Author: Becky Baughman

We are approaching Thanksgiving – the time of year when families gather together over a traditional meal to give thanks. As part of the American tradition, you may be asked to share something that you are thankful for. We all have many things to be thankful for…loving parents and host family, friends at school, an abundance of food, and so much more.   

The Thanksgiving holiday, started during the earliest days of American history. In 1621, the early settlers, Pilgrims, had just endured a cold, deadly winter. In the year since the Pilgrims had landed in the New America, over half of the original group died due to illness. Only 52 people survived the first year.  

When the Pilgrims and Native Americans came together to celebrate the harvest, they had endured challenges of a long sea journey, bitter cold, lack of adequate food and shelter, and the loss of friends and family. In a letter written by a settler, he described that their crop of peas and barley did not survive, but they harvested a good crop of corn. For their first Thanksgiving meal, in addition to corn, they added seafood, birds, and deer to the feast. The writer summed up the 3-day feast by adding, “And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at a time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want….” Regardless of the difficulties facing the Pilgrims, and the fear of an uncertain future, they chose to be thank-full to God, even when their blessings were few. 

Being truly thank-full requires looking beyond our blessings, to the One who blesses. It’s about being full of gratitude for Jesus Christ, not just being full of thanks for what He has given us or done. This may be a year that you may not feel very thankful: you miss your family back home, your report card was not as good as you wanted, or it’s been difficult to make friends. But you can still be thank-full by putting a different focus on what thankfulness is by remembering that there is a God who loves you and wants a relationship with you. We can be thank-full because God has given us a gift that lasts forever by accepting us into His family through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Sincerely,

Tiffanee M. Wright, MA, MPH | Executive Director
AHLI – International Education and Homestay

Do you like riddles? Here’s a funny one:

Why did the girl throw the clock out the window? (see answer at end)   

We are approaching an annual event. Do you know what happens at 2 am on the 1st Sunday in November? 

Did you guess pushing the clocks back 1 hour? Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of changing time to maximize the amount of sunlight in a day. Each Fall (Autumn), when the days grow shorter with less daylight, we “fall back” one hour on the clock to maximize daylight. Then in Spring (first Sunday in April), we “spring forward” by advancing the clock forward one hour.  

Benjamin Franklin, an American inventor, wrote a scholarly article in 1784 recommending that people go to sleep and get up based on the sun rising and setting, rather than by the clock to save money from not needing to burn as many candles in the evening. But 100 years went by before someone began suggesting standard time changes formally. Britain was the first country to adopt a national Daylight Saving Time in 1918 during World War I, and the U.S. followed soon after. Now, one-third of countries follow the same practice around the world, even though we no longer rely on candles!  

Over the past 100+ years, more than 140 countries have followed Daylight Saving Time at some point, but currently it’s about 70 countries. Among the countries that use Daylight Saving Time, each country sets its own start and end date. Interestingly, in the U.S., Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states that do not follow DST. This makes it very confusing for travelers.

The good news for you is that when you go to sleep on Saturday, November 2nd, you’ll get an extra hour of sleep when the clocks fall back! Enjoy the extra sleep and the changing seasons.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.

Map Key: Blue and orange countries currently observe DST. Grey countries formerly observed DST.

Riddle Answer: She wanted to see time fly! 

Sincerely,

Tiffanee M. Wright, MA, MPH | Executive Director
AHLI – International Education and Homestay

Now that you’ve settled in, it’s time to focus on how to have a successful school year. 

Successful students set achievable goals.

Have you thought about what your goal is this year? Is it to make American friends? Improve your English? Get on the Honor Roll at School? Get accepted at your top university? You can’t hit a target you can’t see. Having a goal keeps you focused and motivates you during difficult times. 

Successful students are proactive. 

Proactive means taking steps to reach your goal. Proactive students plan to be successful. They can reduce stress and worry by studying early, instead of waiting until the last minute to study or complete an assignment. Students who plan set consistent times to study. Research has shown that just 20 minutes of reviewing study materials each day can improve test results.

Successful students study smarter. 

Smart students learn HOW to study. Take time to learn a few study techniques that will help you understand and remember what you’re learning. While re-reading textbooks, highlighting important points, or making notes is helpful, try active study techniques that are more productive. Here are few suggestions: 

• Repeated Learning Schedule improves your memory as you revisit the information multiple times over multiple days. 
• Retrieval Practice helps you learn by recalling the information fast. 
• Use Memory Boosting Techniques: 

      1. Chunking: breaking down difficult information into smaller pieces     

      2. Mnemonics: tricks to memorize information 

• Use Flash Card apps to test your knowledge! Flash cards use repeated learning and retrieval practice skills. Quizlet is a free app to make flashcards to test memory.   

