Author: Leon Toursarkissian ’21
During my hosting of a German exchange student, I learned many valuable lessons. The first was that the true colors of a person do not emerge immediately. It took my partner about a week to truly settle in with my family, and it was not until after that that she really began to feel comfortable communicating with us. The second lesson I learned is that despite a multitude of cultural differences between people, there are always things that connect us. While my German partner and I had many differences, we were able to bond over things such as sports and popular culture. The final lesson that this experience taught me was that patience is key when trying to develop friendships. While there were several instances in which I felt myself growing impatient with the odd habits or communication difficulties of my partner, I had to adjust and remain patient due to my knowledge of the varying cultures between us. Continue reading “Lessons learned from hosting an exchange student”