This is my first time (and hopefully my last) to celebrate Thanksgiving without my family back in America. And my day went a lot differently than it would of gone in America.
I woke up to gifts of Pop Tarts and Hershey's Cookie and Creme bars; not your typical Thanksgiving meal, but still wonderful and thoughtful.
I then got to go to school, which was hard to do today, but because my physics teacher wasn't there I got to go in two hours late. So it wasn't too bad.
I then came home and we had Milchreis, which is rice pudding or something in English. It wasn't turkey and dressing and good ol' southern cookin', but it was nevertheless good. Tonight I'm going to youth group and then maybe gonna watch some TV.
Even though I'm spending my thanksgiving this year in a country that doesn't really celebrate it (or even really realize that it's today) I've still tried to spend time today reflecting on everything I have to be thankful for. Which is always a big eye opener.
There's a quote that says: Distance does to love what wind does to fire. It extinguishes the weak and fuels the strong.
And this thanksgiving I'm really agreeing. My family and friends may be thousands of miles away and I may not have seen them in months, but I think about them everyday. Every day away from them reminds me how lucky I am to have them. My love and appreciation for my parents grow everyday. My mom has always been there for me, and that hasn't changed, even if she isn't physically there this year. My dad may of gotten a late start in my life, but he's done more and been more for me in these few years as I ever could of dreamed.
My best friends Sara and Rachael have stood by me through all of high school, and despite the distance and struggle to find time to really talk, they remain my very best friends to this day and I couldn't be happier about it.
And then there's my host family. I read stories and posts almost everyday from other exchange students who are unhappy with their host family or are having problems and I'm reminded how blessed I am. My host family is wonderful and I don't tell them how grateful I am that they agreed to host me for a year enough.
One of my biggest fears about my exchange year was that I wouldn't be able to make friends, but that has turned out to be one of the easiest things about this year. I have a wonderful class at school full of friendly and helpful classmates. They were so understanding my first few months, and really made me feel at home.
I am also a member of an amazing youth group. The youth there have all been so nice and I know if I ever have a problem they're there for me.
And finally there are my two new best friends, Carina and Lena. I never imagined I would find friends as great as them, and certainly not so fast. They were such a huge help when I first arrived, and it is thanks to them that my year has been so lovely.
There are so many family members and friends I haven't even mentioned that honestly deserve paragraphs themselves, but if I wrote them all down this post would be too long (if it isn't already) and no one would read it. So I'm going to stop there.
There's only one last thing I want to express my thanks for, and that would have to be for my Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ. I am blessed every single day by Him, and I only hope that He can use me to bless others as well.
If you are reading this, know that I love you and am thankful for you too. And if you're in America, I miss you tons. I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving and enjoys tons of turkey for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment