Too Happy to be Homesick: Why Become an Exchange Student?

Firstly,

Day 78: feeling excited (as always).

Do you know the feeling you get the night before your birthday? Or maybe the night before you leave on a vacation? Or in my case the night before the first day of school? #nerdy

You are so excited for the possibilities, and happy that after all this waiting, you are finally going to do this THING, whether it was turn 17, or go to Disney World, or finally have French class with your favorite teacher, your excitement cannot be contained long enough to sleep.

I happen to know this feeling very well. Ever since arriving in Finland, I get this feeling almost every night because I am so excited about my future. I am excited for the next day at school. I am excited for the Vanhat (prom, mostly just excited to wear my dress again, I’ve never loved an inanimate object as much as that dress). I am excited to spend time with new people on the Rotary organized trips. I am excited to finalize my university plans, and also begin attending university.

There are so many things that will be happening in my future that I cannot wait for. I do not want to live my life always waiting for something to happen, but I won’t deny that I am almost always excited for something whether it will happen in 2 hours, or 4 years.

Secondly,

I would like to do a quick recap of how my life has been going over the past two weeks.

My new classes are going swimmingly, and I could not be happier with my choices. I am being challenged with the new language, but somehow I am gaining a plethora of knowledge that I didn’t realize I wanted to learn. In my Geography class we are learning about natural risks, the terms are hard to understand, but with the help of images, I fell in love with Mother Earth all over again. In my Ethics class I am learning about controversial issues I previously believed were black and white, but now I see the added grey shades. My language classes (French, Spanish, and Finnish) are going well, and I am fueling my love for languages. My school schedule is now complete with one math class and also a physics class, I am always ecstatic when I see the familiar numbers and formulas.

I received my marks from last jakso, and I am incredibly impressed with how I did in my classes, which were in a foreign language. The grades I received were; Math: 10, English: 9, PE: 9, History: 9. *giving myself a pat on the back*

I happily completed two interviews, maybe I felt slightly famous... One interview was about my experiences in Finland for our school newspaper, the second was for Rotary Day, and I described life as an exchange student.

It was also International Day last Friday. The exchange students at my school (including myself) did a group presentation about our countries/lives, the students loved to learn about the differences and similarities between our cultures, and we loved being able to share a part of our lives with our new classmates and peers. Of course, as the outgoing people we are, we dressed very patriotically, so there would be no confusion regarding our home countries.

Thirdly,

This week is our autumn break, so no school this week, but I will still be as busy as a bee. On Tuesday my host-mom, Niina, host-sister, Linnea and I will be going to Helsinki. Our trip will be a perfect balance of culture and shopping, so I’ve been told, but I am excited to see another part of Finland with the company of Niina and Linnea. Then Friday will be my Inbound orientation in Raahe with the District 1400 and 1380 exchange students, I’m so excited to see these international beauties (see “Family” to truly understand my unconditional love for these fellas). I assure you, loyal reader, that I will update my blog with information about how my autumn break went.

Lastly,

I noticed that, back home, they are beginning the selection process for next year’s exchange students! THIS IS SO EXCITING! So for anyone that isn’t sure whether an exchange is for them; here is why you should become an exchange student:

1. Experiencing a new culture

2. Learning a new language

3. Meeting people from all over the world (who doesn’t love diversity?!)

4. Gaining a second/third/fourth/fifith/so on family

5. Personal development

6. A new perspective

7. Because no matter how globally informed you may be, you can't really know what's out there without experiencing a piece of it. The world is larger than our lives, and it deserves to be experienced.

8. "Experiencing the world through endless second-hand information isn't enough. If we want authenticity, we have to initiate it, and when it comes down to it, it's pretty simple. We will never know our full potential unless we push ourselves to find it. This self-discovery is inevitably what takes us to the wildest places on earth. Adventure is what you make it. Whether it's the travel, the discovery or just the feeling of letting go. The only way we'll ever find out... Is to get out there and do it." ^^^ AMEN TO THE AUTHOR OF THIS

But as for me, I wanted to become an exchange student because the thought of going away, experiencing a new adventure and having a whole new life seemed to be the greatest thing ever. I didn’t want to become an exchange student to “find myself” but rather, remember who I’ve been all along.

I hope all is well with you, reader,

Mackie