By Nidhi Rathod, Hosted in USA
“I am feeling very happy to share my experience with AFS India. I am really having a great time here. It’s the best time ever in my life. I celebrated Diwali with my family here. We put Diyas in our yard and made Rangoli. I made special Indian food for my family. I celebrated Diwali in USA that means a lot to me. This could happen all because of AFS. End of October here they have a big scary festival, Halloween. In school we celebrated Halloween week. A whole week I saw scary faces. Halloween is something we don’t have in India. I had an awesome experience! I also dressed up for the Halloween. In Halloween they carved pumpkins too. I carved the pumpkins 3 times, with my friends, with my family and in the library where I am doing community service. Also 2nd November is the day of the death.
(Photo Above: Outing with new friends)
I celebrated the day of the death in my Spanish class. We made food that is special for day of the death. It was my first time celebrating day of the death. A totally new experience!! In October I had my first concert choir. That was also new and amazing experience for me. I am having adventures and wonderful time with my family. I played volleyball for fall season and I got certificate for best new player. The best experience that I had recently was that I went to great AFS get together in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There I heard really inspirational speeches from AFS USA persons and there they had big festival of culture. I took part in that and there I had one table for India and I put the things that represent the culture of India and explained to all. It was a beautiful experience to explain and give answer to their questions. This was my life’s awesome and good time. I am having the best time with my family here. I just want to say thank you to AFS from bottom of my heart for selecting me and giving me such a wonderful and unforgettable opportunity to experience new culture and learning.”