Judging from the mail that I have received, you all are very busy learning new things and trying new activities! That’s good news, because it’s important to stay active and feel productive during your stay abroad.

If at times you find yourself feeling tired or slightly depressed, please don't worry; you may be suffering from what many refer to as "culture fatigue." If you look through your Visiting Teacher Yearbook, there is a section that explains the various phases of your hosting experience. It is perfectly normal to feel rather homesick, sad or frustrated, and especially at this time of year. You are all capable, independent and determined people, but it is still very challenging to be immersed in a completely new environment and culture. Be realistic in what you expect of yourself! You may find it helpful to get involved in new activities, or you may decide it best to become more involved in those activities that you know you enjoy and do well. Please make sure you are well-rested, eating adequately and taking enough time out of each day for yourself.

Many of you have already begun to give your own presentations in order to supplement courses in your host schools. This is a great way to share your country’s traditions and holidays to your school’s students! If you feel you need a few fresh ideas, perhaps you could look into the following: a cooking class showcasing special foods related to a holiday; demonstrations of celebratory dances or ceremonies in a gym class; a celebration of your country’s traditions in a social studies or geography class. Be inventive and creative, and don’t be shy, as teachers in your schools are just as busy now as they were at the beginning of the school year. You will need to take the initiative by letting people know you are interested in taking part in their classes and explaining to them what you would like to offer. Schedule time to speak with your mentor teacher to ask for some help in designing an introductory letter that highlights the presentations you are planning.

Starting off the New Year
Now that you are more familiar with your school and community, it is a good time to discover more opportunities in which to get involved. This second semester is an ideal time to become more active. You could join a theater company or a local singing group or create an after-school cooking, language or crafts class-the possibilities are endless! If you have ideas in mind for things you would like to accomplish before your departure in June, sit down with your host family and mentor teacher to talk about your interests. We are confident that by working together many of your ideas can become realities! Take the chance to explore!

On another important note, we would like to ask that you remember to take care of yourself. Make sure to ask your host family or liaison for help or advice as you learn to deal with the cold and adjust to the winter season. You should know that it is not unusual to find the cold weather and the shortened daylight hours to be disheartening. In the United States, we call this "Seasonal Adjustment Disorder." It simply means that your mind and body miss the sun and the warmth! To keep yourself from experiencing this disorder, stay warm (by wearing appropriate winter attire), stay active (by trying a new activity) and take advantage of any hours of sunlight during the day (by taking a walk or reading near a window).

Although it is a cold month, weather-wise, January also presents a perfect opportunity to start anew. Many people make “New Year’s Resolutions”; these are promises we make to ourselves, usually with the intention of making a change in our lives or to try something new and interesting. While the official New Year has passed, it is never to late to make a promise or a change!

A note about email
In this era of email, it is easy and convenient to “speak” with your family and friends frequently without using the phone. We certainly understand that it is always important to keep in touch with important people in your life. Keeping this in mind, it is also helpful to remember that during those times when you need support, these conversations with friends cannot replace discussions with your AFS volunteers. If you are experiencing difficulties or problems, please take note that emails from your friends, while supportive, cannot tangibly help you to address or resolve a situation. If anything is to change, you must involve your AFS contacts; they look forward to hearing from you and will always make time to hear your voices.

Also, as you correspond with your friends, remember that you are an individual learning to become comfortable in your own placement; in other words, others have their experiences, and you have yours. If you remember back to our conversations during Arrivals, you will recall discussing the fact that due to your varying personalities, interests, host families and placement communities, all of your experiences are uniquely formed.

Last but not least – in most AFS experiences, keeping in close contact with friends and family in your home country can interfere with your ability to settle into your host environment here in the United States. It is difficult to concentrate on your experience here if you maintain constant communication with home. Though AFS does not set a “frequency policy” for Visiting Teachers regarding the time spent communicating with those abroad, we do ask you to keep in mind the effect this contact will have on your experience here.

If you’re feeling Homesick
To help lessen feelings of homesickness, why not put together a packet or assemble small gifts to send to your family at home? In addition to expressing your wish for their holiday happiness, perhaps you could share more about your experiences here. Ask your host family and friends for help in putting together this type of packet; this way that both your families can share the holiday spirit with you!

Remember to stay as involved as you are able, because keeping busy is always a good way to keep from feeling down. This time of year is particularly rich in both religious and cultural significance, so you will probably find many activities available for you to join. If you have not yet begun to keep a journal, this may be a good time to start, both to help you remember the vast array of things going on around you now and also to have as a tool to share your experiences with your family and friends when you arrive back home.

