By Piya Pillai This October, I had the coveted honor of hosting a German exchange student named Rebecca Tamler, more affectionately known as “Becky.” It was an incredibly interesting and enriching experience, and I am very glad to have been assigned someone I ended up caring for so much. The night before Becky’s flight landed, I had no idea what to expect. When we talked online, all I’d known about her was that she was polite, kind, and really liked chocolate. While I didn’t know what to do with the first two traits, I did compensate by buying copious amounts of chocolate. I didn't know any German at all, and still don’t, which is ironic and ended up being slightly problematic (I kept responding to her in Spanish phrases since that’s what I associated with foreign languages). Yet when I met her and actually got to talk to her on the way back from the airport, I knew none of my fears and apprehensions about her were necessary, and she quickly became the most enthusiastic and happy person I have ever met. And thankfully, she spoke and understood English enough that there wasn’t much of a language barrier.
I am an only child, which means I’m used to doing everything on my own. I don’t know how to wake anyone up for school, wait for the bathroom to be vacant, share my flat iron, or even use full sentences before 7:33 am. Not to mention, Becky was a morning person who smiled when she woke up and always got dressed before me. She adapted to my daily routine instantly, and almost made me feel guilty about not being able to function before my morning coffee. For most days, I didn’t see her during the school day after dropping her off at her “home base”, and while I sat through class after class, she went on field trips and tours. Because of this, at the end of the day, Becky and I tended to be on entirely different energy levels. When I’d pick her up to go home, she’d excitedly talk about what she learned about American culture, while I felt guilty about the inevitable nap I’d be taking later that afternoon. That being said, I tried to make sure she never had to sit home and watch me study for AP Biology or fall asleep to another stale rerun of ‘Friends’. She and her friends went for soccer games (special thanks to the people that took her to these in my absence), shopping, and pizza, among other things. Becky’s last weekend here was Halloween, and suddenly I realized how much I’d miss her when she’d have to go. We had gone shopping for costumes, out to dinner together, gone for long walks in the fall evenings, went to football games, and she had even come with me for a job interview. So Halloween night, I decided to ditch the books and go out with her for Halloween. That night will always stay with me as the The Night I Spent Trick-or-Treating With a Large Penguin (And Had To Call An Uber To Pick Us Up From A Party When My Car Broke Down). I’m not very good with goodbyes, so when I was helping her put her luggage onto the bus, I avoided eye-contact. I had gotten used to Becky and her morning smiles. She hugged me and cried before leaving. While I didn’t cry, folding up her air mattress that night reminded me of the times we had together.
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