Miren and Flora on Homestays

Miren and Flora on Homestays

Iguazu and Monte Caseros

August 14, 2013 

In Iguazu and again in Monte Caseros, singers are staying with local families whose children are in the choruses that we perform with. Our singers are housed with families in groups of two, three, or four, depending on how many the family is able to accommodate. Everyone agrees that their homestays are some of the best experiences of the trip.

In Iguazu, Miren talked about how she bonded with her family: 

"The little girl Katty and her mom were super nice. Even though they didn’t speak much English, they made us feel at home. Their house is a very homey place with lots of art on the walls. (The mother is an artist.) They said that they were going to move soon to another neighborhood, though, because they have been robbed a couple of times. My favorite part of staying there was playing with the animals. They have four cats (mostly kittens) and one dog. They served us a simple, but delicious, dinner of toast with cheese and ham. When we left, they made us promise to bring our families and come visit them again."

In this photo, Miren is sampling the traditional drink Yerba Mate for the first time. She pronounced it "grassy but tasty."

Flora agreed that it was fun to connect with the ten-old-boy in her homestay family. She said that even though he spoke no English, he would copy their English and gestures and follow them around the house. The next day when she and her roommate singers went shopping in the tourist boutiques in downtown Iguazu, he saw them from across the street. He came running over with his “girlfriend” to introduce her to them, eager to show off his new American friends.

In most instances the families who have hosted us have made a real effort to connect with us across the language barrier. We are bringing home irreplaceable experiences of living – if only for a few days – with local families who love music as much as we do.