I never thought moving away from a host family could make you feel somewhat homesick. Not in the sense where it has to do to with anything back home. But, feeling homesick because I knew I was not going to be able to live the same lifestyle ever again. I mean of course I can always visit, but it's not the same.
From November to March, I moved to a very small city called Tjæreborg. It had a population of around 2,000 people and there was literally one store to grocery shop. Other than that, it really didn't have much to offer. In total honesty, this place will be that city that I will remember as home. Here, I've met people who I'd probably consider to be my "best friends". I had a friend who made me feel as if I was in a Taylor Swift music video, simply because he lived in front of my house. And his house had a lot of windows just as mine did. So bam, just like that one music video from "you belong with me." Lol jk, he was just a good nice friend, NOT A CRUSH. This city was where I took the train to go to school. The community was very small, and so serene I LOVE IT! Plus it had woods, I could be able to walk in. Not something I'd do back home! Now, my host family. I really don't know how to explain my bond with them. My host dad was a an exchange student to Mexico. So he knows the struggles of being an exchange. My host dad wasn't an ordinary man. He was one who who think outside of the book, and go for something people wouldn't think of. He was something else, literally. He told me many stories and one being my favorite was how he used to wear a robe in public. He was so much into those nerdy, geeky movies like Star Wars, Start Strek, Lord of the Rings ect. My host mom was vey sweet and funny, she was like my teen Mexican host mother. Then, I had two very cute younger host sisters. I've learned many things from them, and like I said before, moving away from them was quite upsetting. Since I've never seen the Lord of the Rings, I watched it for the very first time with them, and since then I started to enjoy watching those geeky movies as. On my last day with them they gave me a really corny present. It was so cute. They gave me a poem, and then a necklace with a ring which would let me know that the Lord of the Rings was one of our things. The poem was also very cute, and at the end my host dad added his motto do what the purpose of life was. My host parents, played the parenting act very well, they took so much care of me, and showed me that I was one of their own, but just as they played a parent role, they also played a very good friend role. Now, as I left. I really hope to create a similar bond with my new host family. By far they are really sweet and I am looking so much forward to starting a new lifestyle with them. And to my future outbounds that are reading this, I really hope that throughtout your exchange you get to have a host family that you deeply love! It's one of the greatest feelings to be feeling like home with people who aren't your blood. This lets you know that in this world there are so many people who are willing to give a hand, and want to be a major part of your exchange. I am very grateful for the time I had with them.
0 Comments
Quick pic of some of my really good friends. Noah, who is on the far right is a Dane who will be an exchange student in South America. Then on the far right is one of my best friends who was from Australia. She was spending her last weekend with me before she had to leave back home. Then there's Vitor and I! (:
Hey guys! I've been mad busy to the point where I haven't keep you guys updated at all. To begin with I'm quite upset because now I'm half way through my exchange and I don't want to go home. I've been around and have literally created last long lasting. friendships and I just keep meeting more people. I'm so upset, but then again that's part of the experience.
Yo, incoming outbounds... when people say join clubs and do school activities literally do them! It's the best way to make friends. Recently, I've joined the scouts and from there I made a new friend whom I been talking everyday from morning to night. It's as if were best friends already. It's really nice tbh. Today, I didn't go to school. I actually got the opportunity to witness a court case that involved a couple of men getting into big trouble. Originally, I was going to see a case about human trafficking but they've already started the case so we just went into another room. You know it was quite of odd in the beginning because when I walked in everyone was laughing and smiling and I was like "what the heck?" shouldn't they be mad or something? Most cases I've seen have been on TV, so yeah. I really didn't understand much, but the body language was saying everything. People were shaking heads, others were making hand movements as if they were confused and so on. But overall, it was pretty interesting. I'd like to point out that I have this really big stereotype and I shouldn't think like this but when it comes to a Dane causing trouble I seriously cannot believe it. I feel as if all Danes are innocent and they know nothing about crimes. Another interesting thing WAS THAT THIS COURT HOUSE WAS LOCATED NEAR THE HARBOR! I MEAN WHO AND WHY WOULD ANYBODY DO THAT! Not that I have a problem with that or anything but it was funny weird. I have a funny story, so one day my friend Vitor who comes from Brazil and I planned a day to hangout. I remember it was on a Friday afternoon after school. Our last class ended at 1:15 so that was good. So after school we went to the gym for an hour, and left to go watch a movie. The gym is only about a 3 minute walk from the school. So we just left our bikes in the school, and walked to the gym. Now, by this time it was sunny, and windy. But once we left the gym, it was suuuuuuuuper windy, and cloudy. It was softly raining, but it wasn't to bad. Once we walked back to the school, it was raining a little harder. When we got our bikes, we both wondered if we should wait for the weather too calm, but since we were already on our bikes we thought it be better to just go. So then, we entered the woods, and it felt like it was raining rocks. The wind was roaring with such force, it was hard pedaling the bike. It was funny because at the time we were not wearing any rain gear. And when we were pedaling we looked so funny. Anyways, there came to a point where it started to hail, and my friend thought it was SNOWING! He was riding his bike in front of me and if he stopped we would've crashed into each other. Anyways, I was already really cold and soaked and all I wanted to do was get home. But, no. I herd Vitor yelling "SNOOOOOW!" and then he even stopped to record. I yelled back, saying IT'S NOT SNOOOOOW DON't STOOOOOOP! I WANNA GET HOME! And then it started pouring hail that was about the size of broccoli, maybe a little smaller. Now the funny part, was that vitor was yelling, I was yelling because it was just too funny, and then he yells back "AHHHHHH WHY DOES SNOW HURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and in my head i'm just like OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yeah, it was a good day to get wet lol.
