Exchange Student Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of my amazing friends and family all over the world. Although it's a beautiful time of year, it is one of the toughest times for exchange students. Experiencing Christmas in a different culture is exciting, but there really is no place like home for the holidays. My host family is missing their wonderful daughter who is living in Canada, I'm missing my family in the states, the beautiful Croatian girl living in my room back home is missing her family, and the student living in Croatia with her family is missing his own... It's a never ending chain. We are all connected and we are all in it together.

I just want to send a huge virtual hug to all of the other exchange students in the world who are missing their families right now. Don't forget to enjoy your time with your host family, because odds are, they're missing their son or daughter who is abroad too. We may not be with our biological families, but we're with the new ones we have created this year. This Christmas will be one that we will never ever forget.

Happy holidays from Lima, Peru :)

Graduation!!

Last night (Wednesday, December 19) I graduated from Peruvian high school. It was one of the best nights I've had since I've been on exchange (and that says a lot, because I've had A LOT of great nights). My graduating class only has about 40 students, so it's a very tightly knit group. Many of them have been in school together since preschool, but they accepted me into their group like I had been there forever. Throughout these past 5 months, I have become so close with so many of my classmates, that I was so happy to be able to spend this last night with them.

Throwing our hats in the air, cheering, hugging.... I really felt a part of their class and I couldn't have asked for a better senior class here in Lima. I will never forget them or our amazing graduation night.

Happy Hanukkah!

Last weekend began the 8-night Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. There are almost no Jews in Peru, so the holiday is not commonly known here. My host family has been very busy lately (December is a CRAZY month), so I haven't had much of a chance to share the holiday with them. I have been lighting the candles in my room every night, but not much else. I just let them burn down while I continue with my normal every day activities. Although one night was different. Night number 4-- my best night of Hanukkah so far.

I lit the candles in my room like I had done the first 3 nights, and while they were burning, I was wrapping Christmas presents. I was just doing my own thing in my room, when my little 5 year old host brother came in and saw the candles. He was so excited about them; he thought they were so beautiful! Mathias and I sat together and looked at the candles for a while. After a few minutes he said, ''Pero Caroline, faltan 4 belas!'' (''But Caroline, 4 candles are missing!''). I proceeded to explain the holiday to him, how one more candle is lit each night, etc. I even went into the story of the Haukkah miracle and why we light 8 candles. He was so intrigued by this new tradition he had never experienced. After explaining the whole story, it occurred to me that I forgot to tell him the name of the holiday! When I told him that it's called Hanukkah, his whole face lit up. He said that he had heard of Hanukkah on the TV. He was so excited that he had now celebrated it.

We sat together, doing arts and crafts and watching as each candle burnt out, one by one. We guessed the order that they would burn out, and each time one did, and the little ribbon of smoke would fly off of the wick of the candle, Mathias would laugh. He was so happy to be a part of this holiday with me. After the last candle had burnt out, I told him that normally families give gifts after lighting the candles, and that if he wanted, I would give him a Hanukkah gift to thank him for celebrating it with me. I went into my drawer and pulled out a box of his favorite candy that I had stashed away and gave him that as a present. He was so happy. He ran around the house showing the whole family that he got a Hanukkah present. After that, he came back into my room with his favorite arts and crafts set. He set it on my bed and told me, ''Caroline, te voy a prestar por 3 dias. Feliz Hanukkah!'' (''Caroline, I'm going to lend you this for 3 days. Happy Hanukkah!'')

It was such a fun night, and I loved sharing my traditions with my new little brother. I am so glad he and I had that experience together :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spending Thanksgiving away from home this year was a very strange experience. Not only was I not at my Nana's house with my whole family like I am every year, but I am in a country where the holiday doesn't even exist! There was nothing special about that day; it was just a normal Thursday here in Lima. This was an interesting thing to experience, because in the States, Thanksgiving is such an important day!

Because there are almost 40 other exchange students currently living in Lima through Rotary, and 16 of us are American, we decided to organize a Rotary Thanksgiving dinner. It was held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and all of the exchange students brought a traditional dish from their country (with the Americans bringing traditional Thanksgiving food). It was one of the best dinners I have ever had. Not only was there some good, homestyle American food that I've been craving for months, there was also a plethora of dishes from all around the world! All sorts of casseroles with every type of meat and vegetables, salads, cakes, pies, etc. Some of my friends from Belgium even brought Ratatouille (which was delicous)! It was also just a fun night. Spending Thanksgiving dinner with over 30 of my new best friends from all around the globe-- how many people can say they've done that?! I have become so close with the other exchange students living here, and spending that night with them reminded me how thankful I really am. I wasn't with my real family, but I still felt as though I was with family. These guys have become my second family, and I am so grateful for them.


Even though I spent Thanksgiving with my new family, I was a bit sad to be thousands of miles away from my real family. I wanted my family to remember that even though I wasn't with them that night, I was still thinking of them, so I typed up a short toast to have my dad read at the table. This is what I wrote:

Thanksgiving is a time to spend with family and think about all of the things that you're thankful for, and even though I'm not at home today, I almost feel as though I am. I may not be having some big Thanksgiving dinner feast with lemonjello tonight, or watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on Nana's couch while eating cinnamon bread, but the core idea of thanksgiving is still with me.

The past few days, I've been thinking a lot about what I'm thankful for, and this year I have more than ever. But as I was making a mental list, one concept kept reoccurring: family. At the core of almost everything that I am thankful for, I've found you all. I have always known the importance of a loving, supportive family but I never fully understood it until I came here. I am 16 years old and having amazing experiences that most people NEVER get a chance to have in their lifetime, let alone at such a young age. Not only am I physically able to do this because of all you have given me, but I am emotionally stable enough to live in a life without my family, my friends, my house, my language. I am 100% out of my comfort zone. But I am okay with that, because of the way I have been raised. You all have taught me how to be my own person, how to make good life choices, and how to be happy. I have been given enough love throughout these past 16 years to last me a lifetime. Without you, I would not be able to accomplish nearly all I feel I have accomplished during these past 4 months.

Although I can't be there tonight, I want you all to know how thankful I truly am for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving, my wonderful family :) Cheers!

I am so thankful for my family, my friends, Rotary, this wonderful experience, and everything else in my life. Happy belated Thanksgiving :)