To all of my international friends/siblings,

I can’t even begin to tell you how lucky I feel to have gotten to know you. It didn’t matter that at first we didn’t speak the same language, or even the fact that we were complete strangers living under the same roof. Your friendship taught me that simple friendship and kindness have no boundaries. Who cares if you’ve never heard of IHOP and I’ve never had Spanish bread. Exchanging and sharing our interests were one of the reasons we became friends. We had so much to learn from each other that there was never a dull moment.

A lot of people have said to me, “isn’t it weird living with a stranger like that?” My answer: not at all. I have always been surrounded by people of many different cultures, so, maybe this is the reason. More importantly, it’s not weird because we both accepted the fact that we were going to be family while living together. My mom became your American mom, and my dad became your American dad. If you ever had trouble with anything, we wanted to help you. If I was ever down, you tried to make me feel better even though we had just met. There’s a certain immediate bond that forms and all of a sudden strangers become family.

Hosting you meant that there was a new addition to the family. Another personality was brought into an already crazy mix. Your being here made everything just a little bit more interesting. Just kidding, a lot. Whether it was me or my family mispronouncing words from your language, or you accidentally saying, “I’m boring” instead of “I’m bored,” or “wedgie” instead of “veggie,” someone was always smiling, learning, and having a good time.

The more we got to know each other, the more we enjoyed hanging out together. There were countless car rides (because it’s pretty much impossible to get anywhere in America without a car), mall trips to buy more than our arms could carry, excessive Starbucks trips (because you either didn’t have Starbucks at home, or it was ridiculously expensive), and an infinite number of songs sung terribly. There were midnight runs to the grocery store to buy ice cream and waffles, and 3 hour long gingerbread house decorating sessions. I got to teach you about slang words that my friends and I used, and you even taught me curse words in other languages (sorry Mom). No matter what we were doing, it was always with an energy and light that I miss so dearly.

Inevitably, you had to return home at the end of the year. We all knew it would happen and we all knew that our friendship would have to stretch across the ocean. The day that we had to drive each of you to the airport are days that I remember really well. Dry eyes were a thing of the past as the realization hit that once your flight was called, we would have to go back to how things were before we met each other. Having international friends is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Everyday I remind myself how lucky I am that both you and my family, decided to take on an adventure so changing. So, as you read this from thousands of miles away, remember that we miss you, and can’t wait for your return.

Sincerely,