When “the trees are thrown out, the lights are turned off, the gifts are put away” after Christmas I really felt a moment of emptiness and loneliness. I have the same kind of feeling after our Chinese Spring Festival when everything returns to normal and another year begins, but I didn’t let that kind feeling stay in my mind long, as the next day my family and I left the house for our cabin up north. I already succeeded in persuading myself with the fact that after American Christmas comes the Chinese Spring Festival. I should look forward to it and prepare to welcome it with my Chinese family and friends like staying in China, the only difference is that I can not do some practical things like making cookies and decorate my house, but this kind of mental work really works and pretty soon I felt better.

Another reason I won’t let myself down is that I know time passes very quickly day by day and the date for our departure is coming eventually. I will have less and less time to stay in America, no matter what we want to. All the wonderful resources, the friendships we have developed, the school teachers and students, the fresh air and water, the beautiful scenery will stop and stay in my deep heart and become the past like an old film; you only can cherish them but seldom have another chance to experience them again when the day for us to leave has come.So why not cherish my days in the USA happily? Why spend your time with a blue mood? Bleak seasons doesn’t mean bleak moods or spirit. Let us be in high spirits.

This winter is really a bleak winter with less snow. (A lot of people around me call it “odd”). Saying goodbye to the beautiful autumn days, we are sure to come into a bleak winter. But I treat the fewer outside activities and more time stay at home as a luxurious time to doing things I want to. That means I have more freedom to arrange my time, my schedule. I have more time to spend reading more books, watching more videos and doing more writings and doing my photo diaries more carefully. That means I have more time to do things like finding time to arrange my photos according to different topics.

I cherish the gifts I received from my family, my friends, teachers and students during the Christmas days and some regular days. They are not ordinary gifts. They carry a lot more meanings than the gifts themselves. I will never forget a gift from a fourth grade girl, which is a photo of her with her name and words “thank you for coming to our class” on it; another gift from a boy which was an old Chinese ancient coin put in a beautiful glass container; one mask of an old man given by a student in my Chinese lesson after Grandparents’ Day; two telephone cards from school teachers; a book from an old man in a nursing home after I sang a Chinese song for them before Christmas; books and stamps from friends and teachers. How can I feel down in such a good situation?

I appreciate my days with my first family who really give me another home in America. I appreciate their encouragement to me when I feel lonely and occasionally sad. I appreciate all the help they gave me not only in life but in my spirit. I will try to spend every day in America fulfilled and colorful, no regrets when I look back to the days I have spent here in the future.

One of my dreams in America come true in one day. My students in Manchester Elementary School ran to me and pulled me to go outside to see something. I didn't know what it was. All of them said, "snow". Even only a little flake excited me! Since then I have hoped to see more.

Nov.8, 2006 I could remember that it's the first snow of mine. I couldn't wait to go outside with my kids although it's so cold for me. I enjoyed the snow so much even when I slipped and fell down and the kids gave me a big laugh.

I couldn't believe that I was in USA and could see real snow, not from one of the movies named 'Home Alone' I had watched a long time ago. To be sure, I tried to pinch my cheeks and it hurt. It's real, real snow! Not in my dreams.

It's Friday, January 17. I saw big piles of sticky white material around the house. Then I got the idea to make something for fun. I try hard to make it but it failed. One man saw me, then he taught me and helped me to make it. After learning, I could achieve in a short time. We put it beside the tree in front of the house. Otherwise we decorated it on both sides with long carrots For his nose, some buttons on his chest and a black hat So that both people who passed by and us could see it. I named him Mr. Thairican (that means Thailand and American) To remind me of an American man who took part in making it. Evert time I looked out of the window, I could see what I made. That’s him, my first snowman, MR. THAIRICAN.

Loy Kratong, or the “festival of light” is one of the most celebrated holidays in Thailand. ‘Loy’ means ‘to float’ and ‘kratong’ refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle that the people place in the river. Traditionally, the kratong is made of banana leaves, the layers of the trunk of a banana tree, or a spider lily plant. However, as new materials become available, they are becoming much more creative in their decorations. In the kratong there is food, betel nuts, flowers, joss sticks, candles, and coins. People light the candles and release the kratong on the river, watching it float away and hoping the candle will continue to burn as the flame is said to signify longevity, fulfillment of wishes and release from sins.
For more information on Loy Kratong:
http://www.thailand.com/travel/fe stival/festivals_loykratong.htm

