Before I came to Germany, I wasn’t expecting to have any sort of special bond with the people who were housing me; I was here to study and experience the German culture and language. However, I already feel very close to and welcomed by the family that I’m staying with. My host-mom and her 9-year-old daughter have done so much to make me feel at home. It’s a little hard to read, but this welcome sign was on the doormat of their apartment when I arrived. The daughter took it upon herself to make me a welcome sign as well as signs for every room in the apartment so that I would know where everything was. She impresses me more and more each day with her maturity and intelligence, and I can already tell that it’ll be very hard for me to say goodbye to her. I have a younger sister but she’s 17, so it makes me happy that I can spend time with her and treat her like a really little sister. She’s an only child, so I can imagine that having someone around makes her happy. I’m so excited to spend more time in Muenster as well as get to know my host family even better.