I had wanted to do something for my host family, these complete strangers who had offered me their home and their love. I wanted to give them a little part of me. Thinking about it, cutting off a few fingers and tying them with a bow seemed easier, but I didn't think they'd appreciate it very much. Yet, I had been a lot like my box of brownie mix: something entirely American, right down to the thinking in ounces, inches and English. Evelyn, Detlef, and my two younger host sisters, Aileen and Claudia, faced the same situation I was facing, but on a grander scale. Without the resources to follow the directions written on the box, they did their very best to make me as one of their own and give me what I needed: to become more than a sixteen year old far from home, to become a part of the family, a friend, and to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to learn.

0.1325 liters of vegetable oil went in with a half cup of patience. 0.1325 liters of water was joined by a half cup of sacrifice, and two German eggs by a thousand shared miles, laughs and tears. And some things didn't go too smoothly. After all, it's impossible to get all the lumps out.

After the brownies baked 35 minutes in the oven, I tested the center with a shish-ka-bob skewer (I couldn't find a toothpick), but they weren't quite done yet. Evelyn came marching back upstairs, arms full of ironed laundry. She came and sat with me for a while, and as we chatted about nothing in particular, I smiled, glad I wasn't quite ready to leave yet either.

Every now and then, everyone comes across some task that seems insurmountable, be it trying to convert a recipe into metric without conversion charts or trying to communicate in a foreign language. When I find myself with a box of brownie mix, I think of my options. I can do nothing and the carton can sit there gathering dust and reminding me every cleaning day of what I haven't done, or I can try my best to turn into something more, maybe something everyone can enjoy. By finding a way or making one, there's nothing that can't be done with the right amount of motivation and a little bit of love.

As I slid the pan carefully form the oven, Evelyn nodded toward my brownies and mused, "I think they came out rather well, don't you?"

Kjerstin Easton entered this essay in a PLUS magazine contest called "Laws of Life" and won a $3000 second prize.

Kjerstin Easton
Germany

The YFU-USA Alumni Association proudly announces the launch of its new website! The site contains all of the great features you loved from the previous version, but also contains a new, easy to navigate format, along with a polling page and new information on volunteering, alumni opportunities and more!

If youÕve never been to the Alumni Association website, be sure to check out the "First Time Visitors" page. This page will give you a summary of what is available on the website and what you can do to reconnect with YFU.

And before you leave the site, please make sure to visit our new Polling Page, located under Alumni News & Views. Your opinions are important to us! The more we know about YFU alumni and what your interests are, the more useful we can make the website for you. Check back monthly for new questions!

Last but not least, please let us know what you think. If you love the new site or hate it (come on, that canÕt be true!), please let our webmaster know by emailing her at alumweb@yfu.org.

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