Homestays

Living with a Spanish family will help you gain insight into daily life and customs that are not available to most people that visit Barcelona or live here for a short period of time. However, adjusting to another family’s lifestyle and culture can sometimes be challenging. Please contact the Housing Coordinator with any questions or concerns you may have.

Breakfast and dinner are provided everyday in homestays. 

• Breakfast (typically around 7:30-9:30 am) is usually light and generally consists of a pastry or toast with fruit or yogurt. Most Spaniards have coffee with breakfast, and many have a small glass of juice. Cereal is much less common in Spain, but feel free to ask your host family for cereal if you prefer this for your breakfast.

• Dinner (typically 8:30-10:00 pm). Portions may be smaller than what you're used to, as lunch is the main meal of the day. Dinner typically includes a first course of salad, pasta, or a soup followed by a second course of meat, fish or poultry. Homestays know that you'll be hungry so they should give you a bit more than a typical Spaniard would eat. If you're not getting enough, please talk to your family and notify the housing department ASAP. 

If you have special dietary needs, we have attempted to place you with families that have experience providing for them. Nevertheless, you will need to make your preferences and restrictions understood. If you are having trouble communicating your needs at the beginning of your stay, let the housing team know. Remember that adjusting to a new culture is a two-way street. You will be most successful if you try some new foods. However, the Spanish families want you to be happy, healthy, and comfortable. They are often quite relieved when the students let them know what foods they enjoy most and what they don't like. 

Lunch is not included:

Since only breakfast and dinner are provided in the homestay, and lunch is typically the biggest meal of the day in Spain, you can use the kitchen in the homestay to prep your lunches to eat there or bring with you (but not to cook). A few things to remember: 

• Buy your own groceries for lunch. Lunch is not included in the homestay, so do not help yourself to food that isn't yours.

• You should be given a small space in the fridge or cupboard to store your personal food - ask your host family!

• Prepare everything yourself and clean up after yourself.

• The stove and oven are off-limits, but simpler appliances (like the microwave and toaster) are available to you. Talk with your homestay about how to use each appliance before using it.

• Communicate to the family which days and times you plan on using their kitchen for lunchtime!

It can seem like a challenge to have limited access to a kitchen, but there are many ways to eat healthy using only simple appliances! We recommend eating salads and sandwiches for lunch since things like veggies, cheese, and deli meat are super cheap in Spain. Both of these items can be made without much need for appliances as well. Microwaveable foods such as soups, veggies, and pre-made rice servings can be found in grocery stores here in Spain and are healthy alternatives to other pre-made, microwavable foods.

Here are some recipe ideas for cooking using the microwave:

• Tasty: 31 Microwave Recipes that are Borderline Genius

• BuzzFeed: 23 Dorm Room Meals You Can Make in a Microwave

• Greatest Microwave Healthy Recipes

• BBC Food (Microwave Recipes)

Your host family will do your laundry (one load) and clean up your room once a week, but you are expected to keep your space and common areas tidy.  

There are no dryers in about 95% of Spanish homes, so most items are dried outside on a clothesline. The wash cycle also takes longer in Spain, about 80 minutes. If there is something you need at a specific time, communicate with your host family so that it can be washed and dried in time. If you need a dry-cleaning service (tintorería), there are many available throughout the city. 

• There is no curfew for those living with host families, but we do ask you to be as quiet as possible when coming back home late at night. 

• If you are going away or sleeping over at a friend's house, drop a message to your host family to notify them so that they don't worry!

• Respect the Quiet Hours. In Spain, by law, you are not allowed to make noise that exceeds your residence from 10pm-7am. If you are noisy during these hours, the neighbors may call the police! 

• You need to notify your host family in advance if you will be missing a meal, try to do this at least 2 hours before mealtime. 

• If you keep your own food in the kitchen to prepare lunches, you should always clean up immediately and do your dishes. You are not allowed to use the stove or oven, but will be able to use the microwave and toaster. 

• Keep your room and the common areas tidy. This is especially important when you are sharing a bedroom. Even though your room is “your room”, you are still in someone else’s home.

• If you would like to invite someone over to the house, always make sure that is okay with your host family first. No guests allowed overnight (sleeping or not) between 10pm-9am.

• Students are not allowed in the bedroom with the door closed when having guests. It just makes an awkward situation for everyone. 

• You will be given a set of keys to the house. Do not carry these keys with your address attached. If you lose the keys you will need to pay for a replacement. If the homestay decides to change the lock after you lose the key, they are in their right and you will have to pay for it. This can be very expensive, so please, be very careful with your keys.

• BED BUGS: Your homestay is checked to be bug-free at the time of your check in. Should you bring bed bugs (sounds gross but it's fairly common when traveling almost every weekend), you will be solely responsible for the costs incurred (professional exterminator, furniture replacement, etc). Bear in mind this can be very expensive.

Moving homestays after the program has started is extremely unlikely. If you are experiencing issues in your homestay, please contact the housing team ASAP so we can work together to resolve the situation. If after trying to work things out you still need to move homes, the program will assess your situation on a case by case basis. Remember that being flexible and willing to work on the problem is key for a good housing experience.

As with any relationship, the more effort and time you put into your relationship with your host family, the more successful it will be. Some students prefer a high level of independence, and they spend little time with their families. If you want to get to know the family better, however, you need to spend some time with them. Remember that the family has to get used to you as well. 

