Anna from Italy with her host family.

Aspect Foundation’s inbox is flooded with notes from students expressing their gratitude for the experience they have had on student exchange. On Thursdays, we post one of these notes, sharing the “warm fuzzies” with all of you!

Today’s Thank You Thursday features Anna from Italy, who expresses her thanks for her year abroad in Michigan.

So how can I start this letter! I can’t believe I’m doing it, it’s crazy how fast the time went this year…it looks like yesterday that I left my family at the airport and I was so excited to start this journey here, in the USA.

First of all I want to thank my two families. Both of them didn’t know me before, they welcomed me in their houses, a stranger, because they chose me. I consider myself really lucky when I think of my two families; I’m so happy that I got to be their first exchange student, and I couldn’t have been in better families. I’m so glad I’ve been an exchange student, I’ve learned so much about the world that I didn’t know, I learned a new culture in depth, because I lived it. This has become my second house, and it will always be. I am going to miss you all so much. Thanks for all the opportunities and the amazing experiences I was lucky to have.

-Anna from Italy, in Michigan

Interested in sharing YOUR corner of the world with an international exchange student? Learn more about becoming a host family at: http://aspectfoundation.org/host-families.

A few of Anna’s favorite photos from her year in Michigan.