For this week’s Thank you Thursday, we’re excited to feature a thoughtful letter written by Giorgia from Italy! As she arrived in Texas for the 2023-24 school year, Giorgia initially felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness, unsure of what to expect in a new and unfamiliar environment. However, her worries quickly faded away as she was welcomed by a host family that was not only kind but also genuinely caring. From shared laughs to spontaneous car karaoke, Giorgia’s experience has been filled with joy and wonderful memories, thanks to her American host family, community, and International Coordinator.
Dear Host Family,
I think it’s time to thank you for having decided to host me for my 10 months abroad. It’s been 4 months since you opened the doors of your home to me, and I started this magical experience with you. I still remember the slight embarrassment of the first days, my difficulty in understanding because my English was limping (as it still is but with less obviousness) and the awareness that I was really living on the other side of the world at the age of 17 with no one next to me ready to support me. Or at least that’s what I thought before I got to know you. I was scared because I didn’t come here with a relative, a friend or at least a person that I knew.
It was just me: a teenager looking for happiness 10,000 kilometers from home. “What a crazy and brave girl,” you may have said to yourselves, and I hope that this judgment has not changed over time. Because, as I have had the opportunity to know you in depth, so it has been for you. I always say I don’t need affection, but Annie [Giorgia’s host mom] that hug you gave me in my room when I first arrived made me feel at home for the first time. You have been and still are like a second mom to me. Since my first day here, you’ve been the person I have ever opened up to the most. You listened to me when I needed to talk because everything was going the wrong way.
Kam [Giorgia’s host sister], you are the little sister I never had, who acted like a big sister. You were there holding out your hand and introducing me to your friends, or giving me advice on how to make friends, or just spending an evening talking and opening up to me. You’re the person who makes me laugh the most, with your jokes and your uncoordinated dances. Thank you for making room for me in your little heart.
Greg [Giorgia’s host dad], I hope you find our relationship as good as I do. Thank you for being my tennis coach, for teaching me a thousand new card games, for being patient with me when I asked you to repeat a sentence three times in a row because I couldn’t understand you, thank you for making me laugh with your humor.
Thank you for your curiosity about my country, my family and myself. Thanks for the chats in the kitchen and in the car and for sharing your life with me. But most of all, thank you for being my point of reference since I’ve been here.
I’m grateful for all the days spent with you, for all the new foods I’ve tried that I never thought I’d be able to enjoy, I’m grateful for the karaoke in the car, the evenings at the cinema, the jokes that make me laugh until my stomach hurts, I’m grateful for all my “firsts”: my first year at an American school, my first Homecoming, my first Halloween in the US, and for my first ever Thanksgiving.
So, dear family, thank you for welcoming me and introducing me to your wonderful family. I find it hard sometimes to show my gratitude and I would like you to know that I could not have wished for a better host family. I hope you will appreciate this letter because it was time to simply say thank you.
From your favorite, one & only exchange student,
Giorgia.
Are you interested in making a student like Giorgia a part of your family? We are looking for American host families to welcome a student for the upcoming 2024-25 school year! Check out the profiles of our wonderful students! New profiles go online every Thursday!
