15 years ago I was lucky enough to be an AFS exchange student for my Junior year of High School! The experience shaped and defined my life in ways I never could have imagined and I think about the lessons learned and friendships made often. One of my most clear memories was having a rough time early on in the year, standing up for myself when I was living with a family that just wasn't a great match. It was the hardest thing I had ever gone through and one day I came home to a box from the U.S. I opened it up and there was a card from my best friend and her mom saying "thought you might like a taste of home" and it was filled with 4 boxes of Girl Scout cookies and some bags of Goldfish. It was AMAZING. The thoughtfulness and taste of home brought me to tears at a time when it sure felt nice knowing I was never alone even though I was far away.
Being in the military we make fast and deep friendships. Its a part of survival. At our last duty station we made great friends (you know, the rare family friends where the Moms are BFs, the kids are all into the same things, the Dads cheer for the same sports teams and you just generally all like each other) Well, those friends got orders to Germany over the summer -totally jealous- We haven't seen them in 2 years but still hold them in our hearts, so today we sent off a box full of goodies. Sure they can get Goldfish at the Commissary on base but I tried to think of the tastes of home that they couldn't get. The Chickfila sauces and Bojangles spices are extra special because they go in a care package to Lil Mr. Gratitude every time he deploys. I hope they can taste the love just as I did 15 years ago!
Cost: $30 or so
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