I was also afraid that my host mom would not understand me, and I could not explain what I needed in English because ella no habla inglés (she doesn't speak English).
I knew that communicating with my host family was important, so instead of hiding in my room all day, I started reviewing my Spanish and confidently holding conversations with my host family. I also started looking up words my host mom used that I did not know. Each day, my Spanish improved, and now I can ask my host family about their lives without hesitating. We communicate very well, and I understand what they are saying.
Although my differences (being American) were accepted by my family, I did not feel like they were accepted by others. Walking down the street, I received many stares. I felt like a stingray in a sea of dolphins or an apple in a batch of fries. I felt foreign, which I was.
As days passed, I noticed less people staring at me. I also learned that people in Spain like to make eye contact. So when I thought everyone was staring at me, they probably just wanted to greet me by first making eye contact. My confidence is now the first quality you notice as I walk the calles (streets) of Barcelona.
Another problem I had was dealing with the currency. For Christmas, most of my family members gave me American cash to use in Barcelona. However, the exchange rate for converting American dollars to euros in Spain is very unreasonable. So how would I get money? I decided to withdraw euros from my bank account and only pay the atm's small transaction fee. That way, I get the best exchange rate. Using my credit card in places where they accept cards was also a great solution to this problem.