As I waited on my train to arrive, I looked around and cherished the beauty of Esbjerg. I sat down on a bench, and across from me were buildings that were nothing like home. The sky was clear blue, and it was chilly. People were walking, riding bikes and smiling at one another. I was surrounded by the smell of hot chocolate, and bakeries. (idk how to type that, thing is it smelled warm, and good) My point is, at that moment I realized that I was falling in love with the country. I was falling in love with the weather, the people, bakeries, the sound of trains, and how peaceful this city is. I was falling in love with the fact that Denmark was becoming my home, and I didn't like the fact that I was going to leave it sometime. I'm soo happy here, and I really don't want to go home.
For those who are wondering about what I've done, I been pretty busy. I'm moved in with a new family and I have gotten so attached to them. You know that feeling where like you would prefer spending the holidays with your actual family? Well, for me I really don't mind not spending the holidays with my actual family. The family I'm with now truly done an impact on me, and I'm really looking forward to spending it with them. I'm truly blessed, and beyong grateful to of been hosted by them. I have a mom and dad, and 2 younger sisters. Along in the house lives my host dads brother, and his mother. Two weekends ago, I went to Lubeck, Germany for 3 days. My family, and my host dads great grandparents took a trip. We stayed at this really cute camping cabin. We left on a Friday afternoon and arrived around 20:30 p.m (8:30) When we arrived, we settled, unpacked and ate dinner. We ate open sandwiches, and tartelletters. Since we arrived pretty late, and it was a 5 hour drive we just stayed in and rested the rest of the night. The following morning, we woke up early, and walked around the city. Let me tell you, GERMANY WAS SO FREAKING COLD! Like just by being outside for like 5 minutes my face felt so numb, and I felt like my nose was going to fall of. It was immensely cold. We were out all day, and ate dinner at this nice restaurant and then went home. We had to be out Sunday morning, so we woke up early again and left. Anyways, to conclude this paragraph, I'll conclude with Germany is beautiful, and I'm planning to come back again. It was a really good weekend, and I enjoyed every second of it. Even the feeling of having that feeling of your nose falling off lol. My danish is okay, it's not to bad and it's not to good. I have a really hard time pronouncing the vowels and all the o sounds. School is pretty good. I've made friends, both in my class and others who are in a different grade. I have gotten close to my Danish, English and Spanish teachers. I've talked to my others teachers, but were not as close as I am to my language teachers. Have I mentioned, I joined the school band? Yet, I cannot sing nor play an instrument, but that's okay... its fun. Also, I love being a Mexican/American. I've done a couple presentations about Mexico and the United States, and how a life of a Hispanic is under Trump. Its quite interesting, and I really like how Danes are very aware about some of the situations that go around in the States. My favorite part about this all is being able to expand my cultural! Gosh, I just love everything right now. Anyways, I think that's all for now. Vi ses min venner! Last, Friday as I left to the train station I realized that I left two of the most important things home. My passport, and credit card. I didn't make a really big deal about it because in my bag I always carried my ID, and my resident Permit, and some yellow card which is the social security here. Plus, I didn't mind bringing my credit card because I was gonna save money.
