A life in one year? (Part I)

It shouldn't be very complicated for you to guess, what the first topic of my blog is.

Hell yes! - it is going to be about my exchange year - a second life in just a year.

It wasn't even a year. I stayed there like 10 months, and that's it. How it went out as my second life?

My decision to this big move was very unexpected and tricky. Would you believe me if I tell you that I didn't even want to go away for 10 months? Going to the US, which is almost everybody's dream to go?

I even remember the day, whenever the "idea" of being an exchange student came up.

One day, on a warm Sunday - every adventure begins typically like nothing is going on - my family and I went out for breakfast with some other relatives. My mom's friend came up with the statement that her son made the best decision by going on an exchange in 2017. (She mentioned that there is an info-meeting of that exchange - organisation some streets down the restaurant where we were). Forgot to tell you guys, that my parents were always a fan of sending their daughter on an exchange since my sister did the same thing like over 10 years now - I still don't know the reason for this keenness. Anyway... I don't want to be stuck on that, but that's how I went spontaneously with my dad to this meeting. It was actually quite pleasant and they gave us a lot of information about that process - the final decision was mine. It's unbelievable for someone who never changes her mind/perspective, but the meeting and all those things what would expect an exchange student caused that feeling of "looking forward to a whole year on your own in 'Murica!

That's how the process of (f.e. application, getting visa, getting allocated to a host family and a school....) started. On April 26th of 2018 I got my high school and host family announced. I can't describe how excited I was - even 4 months before departure. How I imagined everything in my head and got in contact with my host family...

On August 8th 2018 - in the early morning - my parents and I went to the airport where my second life without them has started, after saying "see you later". Even at my goodbye party some days before the big day, I realised how lucky actually I was to have people around myself which make saying goodbye so hard. Anyway...the moment came and I was with hundreds of other students on the plane on our way to the other side of the world. We all were on the same plane, sharing the same feelings like curiosity - excited about all those new things, nervousness - about entering into a new family like a stranger and much more...

After almost a whole day travelling around, we all arrived in New York, where we spent our first four days, to get used to the American way of life. Those days were one of the most important days for me, because I made so many friends from different countries. You feel like you get to know someone from almost every country, you know? And that's incredible! I still remember how I tried to come to an understanding with my roommates. Everyone had her own accent. In those 4 days we stayed with thousands of students on a campus, which was a little far outside NYC. But it was still pretty cool.

We had many workshops and got apportioned into states-groups. I was in the group of all future Texans! We learned many stereotypes of Texans and a lot of stuff about living there. And on the last day of our staying there, we made a New York city trip, walking down the big streets to go to the world's most crowded square. It was just like in the movies. Fascinating and bewitching. The only sad part was, that we didn't make it to the Statue of Liberty because of the terrible storm on that day. But that's ok, I have now one more reason to see NY again! :)

The next big day came, and I arrived with three other German exchange students in Texas! I was more excited on that flight, because I never had that feeling of being a guest in a family, without even knowing them that well. I was also scared, how I'm going to build my own life without my parents. Whatever decisions I make, I WAS bound to my parents all the time and I have never been on my own. Let's see how my character traits changed to the positive...

My friends and I arrived at Austin Airport on the 12th of August. We all were walking with uncertain steps. As we were getting closer, our eyes were looking for our host families and that was the moment where I said goodbye to them too - of course, I wished them good luck on their adventure. Whenever I saw my host parents I ran to them and hugged them firmly - as if I would know them for a long time.

The moment impinged, where I entered the house and my new room, which I was gonna fill in with my thoughts and feelings. Spike, the cat of the house welcomed me on my bed. I added Spike to this text too, because he knew most of the things what happened - or better said, he knew how I felt - through my exchange year.

My first day was from the one side very good, because my host family opened their house for the next 10 months to me. And they started to try to do the best for me, so I can feel like I was at home. But from the other side, I felt like I fell into a big whole where I was alone and had like 10 months to spend there. I think because this feeling - homesickness - kicked right then, on my first day. It took me like 10 minutes to realise that I had to look forward and make the best out of the time I was there, so that's how my adventure began with a short trip to one of the most known streets in Austin - the South Avenue Boulevard. It was really cool, because I got the first sense of being a Texan and how their life looks like. I really liked it there because there where little shops, and everything was just cool and ingenious - maybe because everything was new to me, no idea. I didn't feel like a stranger - that's a good thing.

