the songs, I started to sing along with her. Marta looked up at me and smiled.

"Conoces este canción?" she asked me.

"Sí, conozco este canción," I replied.

The past month has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The three components—language improvement, cultural education, and new friendships—were completely interdependent. As I improved each component, the other components benefited.