My host mother, Marta, has taught me by example what life is all about. She is a single woman in her fifties, a tennis coach and a person of administration at a culinary school. She cares deeply about art, sports, politics, history, and the people in her life. She has a strong sense of pride for her country – especially the region of Extremadura. Marta also has invested time into preserving the memory of her preceding family members and the work they did in photography and art in Trujillo.

The day after I arrived in Trujillo, Marta brought me to a little bar before lunch to meet one of her friends from work, Juanma. The bar was occupied with working class “Trujillanos” of mostly middle age. Marta seemed to be on a first name basis with every person there, including the workers. We stood at the bar with Juanma and had a long conversation about life, in which I did much of the listening as it was my second day immersed in Spanish. I remember feeling refreshed by the feeling of complete honesty that the conversation had – something I love about Spanish people.

This kind of social hour was not rare for Marta. Every time I turned around she was on the phone checking in with a friend, going to meet a friend, or inviting one over. Through her social nature, she taught me about how to have a general disposition of hospitality and openness to others. Marta always let the other person decide what time to meet up, and many times she would not plan gatherings at all but they would happen spontaneously.

Marta’s dedication to her family and their legacy is something that always stuck out to me. She has several projects going on to preserve their work, particularly the photography of her late grandfather. I would like to take after Marta in her perspective towards socializing as well as her care for her family’s memory. In the states, I intend on integrating some of the spontaneity around my social life that Marta displays every day.

Attached is a photo of Marta and I at the farewell reception for the end of the semester and a photo of Marta and her siblings in the center square of Trujillo around 1975. Marta is the little blonde girl in the middle with bangs and suspenders.