Dear International Students,

I hope you are enjoying your time here and are not too homesick. I know I am homesick and I am not an ocean away from my family. I hope that you feel at home and welcome, I will do my best to make you feel comfortable here and ensure that you are enjoying yourselves at least a little bit.

Thank you for coming to the U.S. I have made friends with so many of you and I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to meet and spend time with you. I am grateful to be able to experience your culture and learn about your country from your firsthand experience, because being a tourist is a lot different than being a citizen. I hope you have enjoyed, or are enjoying, being here in the United States. I love going on adventures with you, from Washington D.C. to shopping outings I look forward to more of these experiences. I like to learn from you as well as show you things that I know. I have learned a lot about different cultures; from french toast being called lost bread, celebrations in different countries, to the significance of the claddagh ring. There is so much to learn about so many cultures and I look forward to continuing to learn from you. Whether you know it or not you are benefiting those around you.

I am incredibly grateful that I've gotten to meet you. Some of you are the best of friends to me and I miss you dearly, others I am just getting to know, but I am looking forward to knowing you better. It is unique to have good friends in other countries. I hope to visit you one day. Whether you're here now or have left to go home or travel other places, know that you're missed here, and have a place here. Thank you for being kind and generous and fun, and I look forward to seeing you again one day. Here's to more adventures.

Your International Friend