By Majd Al Halaby, YES 2015-2016, Lebanon, hosted by FLAG in Conneaut, OH

Of all the good and interesting American holidays, Thanksgiving was my favorite. I got really excited as my host mom described that holiday for me, and I was also impressed by how much people in America value such gatherings, in which they give thanks to their families and friends. 

Besides the great variety of food (especially turkey), I wanted to surprise my host family with a traditional Lebanese dish. And what could be better than tabbouli? I got the ingredients, and some necessary help from my mom back home, and started washing, slicing, cutting and decorating.

I made my masterpiece- a slightly disastrous Lebanese tabbouli!! For some reason, it turned out to be very bitter, so I was afraid my host family wouldn't like it. As the table was set, many of my host family members were excited to try it, even the other exchange student from Japan. I was totally confused and embarrassed at the same time. 

When they started eating I didn't know what to say, but before I even thought of something... surprise! They actually liked it and many of them wanted the recipe! At that moment I felt relaxed and thankful that they didn't know my mistake. 

The funniest part is that I never told them it wasn't an accurate Lebanese version of tabbouli!