Look Back and Laugh: An international Christmas

After my parents successfully had all of their kids out of the house and living on their own I guess they felt like their nest was a little too empty so they brought in 2 foreign exchange students for a year. This meant there was a Muslim, a Buddhist, and two charismatic Christians living under one roof. It might sound volatile, but it was a great experience for everyone. They still keep in touch and call my parents mom and dad.

The one on the left is from Turkey and the one on the right is from Thailand.

After the boys went shopping for family presents I was told that they were absolutely stumped about what to get for my brothers, but they found something for me and J that they knew was the perfect gift.

Of course this peaked my curiosity. What would make them think of us? Could it be something musical? Or was it something to do with photography? Christmas morning finally came and I was anxious to see what we got from the exchange students. They ended up buying sudoku books for my brothers. As I watched J unwrap the gift our international brothers had so thoughtful picked out for us I would have never guessed in a million years that we would be the recipients of a cheap decorative replica of the Mayflower. Yeah, THE MAYFLOWER as in the ship that transported the pilgrims to America.

I still to this day don't know what made them see the model ship and think "that is perfect for them", but after 3 years we still have it and I don't plan on getting rid of it. It might be a little random, but it's a nice memory and a conversation piece for sure. While other people think of the Mayflower and reflect on Plymouth rock and America's history, I see the Mayflower and think of two young men from Turkey and Thailand and I can't help but smile.