Larry Liebling, Mentor Teacher to Naengnoi Yongchooyot
The students and staff at Manchester Elementary School have been very fortunate this year to have Naengnoi Yongchooyot as a visiting teacher from Phuket, Thailand. She has been with us since the start of school this school year. Students have called her Khun Kroo Noi which is what her students call her in Thailand. It means Teacher Noi. The Loy Krathong festival was one of the many things that she shared with our students. This is one of the Thai people’s favorite celebrations. During October she and Mrs. Beedy, our art teacher, made krathongs. Traditionally these are small floats containing a lotus flower, candle and incense. We made them out of paper. In music class, Khun Kroo Noi and Mr. Larsen taught all our students the Loy Krathong song. During her weekly visits to each classroom, Noi taught the students a traditional Thai dance. On the day of the full moon in November, Khun Kroo Noi dressed some students in traditional Thai costumes. These students carried banners and a large krathong and lead the whole school carrying their own krathongs up to the gym where a “river” (made of paper) flowed. Everyone lined up along the banks, made a wish and floated their krathongs in the river. Next we all joined in singing the Loy Krathong song and dancing. Khun Kroo Noi then demonstrated another traditional Thai dance. The festivities ended with the playing of the King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Song. A wonderful time was had by all.

Hanukkah, Hebrew for dedication, is also known as the Festival of Lights or the Festival of Rededication. In 168 BCE, the Greek King of Syria, Antiochus IV, forbade the practice of Judaism and seized the Temple of Jerusalem. When Judas Maccabee recaptured Jerusalem three years later, he restored the temple and celebrated its rededication with festivities that lasted eight days. According to tradition, only a one-day supply of oil could be found to light the eternal flame of the Temple, but it burned for eight days – the time it took to press, prepare, and consecrate new oil. This is known as the Miracle of Hanukkah.

Today, many Jewish families commemorate this miracle by lighting a special candelabrum called a menorah for the eight nights of Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a festive family occasion, with special foods and songs. Children generally receive money, known as Hanukkah gelt, each evening after the candles are lit. Children sometimes receive chocolate in the shape of coins in place of Hanukkah gelt, and in more recent traditions, small gifts. Foods fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and doughnuts, commemorate the miracle of the oil. Songs and blessings also play a part in the festivities and remind the family of the events commemorated.
For more information on Hanukkah:
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/default.as p
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannukah

Christmas is a holiday in the Christian calendar, usually celebrated on December 25th. The holiday celebrates the birth of Jesus, whom Christians believe is the messiah. According to the Christian gospels, Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem, where she and her husband Joseph had traveled to register in the Roman census. On Christmas day, many Christians attend mass in honor of Christ’s birth. It is celebrated as both a religious and secular holiday.

In more recent traditions, Christmas is a time for families to gather, eat a special meal, sing Christmas carols and exchange gifts. In the United States, families often decorate their homes with lights, wreaths and cards. Many also put up Christmas trees and decorate them with ornaments. Many children believe in Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nick or Kris Kringle), a big jolly man with a white beard, who travels the sky at night in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, to deliver gifts to good boys and girls. Many people traditionally hang stockings on the mantle over the fireplace in hopes that Santa will leave a small gift for them. Families will often leave cookies and milk out on a table near the Christmas tree for Santa to enjoy.
For more information on Christmas:
http://www.2.worldbook.com/features/holidays/htm/c hristmas.htm
http://www.history.com/minisites/christmas

Kwanzaa is a cultural, non- religious, holiday that celebrates family, community, and culture and lasts for seven days. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, during the Black Liberation Movement to bring all African Americans together as a community. Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Kwanzaa builds on the “first fruits” celebrations, making Kwanzaa a time of: ingathering of the people to reaffirm the bonds between them; special reverence for the creator and creation in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation; commemoration of the past in pursuit of its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence, our ancestors; recommitment to our highest cultural ideals in our ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice; and celebration of the Good, the good of life and of existence itself, the good of family, community and culture, the good of the awesome and the ordinary, in a word the good of the divine, natural and social. Each family celebrates Kwanzaa in their own way. Most celebrations often include songs and dances, with African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional African fest called Karamu, held on December 31. The seven days of the celebration are based on the Nguzo Saba (the seven principles) which reinforces the importance of community. The seven principles of Kwanzaa are: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self- Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). On each of the seven nights, a child lights one of the candles on the Kinara (a candleholder), and one of the Nguzo Saba is discussed. Kwanzaa has become a Pan-African holiday, celebrated by Africans around the world.
For more information on Kwanzaa:
http://officialkwanzaawebsite.org/index.shtml
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/kwa nzaa/hist.html

