What were you grateful for this week?I’m grateful for this past weekend that I was able to spend one on one with my host sis. We bonded so much and had a ton of fun having girl time!

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Feeling homesick. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. My host parents went on a work conference for the weekend so my host sis and I had the weekend together. We did a fun spa night with pizza, ice cream, and an American movie. And that night we had a sleepover on the couches in the living room which she was so so excited for. We had a ton of fun.

Tell us about your week! My week was great! I had a good experience this weekend with my host sister. We bonded a lot having some one-on-one time while her parents were out of town for a few days. We went grocery shopping together, did her after school activities and homework, made meals together, and so much more. 

We had a spa night where we made face masks with avacado, honey, lemon, and coconut oil. It was about as gross and gooey as it sounds but still so fun. It was her first ever face mask and she was enthralled in it. She also did my hair in French braids while our pizza was cooking. 

We ate pizza and ice cream and watched Cheaper by the Dozen in English and then we had a sleepover on the couches in the living room. She told me today that sleeping on the couches was her favorite part of the weekend, along with the masks. We had a lot of fun together and bonded a lot which honestly helped us so much. It helped her feel more comfortable and connected with me, it helped the parents see us together doing well, and it helped me feel more confident in my relationship with the girl and the family. I’m so thankful that I had that chance to do that and although it took up one of my weekends of traveling, I wouldn’t trade it because it was such valuable time spent.

I’m also so grateful that my host mom was so understanding of my religion this weekend as we had our General Conference. She allowed me time Saturday and Sunday night to go watch the conference on my laptop and was even asking me questions about it all. I’m so thankful for technology and the blessing I had to still watch it broadcasted and study my faith while on the other side of the globe.