I am grateful

After more than two months overseas, the spelling check in my brain is set to English. For that reason, and because I want my lovely Americans to be able to read this without a funny translation, this post is gonna be in English, pals.

Certain moments in my American life are dedicated to being grateful. Grateful for my host family, for my friends, for having this amazing opportunity to create a new life in a new country and for experiencing a new culture. This is one of those moments, and I would like to share it with you.

I ended up in the best host family ever, hands down! I've grown so close to them in just two months, and it's mind boggling how good of a match we are. It's intriguing to me how people from different corners of the world can just move in together and make it work like we did. Their openness, courage, interest, tolerance, warm hearts and love is what keeps me going, and it has made it so much easier for me to adjust to the new circumstances and to get through the challenges I'm facing. Without my host family, I would be homesick, sad and in a puddle of tears. Do you have any idea how much it means to hear: "Love you, sweetie!" weekly?

I'm making friends, and for that I am grateful. It's amazing how people who have their own friends, their own cliques, and their own lives even care to open up to a foreign kid who has a bit of an accent, only brief knowledge about true American culture, and maybe even a different view on religion. I appreciate that, even though it didn't happen the first day or month.

I've had experiences I never thought I would have, and I've learned so much by throwing myself into this adventure. The experiences I've had and the knowledge I've absorbed have made me a better and more empathic person with a wider understanding of culture, social issues, religion and politics. For that I am grateful. I'm taking part in big and small pieces of American culture, all of which expand my understanding of and give me a better overall picture of the culture. People spend time explaining to me the phenomena of American culture, which usually makes me smile, occasionally makes my jaw drop and a lot of the time makes me rethink and reflect on my own culture.

Sometimes you've got to live, do your thing and not think, and other times you've got to stop for a second and just take it all in. Exchange is awesome.