Settling into life with my host family here has been an incredible experience, and when I think of My Family Mi Familia, it’s hard not to include them. From the moment I arrived, they have been unbelievably welcoming. Despite living in a village that feels wonderfully remote and a bit off the beaten path – a story for another time, perhaps about rural German transportation – I truly couldn’t have asked for a better host family. My immediate host family consists of Markus and Sandra, my host parents, and my host siblings, Linus and Haley. This setup mirrors my family back home in America, with two parents, my brother Leo, and me. However, the real difference, and a delightful one at that, with my family mi familia in Germany is the sheer expanse of my extended family here.
A Vast Network of Host Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles
My host mom, Sandra, comes from a large family. She has an older brother, a younger sister, and an identical twin sister. Remarkably, almost all of them live within just a few miles of us. In fact, her brother and his family reside on the same farm compound as we do, making family gatherings incredibly convenient and frequent. And that’s just Sandra’s side of the family! My host dad, Markus, also has a sizable extended family, adding even more branches to my German family tree.
This abundance of relatives translates to ten host cousins, most of whom are in the age range of 10 to 19. Having so many cousins close in age and living nearby is a stark contrast to my family in the United States. While my parents each have a younger sister, giving me four cousins back home, they are all nearly a decade younger than my brother and me. This proximity and age similarity with my German cousins has been a wonderful and unexpected element of my family mi familia here.
Adjusting to a Large Extended Family: A New and Welcoming Experience
Adapting to German culture has been fascinating, but equally interesting has been getting used to being part of such a massive host family. Growing up in a military family meant we moved frequently and never lived close to extended family. My experience of seeing blood relatives involved long drives of at least 500 miles or all-day flights with layovers. Therefore, moving into a family where the neighbors are also cousins felt like entering a completely new world. I cherish my grandparents in the US, but distance limits our visits to maybe once or twice a year. Here, I get to see my host grandparents almost every weekend, a truly heartwarming aspect of my family mi familia in Germany.
It’s somewhat ironic that I come from El Paso, Texas, on the US-Mexico border, a region known for large families. Yet, it took a move to Germany to truly experience being part of one. Back home, my friend Charlie often had his weekends filled with family events, always accompanied by a cousin or two. It never seemed particularly appealing to me then, but I must admit, having a big family here has been fantastic. It provides an instant social network and a constant stream of built-in social events.
Non-Stop Family Gatherings and Celebrations
I see my host cousins all the time. It feels like there’s a birthday celebration every weekend! During the warmer months, we enjoyed backyard cookouts with bratwursts sizzling on the grill. For my 18th birthday in September, we had a cousin sleepover at our house, complete with volleyball and grilled food. Now, in the seemingly endless cold and dark season, our gatherings have moved indoors. We spend time playing board games and enjoying hearty soups and stews, along with the ever-present birthday kuchen (cake). This constant stream of family events is entirely new to me; I’ve never even attended one of my own cousins’ birthday parties back home!
I’m still in the process of figuring out the intricate web of relationships within this extended family. Being used to just one aunt and one uncle on each side of my family tree, keeping track was always straightforward. I hesitate to admit it, but I might still not know all of my host aunts’ and uncles’ names! In my extended host family, nametags might actually be a genuinely helpful addition at gatherings. Despite the occasional confusion, being part of my family mi familia here in Germany has been an overwhelmingly positive and enriching experience, filled with warmth, connection, and a lot of delicious food.