Successful students remove distractions.

Make the most of your study time by being more focused. You can learn faster when you are not distracted. Find a quiet place to study and set a timer. Put your phone away, turn off the T.V. and avoid conversations. Do focused study for 25 minutes. Then, take a 5-minute break. After (4) 25-minute blocks of studying, take a 30-minute break so you don’t lose focus. 

Successful students maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

It’s easy to become too focused on your studies! Studying too hard and too long can hinder you from reaching your goals. God designed our body, mind, and spirit to work together to be healthy. It’s important to take time to exercise and eat healthy foods. Also, keep a consistent sleeping schedule to help renew your mind and recharge your body. Don’t forget to build in time to explore your hobbies and interests to lift your spirit and bring happiness. When we care for our body, mind and soul together, we can persevere to reach our goals! 

Sincerely,

Tiffanee M. Wright, MA, MPH | Executive Director
AHLI – International Education and Homestay

Are you ready for an adventure? Are you nervous? Everyone is happy that you are here and are ready to meet you. Even if you are a returning student, it is still normal to feel conflicting emotions, including excitement and worry! Have courage and remember that your host family, AHLI coordinator, church, teachers and classmates are here to help you. Also, the best support comes from the Lord our God.

Joshua 1:9 says, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

How can you show courage? You can be friendly and start a conversation with someone.

Five Conversation Starters:
1. What is your favorite food? Do you like to try new foods?
2. Do you play sports or like to watch sports?
3. Where would you like to go on vacation?
4. Do you like music? Do you play an instrument or sing?
5. What do you and your friends like to do for fun?

You can think of your own ideas and find shared interests to get the conversation moving. Soon, you will be making friends and getting to know your host family better. Enjoy your new journey!

Sincerely,

Tiffanee M. Wright, MA, MPH | Executive Director
AHLI – International Education and Homestay

You’ve made it to the end of the school year! Congratulations!

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:1b 

For my final message of the year, I’d like to give encouragement as you take the next steps for your future. Throughout your life, you will be asked, “what job do you do?” You may even have been asked a similar question when you were a kid, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Many of us said we wanted to be an astronaut or a firefighter or professional football player, or even president! Society places a lot of value on our occupation- the “what” we do in life. It’s the work we do because we must.  

On the other hand, vocation is the work we feel called to do. Coming from the Latin word vocare, which means “to call,” vocation goes deeper than just the work itself. Rather, it is the “who” we are meant to be in life. As you mature and come into your own personhood, it’s important to think beyond the job you want to do. You have been gifted with a combination of skills, personality, and character that is unique to you. As a fellow member of society, we all have a responsibility to contribute to making the world a better, safer, kinder place.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “God has given each of you a gift. Use it to help each other. This will show God’s loving-favor. “

You have been called to make a difference. The best life is when you can combine your vocation with your occupation, so you have purpose in joy in what you do each day. As you make career decisions, remember that you have been created and called to accomplish good things! To our graduating seniors, we applaud your academic accomplishments and wish you all the best as you embark on this new journey! 

Sincerely,

Tiffanee M. Wright, MA, MPH | Executive Director
AHLI – International Education and Homestay

If you’ve looked at the calendar, you know it’s time to review your “bucket list.” What is a bucket list? It’s that list of things you wanted to do or accomplish before leaving the United States. Maybe you’ve called your list one of the following: 

• My Wish List 
• My Life’s Must Do’s 
• Amazing Experiences To Be Had 
• Awesome Goals to Achieve 

With school ending in the next 6 weeks, what’s still on your list? Take time to talk with your host family and friends to plan for the remaining few weeks. Perhaps there is still a cultural place to visit, a new activity to experience, or a restaurant to try. While it’s easy to think of all the activities that you still want to do, it’s also important to take time to consider how to end the school year well. How can you express your appreciation to your host parents and siblings, coordinator, friends, and teachers? Remember we all are given the same amount of time each day: 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. How you use it is up to you! 

Sincerely,

Tiffanee M. Wright, MA, MPH | Executive Director
AHLI – International Education and Homestay

Have you wondered why your school is closed today? Perhaps you’ve heard your host family talk about Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ was crucified and died on a cross. Doesn’t exactly sound so good, does it?  

