By Sophia Gerl
I have wanted to do an exchange year in America since I was a little kid. Now I’m here and my dream is reality?
Not really.
My expectations were really high because of social media. You always see people that are having the best time of their lives. The perfect host family, best friends, good atmosphere and just living the American teenage dream. But you know what, it’s definitely not the reality.
My name is Sophia, I’m 16 years old and will stay in America for the next 10 months. The start of my exchange year was crazy. I had to go to High School one day after I arrived in the USA. Alone.
That day was terrible. I couldn’t connect with people because they just ignored me and didn’t even listen to me. In a way I felt kind of bullied. I knew that this wasn’t normal. So I decided to tell my host mum about it.
The conclusion might seem weird to you, but I moved to her daughter who lives in Benicia. Everything seemed better. I had a host sister, pets, and the town was also so beautiful. The homesickness wasn’t there anymore, but just for a few days.
Suddenly everything seemed wrong. Why should I do this? Why should I leave my whole family for 10 months? Why do I want to go to a school in another country when I have to repeat it in my home country anyway?
I called my family nearly every day, which actually was not good. As an exchange student you have to leave your old life behind, at least for 10 months. But to be honest, it’s so hard.
I didn’t think that I would get that homesick. I was the one that tried to calm the classmates down on class trips. I was the one that thought I was tough enough to be alone in an foreign country.
But it hasn’t gone as I thought. Now I have been in the USA for 3 weeks. This might seem not that long, but for me it feels like I wouldn’t have seen my family for 3 years. It’s hard to believe that it should get better day by day, because it doesn’t.
Either way, I’m excited for the following months, even if it’ll be a very hard and challenging time
beniciapaw.com 