Category: Uncategorized

Dear Students,

Merry Christmas! Is this your first Christmas season in the U.S. or one of many? It’s a special time of year with concerts, parties, shopping, gifts, cookies, lights, decorations, and Christmas trees. We celebrate Christ’s birth, sing carols, listen to holiday music, and spend time with family and friends. It’s a nice break from school too! We are happy that you are here to enjoy the the sights, sounds, and joy of giving.

Your host family and friends are excited to share their Christmas traditions with you. Have you thought about sharing your holiday traditions with them?  

Here are some ideas for sharing your traditions with your host family:

Fun with Food

• Cook or share a special dish from your country (Moon cookies, dumplings, tapas, seafood, pasta, Pho, or Christmas Cake). 
• Go to a restaurant to talk about and share your favorite food.
• Show a video or pictures of traditional holiday food and treats.

Holiday Activities

• Create holiday decorations together (Lanterns, Stars, Piñatas, Chuang Hua Papercutting, Nativities).
• Share a traditional song, dance, or story.  
• Watch a movie or a documentary about your country.

Show and Tell

• Talk about how your family celebrates a holiday. 
• Draw or paint a picture of a holiday memory.
• Dress in fun holiday clothing.

Gifts and Time Together

• Spend time together. Getting to know you is a gift to your host family.
• Teach part of your culture with a language or writing lesson.
• Give a handmade ornament or a traditional gift.

Enjoy the Christmas season! Take time to learn more about each other and share your culture. For your host family, friends, and you, this Christmas is extra special because you are celebrating together.

Sincerely,

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

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