Saturday, January 24, 2015

Why an exchange year?

South Africa this summer

Hi everyone,
In this post I want to tell you some of the reasons why I chose to be an exchange student. It's a big decision because I'm leaving my family, friends and country for 10 months, to live in a new place with people I don't know yet. I'll have to start over again and make new friends. But I think the advantages are bigger than the disadvantages. This are some reasons I'm going to do an exchange year:


  • Getting out of my comfort zone. I'd like to look back in a few years and not be sorry about the chances I didn't take and the things I didn't do, but to be proud of myself and to look back on great experiences!
  • Improving my English and speaking it fluently. I think that a big moment for many exchange students is the point when they start dreaming in English, and I'd love to do that too :) It will also be useful for my future life and job.
  • Experiencing the American culture. Halloween, prom and homecoming, thanksgiving... Do I need to say more?
  • Going to a real high school. I'm one of those girls who sees movies about American high schools and wonders if it's like that in real life too. And I would love to experience the school spirit.
  • Meeting new people and making new friends. I hope I'll get a great host family and meet people from all over the world!
  • Growing as a person and knowing what I want. I really don't know what I want to do after I finish high school. There are so many things that seem nice to me, but not so nice that I want to make my profession of it. I think that I'll learn a lot about myself and what I want during my exchange year!
Another reason is that I had very good experiences with exchanges. My school calls itself a 'World School' so they are really international orientated. Two years ago, I went to Normandy, France for 5 days with an exchange. Last year I went to Madrid, Spain for a week and just a few months ago I went to Beijing, China! I think it's great that my school offers the opportunity to participate in exchanges because I really liked them and learned a lot from them. It really helped me to make the decision to live in the USA for a year!

If you're an exchange student too: what are your reasons to go abroad?

3 comments:

  1. Het lijkt me ook zo gaaf om vloeiend Engels te spreken! Ik ben een keer voor een week naar Rusland geweest, dat was zo vet! Ik weet zeker dat het supergaaf gaat worden in Amerika!

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  2. Ik vind het zo gaaf! Hoe heb je het gedaan trouwens, want ik zou dat namelijk zo leuk vinden!

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    1. Via de organisatie EF! Ik ben naar een informatiebijeenkomst geweest en het sprak me gelijk heel erg aan! Toen heb ik een interview aangevraagd, waarin ze kijken of je een beetje geschikt bent. Ik was gelukkig 'aangenomen' en nu zijn ze naar een gastgezin aan het zoeken :)

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