I had a week till my school has started. We did so many things during that week. Watching movies, having my first pool party and visiting around to get used to the city, and much more!

An exchange student from Germany - who was like years ago in that family - came to visit them and brought her friend too. My host brothers - they are twins and both are going to college in Dallas - came to us too, so we were all together and had a great time. It was easier for me to get used to everything since I had people around me who could also speak German. It was pretty funny.

And on the 21st of August 2018, my first high school day came. I was so agitated and nervous and timid and and and...

Every word could fit to describe my feelings. But it was much different than I imagined:

I dressed up and went to the school bus stop. Every neighbourhood has its own school bus stops where they pick up the students. Of course the majority in Texas drives with his/her own car to school, but I didn't have a car and I also preferred to go with the school bus, to experience it. Whenever I was on the bus, the driver screamed "you're the new exchange student right?". That was the moment where I looked at myself, if anything is showing off that I'm an exchange student. But there was nothing obvious? After I was settled on my seat, I realised that there is nothing special about those busses. During those cold days, it's too warm on the bus and during summer it's too cold on the bus. That was one of the things where I came to the conclusion, that nothing is grey in America. Either black or white - nothing in between.

So anyways, I came to school and didn't even know where I had to go. I just followed the majority. I looked like a new baby who came to the world. We got our schedules from the authorities who were standing at the entrance. It was pretty chaotic, especially because they never heard my name before - I mean the first thing what I told them was my name, so it shouldn't be that hard to conclude that I'm NOT American.

Anyways, in the mornings almost every student buys something from the cafeteria for breakfast and at 8:30 starts the first period (=class). But every school has its own rules, so that was the time when my school started. And on my first day of school I was just looking at everybody, because everyone knew where the rooms were. And I didn't. I asked some people for guiding me to my first class. But three students denied my request. And the last person who helped me to my class was someone who was going there too! However she became one of my good friends! So it went out good - in the last minute tho.

The first thing I did was entering the room and I just noticed how everyone was staring at me. That second I straightly went to my teacher to introduce myself as an exchange student even though my exchange organisation told me that everyone will know about me. But OF COURSE this wasn't the case. I was just confronted with odd looks from all of my teachers. But my maths teacher was hilarious. He literally asked me if I had maths in Germany. That's how our class started. I expected a pretty strict first class (since all classes start right on the first school day). But he asked how our summer vacations was, and he wanted me to tell all classmates about myself. That was cool, but I was pretty nervous. After 45 minutes I left the class to find my Spanisch-class in that labyrinth. In America, everyone has its own schedule. The school year consists of trimesters. And you can change your classes every trimester. But before school even starts, you select your classes. So that's why every subject is another whole class with other people. In Germany, all teachers come to your class. In contrast to that in America, all students have to walk to their teachers' classes. But the schools are big there, so on my first day I struggled quite long :D

It was the same process like in maths. However, in my Spanish class, I literally just recognised Mexican people. I guess that's not surprising for you, if I'm talking about Texas.

That class was ok, but I felt like I actually couldn't speak Spanish. Consequently, I had dance which was also cool and chill, because we introduced ourselves. And that was the class I kinda got to know people better and TRIED to make friends, even though I was kinda shy in the beginning. And in my 4th period, I had lunch. I was really looking forward to it, because I was thinking like, "Now I have enough time to get to know people better and make some friends". But unaffectedly that wasn't the case. I sat alone while looking for some people of my previous classes, but I felt like I just was in a whole different school. (At that time, I didn't knew that there were three different lunch times) I was in A-Lunch, which is the first one, and thereupon the other two lunch periods (B&C). It is ordinary trait that the students there build up their own "groups", and the fact that it was the first day of the school after three months of summer, I guess they weren't in the mood getting to know an exchange student from Germany. After my lunch-period I had Art, Economics, English, Physics and Swimming. Nothing special happened in those periods, since it was a quite relaxed day, and the process of introducing myself and getting used to the people there was the same. But I got friends with every teacher very fast. Everything was new to me and I think I couldn't hide my timidity to be able to make friends. But over all, my day was okay, I was still looking forward to the next school days.

If this text doesn't find an end, you can imagine how powerful and great my feelings actually were. Maybe you can show your empathy or just enjoy this ride throughout my adventure - even on the next posts.

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."

#USA#highschoolexchangeyear#newyork#texas#curiosityandfearatonce?#partone