My home stay with an American family, Rosemarie and Bill Burke, was one of the most unforgettable memories in my life. In the 24 hours that I spent with them, I found them to be kind, friendly, punctual, cooperative, and most importantly, tolerant and strict in obeying rules. We talked about our families, cultures, religions and politics. On three different occasions, we went shopping or just out of the home. When they want to buy something, they respected others. Moreover, they have plans for all their activities, and do everything in its time.
Both Bill and Rosemarie took part in doing their house work such as cooking, washing dishes, etc. I also went to a Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Pop Concert with them which was really enjoyable for me. From the beginning until the end, they encouraged the artists by clapping their hands many times, showing their respect for the artists.
However, the way of cooking foods is different in Afghanistan and United States. I found that we both prepare almost similar traditional food in our New Year celebrations. We make seven fruits, which is made of seven dry fruits, in NowRoz, the first day of the year. As my host family explained, they prepare a kind of traditional cake of several different fruits on Christmas Day.
We talked about our cultural values; for example, they agreed with me about marriage before any kind of relationship and they were opposed to some extreme freedoms. Like, Afghans,they have a large family of five children who they love a lot, but each of their children live independently.
Another thing which was appreciable and beautiful for me was their empathy and love for animals. They put seed out for birds which look for food in the snow. One other exciting experience that I had while living with this nice family was that for the first time I played ping pong with them, and I found that I love this game!
In short, during this short time, their behavior was so friendly and kind with me that I feel I knew them for many years.
ANA
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