I was going to a Rotary Conference that was like on the other side of my city, close to Copenhagen. Everything was great, the conference was fun. First day, we just chilled and relaxed. Friday was our free day, and then on Sat we had a few activities, and then a Halloween party at night. The following morning we all left to the train stations to go back home. Now this is where the struggle begin. All trains, were getting delayed so that kind of brought a confusion. I was suppose to get on a train that was going to take me home around 3. Now, as I was looking for a train, I realized I had a few friends on the same one. So, now I wasn't to scared. (IDK why but these things about the trains get me nervous lol) Anyways, so we get on the train, and the lady that starts asking about tickets comes along our way. My heart was pounding, because I was afraid she was going to ask for my passport. Before, I go any further when the lady who checked my ticket on my way to the conference didn't say anything but this lady made me cry my soul out. She come to us, and then asked for my passport. At first she was speaking to me in danish, and then I told her I didn't understand. I told her I didn't have it, and quickly I felt as if her blood was burning in flames because she just got so pissed off. I told her I was exchange student blah blah, I had all these ID cards, and she just kept yelling at me, and saying I either needed my passport NOW, or get of the train (I was HOURS AWAY FROM HOME), or I needed to pay 700 KR. My heart was pounding sooo hard, I didn't know what to do. She was being sooooooo rude, and stubborn saying she didn't care, rules are rules and apparently I didn't know them. I was so afraid. But then, a man that was sitting in front of me started talking very loud to her, I'm pretty sure they were arguing. I didn't really understand much, but all I understood was that he said "They are with me, give them a break," after a few minutes of that.. she looked at me as if I should of been ashamed of myself and let me go. AS SOON AS SHE LEFT I STARTED TO CRY ALONG WITH MY FRIENDS but then we ended up LAUGHING because they went through the same thing at some point hahahahahahah. I told the man thank you, and he just smiled. He didn't say anything, but if it wasn't for that man IDK what would've happened to me.. Now, three hours later passed. and I realized I was on the wrong train. I was suppose to get off before my friend, but instead she got off first. I quickly got up, and asked for help and they told me that I was on the wrong side of the train. So being in like 3 mintues, I was about to aboard off. As soon as I walked to the train doors the doors closed on me. My friend and I started clicking sooooooooo many buttons and none opened. My friend who was outside, dropped her suitcases, and raaaaaaan to get the train lady. Once she was nowhere to be seen, I was in shock because I didn't know what to do. I was going to sit back down, but then a miracle comes to me. The train lady gaved me a chance of getting off the train. As soon, as I got off my friend was already gone, and there was nobody but to old ladys. I was terrified, but inside I still laughed it out because I couldn't believe this was happening to me. The problem with the train was that I was on the correct one, but on the wrong side and I didn't know trains even had that. Now, I approached the old ladies, and I told them what was going on. They were soooo stubborn, because they kept telling me I needed to buy a new ticket that was like 92,00 KR. My plan was to get on a new train, and show them my tickets and explain to them as well, but they ladies kept telling me "Oh noooo noooo you can't do that." At this point I didn't know what to do. I didn't even know where I was lol. So after having that small discussion, I really didn't want to hear them anymore. I told them thanks, and I left. I walked around the station, and suddenly saw a blue bus that had my city in it. I quickly ran to the bus driver, told him what was going on and that I didn't have money, but I did have my bus card, I didn't know if he was going to accept it because this card only has specific routes I can go to. At last, he told me to calm down, and that he was going to take me to the city. He had a smile in his face, and to be honest I wondered what was so funny. But as soon as I got on the bus, he told me he knew my struggles because he as well was an exchange student. He went to INDIANA, in a city called Lawrence. I WAS FINALLY GOING HOME HAHAHA. Instead of coming home at 3, I came home at 7. But yeah guys, that's my Sunday story. :D Long time no see! Hi guys, the reason why I haven't posted is due to the website being down. I have like 9 articles, but once I wanted to publish they wouldn't do so. The website is now running! Guys IM BACK! (to posting)
Being in exchange student is immensely crazy. But it's one of the greatest things a teenage adult can do. In 2 days, I will complete my first month in being here. Throughout my stay:- I've gotten lost
- I've walked almost 2 hours in the rain looking for my house - I've made friends - I've tried foreign foods - Attended school - Went to an intro camp with many other exchange students I’ve done a numerous of things, that consisted of me opening more to this new life. For example, I’ve moved in with my first host family, and they live very close to the city and the school. I now have to ride my bike in the mornings and afternoons to school and back. That bike is my transportation lol. It’s so funny because I’m not so good at being quick, and making turns. I’m always laughing at myself bc I feel funny, and it’s a great feeling bc it gives me joy for no reason. The schools are very different. I have about 2-4 classes per day. If a teacher gets sick, or has a reason to not be there the class gets cancelled. Which means we have no substitute. Students here dress up as if it was fashion week every week. I, however dress up like an average american. Jeans, converse, and a tshirt. I struggle to wake up lmao. When participating, students don’t raise a hand they raise a finger. My class is pretty cool, i think were around 24-26 people. There’s only 3 boys, and the rest are girls. I really like Denmark, and the people. They are ALL very kind and open minded. I’m still adapting to the food jaja. At first I wasn’t really a big fan, but little by little i’m getting used to it. An everyday thing danish people eat is bread. There isn’t a single day I don’t eat it lol. Also for dinner my host family drink a lot of whine. I don’t drink it bc I don’t like it. Let me not forget to mention they also drink sparkling water, another thing i’m not a fan of. My host family is so sweet. I really like them. The first dinner I had a moment in where i started laughing so hard tears came out. They're very loving and I just cannot get over how sweet they are! I don’t know how else to go on. This past month i’ve been so confused and it’s understandable. I’m not the same girl I was back home. Okay maybe there isn’t much of the difference, but I’m not that smart girl in school, I don’t know how to ride a bike and handle the turns without falling. I’m still having lots of trouble with the language but it’s all okay. Denmark has became a good home, and I know I’m in hands with great people. I have all the support and love to make me feel like home. My start was a very good one. |
AuthorThe author is currently having trouble setting up her blog.. Archives
March 2018
|