Tristan (AFS student)

To start things off, I'd like to say that my host family here is absolutely fantastic. When I first applied, I was very worried that we wouldn't get along well, or that I wouldn't fit in. I began to send them emails as soon as I was able, and I realized that they probably felt the same way.

I remember once my host mother emailed me to ask me if I could use chopsticks, and I thought that was very thoughtful. I very soon realized I had nothing to worry about.

During our orientation, we were told a few things to beware of with our host families. We were told to watch out what kinds of foods we say we like, and to be indirect if we don't like something. That being said let's begin.

It was about one week before the Mid-Autumn Festival. A very common food during the festival is the Moon Cake. At first, these moon cakes looked very delicious, so I took a very big bite. Very quickly, I realized that they were not sweet. Many of them have a variety of flavors, but not very many of them are sweet. I didn't want to be rude, so I told my host family that it was good. The next day, my grandmother bought us all a huge box of moon cakes. I thought, "Well, okay, I can probably eat these." These ones were not as good as the last ones. I decided to get creative. I ate the first one, and then went to the bathroom to throw the other one in the trash in there. I figured I would take the trash out myself.

The next day, the trash was gone. I hoped she hadn't seen it, and she didn't say anything, so I figured she hadn't. The next time they gave me a moon cake, I figured I'd play it safe and flush it down the toilet.

About a week later, my host mom brought me to her school where she teaches. I talked with one of the students there, and she told me, "Yeah, our teacher tells stories about you in class. Like the moon cakes she has found in the trash and the toilet."

So she had found the one in the trash, and I guess the one in the toilet never actually flushed. I felt so embarrassed, but she just smiled and gave me a hug.

Now that I have been with them for about 2 months, wouldn't hesitate to tell them how I feel about something. They are very kind and understanding. If anything, I believe anyone's host family would want to know, because they worry about you more than you think. At first it felt awkward calling them mama and baba, but now it feels almost natural.