I consider it to be one of the most important years of my life.
It was an amazing opportunity to discover another culture and get to know so many new people.
I also learned a great deal about myself.
Since I turned 16 right after my arrival in Sweden, my year there truly marked the transition from childhood to adulthood.
It was not always fun or easy and in fact there were many challenging times, but I grew so much as a person and will always
be grateful for how much my AFS year expanded my horizons.
The fact that I am a foreign language teacher today is a direct result of my AFS experience which convinced me that few
things are more important than promoting international awareness and understanding.
I am still in touch with my AFS host family--we've had regular contact through letters and phone calls during the past
20 years and I've been able to return to Falun to visit them several times as well.
They came to Arkansas to visit me and my family in 1993 and attended my wedding in southern Sweden in 1996.
Now that I have moved to Sweden (with my Swedish husband who was an exchange student in Arkansas in 1987-88!)
I plan to have even more contact with my AFS family. They truly are a second family to me and a big part of who I am
has been shaped by my relationship with them.
