The third week of this program was awesome!

On Tuesday we had the international dinner night, and it was more than amazing. I am just sad I had to eat just a little of everything or else I wouldn’t be able to try all the dishes. However, there were definitely a few dishes, I would love to have a second portion of.

We had time to prepare our presentations for the community project on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a nice process, as everyone tried to help each other the best they could.

Finally, on Thursday we headed to Chicago, it was really such an experience. We tried the famous Chicago-style Pizza. It was huge and so fun to eat! We even had a river cruise on Thursday, we got to see the most beautiful parts of Chicago and heard about its history. Truly breathtaking.

On Thursday, we had the presentations for the Community project. Seeing all my friends talk about things they were passionate about was really cool and it felt like I was meeting a new version of them. I was really impressed.

On Friday we had the final reception for the host families. We had a nice dinner and people were giving emotional speeches. I was sad about leaving my host mom. But we had the weekend just for us!

On Saturday we did some crafting, she bought me, and Cyrine some bottles, and we did some designs on them. We ended up loving them!

There was also a party on Saturday at Sahasra’s (fellow) host family’s house. We talked, danced, and had lots of fun.

Sunday was really so cool. Jeanne and Lisa took us to a place, where country people go to have fun. We did line dancing, axe throwing, and painted cowboy hats! It really was a one-time experience, which I enjoyed a lot. We also had a Barbecue on Sunday with Eirik and Brogans’ host family. We had Sloppy Joe’s, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, Burgers, hot dogs… Overall, very American. After food, we played some games and laughed a lot.

I would say the third week was my favorite one until now. The relationship among the fellows grew stronger and the host families were one of the best parts of this program.

Meeting people outside may be fun. However, meeting them in their homes is so different and better. You get to see a different version of them and seeing an American household taught me a lot.