Hello everyone,

My name is Wei, English named Amanda, and I am from Taiwan. I am staying with the most amazing host family in Anchorage, Alaska—the Knapps.

"Without the Knapps, my exchange year wouldn't be so colorful."

My host dad, Gunnar, is a professor who travels a lot; my host mom, Alice, is an elementary school librarian; all three of my host siblings are talented musicians, great skiers, and hard-working students.

I have really enjoyed my fulfilled American life in the past 7 months with this family. Everyone in the family plays instrument, so we not only had many family concerts, but also share the music with friends through our yearly family tradition which we passed muffins to Iditarod mushers and welcome them with trumpets and different national anthems. They also encouraged me to go cross-country running and skiing as a family sport. We cheer for each other at every race, even though sometimes it gets as cold as -13°. On Christmas, since Gunnar is Swedish, we celebrated it in both American and Swedish way. It was fun to dance and sing with all our friends around the house and even the bathroom.

The Knapps also has an interesting tradition: each of the family members has to talk about their day while we have dinner together every evening, just like "the Giver," a book which I read right before coming to Alaska. By doing so, my English speaking has definitely improved.

I really want to show my appreciation to my American parents for driving me to violin lessons, offering me chances to participate in several the musical events, allowing me to share my culture, and all the support and things you've done for me. I would like to thank my host siblings as well for their encouragement and help on music, sports, homework, and fun times we had. Last but not the least, thank you for coming to my dance concerts!

The last 3 months will really fly, but I will never forget all my American experiences, and I will always remember deeply in my heart that I have had an Alaskan family!

Love,
Wei Lee (Amanda)