By Clara Demoulin
It’s been one of the hardest things they’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding. Becoming an exchange student is the most challenging thing that they could have done during their teenage years. From flying alone to a destination they know nothing about, without knowing anyone, and far from their family. All this requires great courage and audacity.
Arriving at a new country, new school, new city, and a new family is far from easy. A time of adaptation takes place but it is not the hardest. The hardest part is having to speak a new language, whether you study it at school beforehand or not. Not knowing how to express yourself, not being understood or the fear of being misunderstood or saying something false. It can seem negative and disturbing. Second guessing their selves: “Why am I here?” , “Do I deserve my place?” The answer to all these questions is YES. This experience is a privilege, a privilege to discover and share other cultures. You discover new aspects of your personality: you are able to manage yourself alone, you become independent, open up to others, and you make new encounters. Being an exchange student is discovering new opportunities but mostly discovering yourself.
This year Giovana, Luz, Magda, and Clara are our exchange students. Each has its own experience but in some aspects they come together. For example, meal times are different. In Europe, lunch and dinner are later, they eat around 12pm-1pm and in the evening between 7pm and 8pm. South America has the same schedule for meals. There are many other little differences that lead to the shock of cultures: food, the right to drive at 16 years old, school holidays, traditions,….
Although there are some challenges, overall being an exchange student has been really positive. According to Luz Martinez, “My experience is awesome, I love being here.” She needed some time to adapt and many things seemed difficult and strange to her, but now she loves discovering and participating in school activities and events like football matches every Friday, the homecoming,… because they are typical activities of the USA and it is part of the discovery of American culture.
In the USA, sport is very present. There are a great variety of sports, unimaginable infrastructure, an omnipresent culture of sport. Clara, being a sporty girl, was attracted by this aspect of the USA. Indeed, here almost all the students are in a team or part of a club. This is what surprised/amazed Clara. She says that in Belgium, at the sport level it’s totally different. They do sports all year round instead of seasonal sports and clubs. In Belgium schools they have a 2-hour gym class per week. No large infrastructures at the school, no school team, no choice of sports and there is no club after school.
Each experience is unique, normal things for us may seem strange, different but, if we think about it carefully, it would be the same thing for you if you became an exchange student. Despite the differences, a lot of positivity is present. We appreciate our experience and are happy to have taken the decision to become an exchange student.
