Over Winter Break, I had the pleasure of visiting with Maya, our school's AFS student during a picnic in a local park. My group and I enjoyed her presence and curiousity so much. The outing was not about comparing cultural differences and hearing explicitly about her impressions of American culture, but about four girls enjoying a lunch in lovely weather. We noticed that through conversation and focusing on each other's company, the comments and questions about culture flowed more naturally and were more meaningful. Maya and I actually discovered that we shared some niche interests and will likely be "hanging out" in the future. I would strongly urge anyone intent on meeting a foreign exchange student that it is imperative the converstation flows naturally, so the relationship can progress organically.