Don’t turn down invitations. If a family member invites you to go out, or to a family party, you should go! If you say no a few times, you will stop being invited, because they will think you are uninterested.

What if I don’t speak Spanish? Do not expect people to speak to you in English. In Spain, many people don't speak any English, and this includes our homestays (although they may speak basic English). Initially, it is challenging to communicate; however, communication can happen in many ways with a little creativity. For example: 

• Share photos of your hometown and ask your family to show you their own photo albums. 

• Draw out a little family tree with your host family - where is everyone living? How old is everyone? What do they do for work?

• Bring a notebook to dinner to jot down new words in Spanish or Catalan. 

Suggest Activities. Don't sit and wait for the family to provide all the interaction opportunities for you - suggest them yourself! 

• • Game night (cards, Monopoly, a puzzle)

  • Go for a walk, and let them show you the neighborhood!

  • Have a Spanish movie night (with English subtitles if you need them!) or go to the movies together 

  • Ask for help with your Spanish homework

  • Suggest going out for tapas one evening

Ask your host family if you can go with them to get the groceries. Seeing a typical market is a fun experience, and your host will appreciate some help carrying the bags. Again, bring a notebook for all the new vocab you'll learn!

Cook Dinner. Homesick for your favorite American dish? Why not offer to make dinner for your homestay family one night and serve up some homemade mac and cheese? They’ll love learning about your culture. You're not supposed to use the kitchen on your own, so make sure the family is comfortable with you taking over and that someone is in the kitchen with you!

Sketch out a family tree together. This can be a great cheat sheet for remembering the names of extended family members and learning a bit about the family. 

Maintain a good sense of humor and be willing to make mistakes. Hard work and continued effort will pay off in the new friends you'll make, the new culture you'll begin to understand, and the new Spanish language skills you’ll acquire.

Why not interview your host family? Here are some questions in English and Spanish that you can ask them in order to get to know them a little better! 

About their background:

Are you originally from Barcelona? Are your parents from this area? And the rest of your family?

¿Es usted originalmente de Barcelona? ¿Son sus padres de esta área también? ¿Y el resto de su familia?

If not, what region is your family from? What brought you (or the family) to Barcelona? When did this happen?

¿Si su familia no es de aquí, de qué región es? ¿Por qué llegaron a Barcelona? ¿Cuándo?

If you had to live somewhere else, anywhere in the world, where would you want to live?

¿Si tuviese que vivir en otro lugar, en cualquier parte del mundo, donde viviría?

What is your favorite place to visit in Spain? In Catalunya? Why? What is it like?

¿Cuál es el sitio que más le gustaría visitar de España? ¿Y en Catalunya? ¿Por qué? ¿Cómo es?

Would you consider yourself more Spanish or Catalan or both? Why?

¿Se considera que es más Español(a) o Catalán(a), los dos o ninguno? ¿Por qué?

About their hobbies:

Do you like sports? If so, what is your favorite sport? Are you a Barça supporter or do you support any other team?

¿Le gustan los deportes? ¿Si es así, cuál es su favorito? ¿Es del Barça o le gusta otro equipo?

Do you like watching movies or TV series? What is your favorite movie? Are you watching any series right now?

¿Le gusta ver películas o series? ¿Cuál es su película favorita? ¿Está viendo alguna serie ahora mismo?

Do you like reading books? What is your favorite book? Are you reading any books right now?

¿Le gusta leer libros? ¿Cuál es su libro favorito? ¿Está leyendo algún libro ahora mismo?

Do you like travelling? Where have you been for vacation? Where would you like to go that you have not been to? Have you ever studied/worked abroad?

¿Le gusta viajar? ¿Dónde ha estado de vacaciones? ¿A dónde le gustaría ir que no haya estado todavía? ¿Ha estudiado o vivido en el extranjero alguna vez?

About their job:

What do you do for work? How long have you been in this profession? How did you decide to do this? Do you ever wish you were doing something else? If so, what?

¿A qué trabajo se dedica? ¿Cuánto tiempo ha tenido esta profesión? ¿Cómo decidió hacerlo? ¿Querría haber hecho algo diferente? ¿Qué le gustaría hacer?

How do you get around day to day (by car, bike, walking, bus, metro...)? How long does it take you to get to work?

¿Cómo se desplaza en su día a día (en coche, bicicleta, andando, bus, metro)? ¿Cuánto tarda en ir al trabajo?

What does your son/daughter do for work? What does your husband/wife do for work?

¿A qué trabajo se dedica su hijo/hija? ¿A qué trabajo se dedica su marido/esposa?

What do you typically do on a day off?

¿Qué hace normalmente en un día libre?

About food:

What is your favorite Spanish food? And Catalan?

¿Cuál es su comida favorita española? ¿Y catalana?

What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten? Would you eat it again?

¿Cuál es la comida más extraña que ha comido? ¿Volvería a comerla?

What is your favorite food that is not Spanish?

¿Cuál es su comida favorita que no sea española?

What is a type of food that you don’t like at all?

¿Qué tipo de comida no puede comer para nada?

Where do you do most of your grocery shopping, in a market or the grocery store? Why? Is there a market nearby that you would recommend I visit?

¿Dónde compra la mayoría de su comida, en el mercado o en un supermercado? ¿Por qué? ¿Hay algún mercado que me recomendaría visitar?