Families Collide!
It’s Christmas evening, my host dad and I patiently wait by the baggage claim of the tiny Rennes airport. I have emotions and questions running through my mind of what will happen in the next 48 hours…. She comes through the automatic doors with four bags for a weeklong trip, that’s so my mom. My anticipation and nerves stream away as I hug my favorite person in the world again after three months.
My Mom made it to Rennes! She flew in on Christmas evening and my host parents and I picked her up from the airport. Thoughts and scenarios ran through my head about how this whole interaction of “meeting the parents” would go about. My host family knows the Clover who’s been living in France while my mom knows the Clover before living in France, two different people. The first interactions between my host family and my mom are something I will never forget. My mom was so enthusiastic to finally meet the people I have been living with for the past 3 months, I could see the gratitude gleaming out of her eyes. My host family was equally excited to meet my mom, they have never met a previous study abroad student’s family so it was a new experience for them as well.
Once arriving to my house, my mom met my host siblings, hugging each of them with no hesitation. The first thing we did after arriving home was all sit at the dining room table and talk for two hours. Each person in my family went around saying a few facts about themselves. Then my mom and I surprised my host family with Christmas presents! While my mom was still in the US and I was here in France, we worked together to choose Christmas gifts for my family, specifically things that may be harder to find in France. Of course we also gifted them with some traditional American pop tarts because my family once mentioned that they don’t exist in France! They were all amazed and appreciative of the gifts which made me blush in joy because I was able to express a little thank you to them after all they’ve done for me since September. After conversing more for another hour, my heart was content from all of the happiness and positive energy around the table. At the same time, I was cringing in embarrassment when my mom would talk about me…but I guess it was bound to happen at some point😅.
The next day my host mom prepared a fabulous brunch for the whole family, along with bakery breads for my mom to try! My family and my mom instantly got along so well. Although they’d only known each other for less than 24 hours, she already created a special bond and relationship based on gratitude, thankfulness, and joy.
Since my mom was in Rennes, of course I had to show her the city! We hopped on the bus and metro that I take everyday, and I toured her around the city I now know by heart. We visited the outside of my school, place St. Anne where friends and I go after school, and we even stopped by the Parliament with the Christmas market still happening. I was proud to have the ability to show my mom Rennes since it’s a city she’d never visited before, and I had come so accustomed to it in just a few short months.
After visiting the city, my mom and I started to cook dinner, the main show of her stay! We cooked Korean food for my host family (a whole separate blog post!). Our last final meal as one big family was the best way to end my mom’s stay. It was a meal that I will never forget because it was an impacting way I exchanged my culture to the people who have shared their culture and lifestyle to me! Spoiler alert: my host family loved the Korean food!
It was sadder than expected to watch my mom say goodbye to my host family. They created a bond in just a few 48 hours that meant much more than my mom meeting the family that’s hosting her daughter. Having the two days with my mom in town really changed the relationship between myself and my host family as well. With my mom present, they can see who I came from with a different perspective of me similar to before I arrived in France. I feel much closer with them after my mom visited, and I’m grateful that the opportunity for them to meet was exceptionally successful!
