在美国家庭寄宿

My name is Jenny and I did a homestay in America.

我叫珍妮，我在美国家庭寄宿。

When I first met my host mother, Mary, she gave me a big hug. I was really shocked because I had never been hugged before, and I was sure how to respond.

当我第一次见到我要寄宿那家的母亲玛丽时，她热情地拥抱了我。我确实感到非常震惊因为我从来没有被拥抱过，我不知道该如何回应。

By the time I left America, though, I came to enjoy hugging and being hugged.

然而到我要离开美国时，我已经非常喜欢拥抱别人和被别人拥抱了。

Shaking hands was also a challenge. My homestay father, Peter, looked at me straight in the eye and squeezed my hand firmly.

握手也是个挑战。我寄宿那家的父亲彼特，直视着我的眼睛，紧紧地握我的手。

Both Mary and Peter wanted me to call them by their first names because they, as Americans, like informality. By using first names only, we felt friendlier towards each other.

玛丽和彼特都希望我对他们直呼其名，因为美国人一般比较随意。通过直呼其名，我们互相之间感到更加亲切友好。

单词注解：

homestay 家庭寄宿

host 东道主

hug 拥抱

shock 震惊

respond 回应

challenge 挑战

straight 直接地

squeeze 挤压

firmly 紧紧地

informality 随意