Eelco-2003
The 14th of July, 2002. A day I will never forget. Just having turned 18yrs old, I flew to the U.S.A. to spend a High School year as an exchange student. When I set foot on the American soil, it not so much felt as the comforting America that I know today. Simply because at that moment in time it was yet an unknown world to me. Even though I might have been a bit nervous of what was to come in the next 12 months, the excitement overruled the nerves. I think this is fundamental to the 'study abroad experience'. Recently, I read a quote that says 'Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.' I can list a hundred things I learned during my exchange year, but for me, this quote perfectly sums up the essence of the experience. When you have a dream that seems almost impossible to achieve, just go and try. Things might not always work out exactly the way you hoped for, but you will realize that the journey you make is a victory on itself.
Also, I would like to stress the importance of living with a host family. Lots of people who spend some time abroad, decide to travel all around continents and catch all the highlights. Even though this undoubtedly is a great way to see the world, you never REALLY get to know a culture because you keep walking the tourist's path. Having lived with a host family was the best thing of my stay. Their hospitality inspired me: 'If there's a place in the heart, there's a place in the home'. I met wonderful people whom I'm proud to still call my family and friends 9 years later. Not only was it great for me to learn from them, I noticed this worked both ways. Sharing each others culture and learning about differences as well as similarities is a wonderful thing. I hence still try to engage as much as I can with people from other cultures. This not only counts for other nationalities, but also for people from my own country. After all, each state, each city, each neighborhood, each home, each company and so on has its own culture. Having prejudices is human. It is however no problem as long as you realize they are prejudices and open up to look through them. To put short, my exchange year helped me to broaden not only my physical, but also my mental horizon.
Love,
Eelco
Also, I would like to stress the importance of living with a host family. Lots of people who spend some time abroad, decide to travel all around continents and catch all the highlights. Even though this undoubtedly is a great way to see the world, you never REALLY get to know a culture because you keep walking the tourist's path. Having lived with a host family was the best thing of my stay. Their hospitality inspired me: 'If there's a place in the heart, there's a place in the home'. I met wonderful people whom I'm proud to still call my family and friends 9 years later. Not only was it great for me to learn from them, I noticed this worked both ways. Sharing each others culture and learning about differences as well as similarities is a wonderful thing. I hence still try to engage as much as I can with people from other cultures. This not only counts for other nationalities, but also for people from my own country. After all, each state, each city, each neighborhood, each home, each company and so on has its own culture. Having prejudices is human. It is however no problem as long as you realize they are prejudices and open up to look through them. To put short, my exchange year helped me to broaden not only my physical, but also my mental horizon.
Love,
Eelco
