The Host Moms: María

Though we were all divided into three different homes, the GCIP Madrid girls all, coincidentally, had host mothers named Maria. "Our" Maria explained to us that the name was insanely common during her generation and bears the identity of practically half of the women over 50 in Madrid. Caroline and I who stayed with the one and only Maria Alonso resided on Calle de Don Ramón de la Cruz in an apartment building that was perfectly located next to a multitude of shopping stores, restaurants and train stations. Throwing it back to freshman year, Caro and I roomed together in one of the two rooms available in Maria’s home. Staying in the other room was a pair of boys from Ohio who were also participating in an immersion program. The two were part of a six week trip and would be returning to the US after our first week in Madrid. Our host brothers made the transition to Spain significantly easier as they educated us on the lingo, slang and even the profanity of the Madrideños. Immediately after the two boys left, we were introduced to two new host siblings from Troy University in Alabama. Not too long after they left, we finished the trip with two different host sisters from Florida who stayed for a few days before we departed.    The only constant in the household was the loving and affection Maria Alonso, our host mom. Maria has provided a place to stay for different students in programs all over the world. She was extremely intuitive about diversity and culture through her experience with so many different people with so many different backgrounds.Caroline and I sat with Maria for hours discussing just about anything. Meal times called for serious debates, funny stories and enlightening life lessons. Maria shared not only her home with us, but also her love, knowledge and compassion throughout the entirety of our trip. The majority of the fun things we did, cool places we went, and crazy things we ate were per her recommendation and I can honestly say that the trip wouldn't have been the same without her.