Christians celebrate Good Friday, not because of what happened on Friday, but because of what happened three days later on Easter Sunday. To really understand this holiday weekend, we need to rewind all the way to beginning, when God created the world and declared it as good along with all that was within it, including the very first man and woman. God desired relationship with His creation, to walk together in perfect love. It was his desire that His people would live forever with him, enjoying what he created. 

But Adam and Eve (like us) decided to go their own way apart from God, which broke relationship with God. That’s when sin (brokenness) entered the world. As a result of sin, death also entered the world. 

Even though people have turned their backs on God, He still loves us. In fact, the Bible says that God loved us first even while we were still sinners. And because of that love, He made a way for us to come back into relationship with Him by sending His own son, Jesus, who was God and perfect and knew no sin, to take on our sin through His death. Jesus paid the price for each of us. 

Yet the story doesn’t end on Good Friday with Jesus’ death.. that would be a sad and hopeless ending! Despite being dead and buried for 3 days, Jesus walked out of the tomb alive, defeating death and sin. Jesus returned to His father in heaven and offers us this same opportunity to have perfect, eternal relationship with God through Jesus.  

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that anyone who believes in him shall not die but have eternal life.” 

What’s so good about Good Friday? Take a look at the video below: 

Sincerely,

Tiffanee M. Wright, MA, MPH | Executive Director
AHLI – International Education and Homestay

If you haven’t noticed… it’s February! The shortest month of the year. It also marks the 6-month mark of your exchange experience. But a short month doesn’t mean an unimportant month! February always starts with an odd American tradition called Groundhog Day on February 2. Punxsutawney Phil who lives in Pennsylvania is a famous groundhog that is believed to predict the start of the spring season. Stemming from a German superstition, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow in the ground and sees his shadow, then winter will last for 6 more weeks; if not, then an early spring is coming. Despite being disproved by science, the tradition continues with many Americans watching what groundhog Phil does on February 2. And in case you’re wondering, Phil didn’t see his shadow in 2024, so spring is coming soon!

The past couple weeks also had us celebrating several other classic American experiences. Did you catch them all? Of course, there was the Super Bowl, where more than one third of Americans watched the exciting face-off between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Even if American football is not your interest, I hope that at least you enjoyed the snacks that come with the big game and watched the funny commercials! Then we jumped into Valentine’s Day, the day Americans spend $25,000,000,000 on 500 million cards, and 50 million cards and gifts are given to “special loved ones,” including our pets, friends, and family members. And lastly, we had a 3-day holiday weekend to celebrate President’s Day, commemorating America’s iconic presidents: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. 

February is a great month to review the goals that you set for this school year. There’s still time to focus on improving a course grade, try a new hobby or activity, or befriend a classmate. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “He (GOD) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Remember, counting time is not as important as making the time count! 

“In the tapestry of time, we are each woven with purpose.” 

Happy 2024! I hope the new year has started well for you. What if you could earn 1 year of college for free? Most high school students are familiar with the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exams, but do you know about CLEP exams that earn you college credit? CLEP stands for College Level Examination Program, and these exams are administered by the College Board. Passing a CLEP exam earns you college credit that is accepted at 2,900+ colleges.  

The College Board offers CLEP exams for 34 courses, covering social sciences, history, languages, business, sciences, mathematics, composition, and literature. CLEP exams are proctored (observed) and can be taken at CLEP centers or taken remotely. Depending on the course, exams are multiple-choice and take between 90-120 minutes. Most exam results are given immediately after completion.  

Important things to keep in mind when taking CLEP exams: 

1. CLEP exams (unlike Advanced Placement exams) can only be taken in the United States. 
2. The passing score to earn college credit varies by college/university.  
3. Students may retake the same course exam only once every three months. 

Earn Free College Credit? 

Modern States Education Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to making high quality college education free of cost and accessible to any person who seeks it. Modern States has partnered with edX, a leading online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT. Known as “Freshman Year for Free,” Modern States offers free, high quality online courses taught by college professors from elite institutions that prepare you for virtually all of the major AP and CLEP exams to help you fulfill general education requirements at university.

Each course includes online lectures, quizzes, and tests. Digital textbooks will be provided free of charge. Once you work through the course curriculum at your own pace, a free course CLEP exam code can be requested from Modern States, allowing you to take the exam for free. With so many courses to choose from, you can pick the courses that you are interested in! 

Let’s make 2024 the year you start earning college credit for FREE!