Eid ul-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice, occurs immediately following the Day of Arafat. This Muslim celebration marks the end of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorates Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, for God. Because God spared Ishmael, substituting a sheep in his stead, Muslims commemorate this occasion by sacrificing a domestic animal, usually a sheep, and distributing its meat among family, friends, and the needy as a special act of charity for the occasion. The charitable efforts of the Muslims see to it that no one is left without sacrificial meat during this celebration, which lasts three to four days. The first day is the primary holiday and Muslims dress in their finest clothes and perform prayer in a mosque or community center, which is followed by a community breakfast. Muslims often visit with friends and relatives during this time, hold gatherings or parties, and give gifts to their children.
For more information on Eid ul-Adha:
http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/MSA/events/EUA.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_ul-Adha

In the United States and many other countries around the world, New Year’s Eve, which falls on December 31st, is a festive occasion marked by lively celebrations to welcome in the New Year. In the United States, many people go to New Year’s Eve parties where they drink a champagne toast and sing a traditional song called “Auld Lang Syne”. ( http://www.carols.org.uk/auld_lang_syne_burns.htm) The most popular past time is watching the ball in Times Square in New York City. At midnight, bells ring, sirens sound, firecrackers explode, and everyone shouts, “Happy New Year!”

For many, the New Year is a time to start fresh. People often clean their homes and finish up old projects, leaving nothing unfinished at the beginning of the New Year. It is also common for people to make New Year’s Resolutions, which are promises about what they will or will not do or they would like to accomplish in the New Year. What are your New Year’s Resolutions for 2007?
For more information on New Year’s Eve:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearcelebrations. html
< http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearhistory.html

Every year on February 2nd, Americans turn on the news to watch the famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, crawl out of his burrow and predict the winter weather forecast. It is said that if Phil sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter, but if he does not see his shadow, then spring will soon arrive. For centuries, people in Europe used to watch for signs of hibernating animals, indicating that winter was soon ending. February 2 is Candlemas Day, a Christian holiday that celebrates Mary’s ritual purification. Early Christians believed that if the sun came out on Candlemas Day, then winter would last for six more weeks. German immigrants, who came to Pennsylvania, began keeping an eye on groundhogs to determine the coming of spring. In the 1880s in Punxsutawney, PA, a group of friends went in search of groundhogs, abundant in that area, on Candlemas Day, and thus the tradition of Punxsutawney Phil was born. Though Phil is the most famous of the weather forecasting groundhogs, other American cities have their own groundhogs: New York City’s groundhog is Pothole Pete.
For more information on Groundhog’s Day:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/groundhogday1.html

February 14 marks a day of love and romance which people celebrate by exchanging chocolates, flowers and gifts with their loved ones, in the name of St. Valentine. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. Emperor Claudius II thought that single men were better soldiers than men with wives and families, so he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl and she visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still used today. People celebrate Valentine’s Day by wearing red (or pink) and giving cards, chocolates, or flowers to a sweetheart!
For more information on Valentine’s Day:
http://www.history.com/minisites/valentine

Comings and Goings

In early January 2007, we said farewell to seven of the teachers who arrived in August: Ilsy Ramirez (Honduras), Karen Martinez (Honduras), Edi Montiero (Brazil), Emelina Villarreal Quispe (Peru), Johana Cavrera Rodriguiz (Peru), Dolores Garay (Panama), and Azucena Alija (Argentina).


Visiting Teachers at the January End of Stay Orientation (busy at work!)


Farewell Dinner
Top, from left to right: Erin Abrams, Ilsy Ramirez, Karen Martinez, Adele Taylor (AFS Volunteer) and Dori Rubin (AFS Volunteer). Bottom from left to right: Edi Montiero, Emelina Villarreal Quispe, Johana Cavrera Rodriguiz, Dolores Garay, and Azucena Alija.

While January was a time for goodbyes, we are now welcoming two new educators who will be spending their spring semester in the United States. Elida Lamattina (Argentina) will be hosted in Minnesota by the Greater West Metro Area Team and Blanca Mary Mogollon Garcia (Colombia) will be hosted by the Northwest California Area Team. For hose of you who have made a home in these areas, please welcome our new participants and help them feel comfortable in their new surroundings!



Get ready for the End of Stay Orientation

Your time to depart is approaching more quickly than you may think! Please make a note of the End of Stay Oreination date on your calendars; you will travel to New York on Tuesday, June 12th and your international travel home will take place on Friday, June 15th.



Independent Travel Reminder

As you make travel plans during the upcoming school vacations, please keep the independent travel guidelines in mind (we shared these with you during your Arrival Orientation). Remember that you must receive authorization from the Visiting Teacher contact specific to your Area Team each and every time that you wish travel independently.