Herfstvakantie!

That means autumn holiday in Dutch. So we were in Mallorca for a few days, and it was soo nice! I don't think I'm going to write a long post about it, because that's not well, about the Netherlands. But it was wonderful and beautiful and I had a great time. Yay :)

Now some more German family is visiting, and they have two kids, a four year old and a baby, and they're really sweet. And I'm able to tell the differences between German and Dutch now, so that's good. I can understand some German words too now.

Tomorrow is Jelle's birthday, and so today we had all of the family over to celebrate his birthday. I've been to enough birthday's that I now know the song that they sing, so I sang it too for the first time today which was pretty cool. But everything is going really well, and I should probably try to blog more instead of writing massive posts once in a while. But it's hard! All of the exchange students have trouble blogging constantly.

So, now for something I've felt recently. I feel like I need to be here this year. I don't know how to explain it, but other exchange students feel the same way. One other exchange student that I talk to a lot about what's going on, has started to feel the same way as me. And she's the reason I'm writing this blog right now.

I came here not really knowing what to expect, which was good. I also came here with no expectations about what it would be like, because I didn't want to be disappointed, which was also good. Yes I thought it'd help me get into a better college, and yes I thought it would teach me to be more independent. But being an exchange student is about a lot more than that, a lot more personal and a real learning experience. This is the first time I've really been pushed out of my comfort zone, and I think it's doing me a lot of good. Being an exchange student mostly comes down to one thing. Being willing to accept and deal with change. You have to accept it, adapt to it, try to understand it, and at the same time respect it, and finally embrace it.


Now, something that AFS posted that really affected me, and truly truly sums it up in the best way for someone that isn't going through this to understand.

I am an exchange student.
How do you know what is a dream if you never accomplished one.
How do you know what is an adventure if you never took part in one.
How do you know what is anguish if you never said goodbye to your family and friends with your eyes full of tears.
How do you know what is being desperate, if you never arrived in a place alone and could not understand a word of what everyone ...else was saying.
How do you know what is diversity if you never lived under the same roof with people from all over the world?
How do you know what is tolerance, if you never had to get used to something different even if you didn’t like it.
How do you know what is autonomy, if you never had the chance to decide something by yourself?
How do you know what it means to grow up, if you never stopped being a child to start a new course?
How do you know what is to be helpless, if you never wanted to hug someone and had a computer screen to prevent you from doing it.
How do you know what is distance, if you never, looking at a map, said “ I am so far away”.
How do you know what is a language, if you never had to learn one to make friends.
How do you know what is patriotism, if you never shouted “ I love my country” holding a flag in your hands.
How do you know what is the true reality, if you never had the chance to see a lot of them to make one.
How do you know what is an opportunity, if you never caught one.
How do you know what is pride, if you never experienced it for yourself at realizing how much you have accomplished.
How do you know what is to seize the day, if you never saw the time running so fast.
How do you know what is a friend, if the circumstances never showed you the true ones.
How do you know what is a family, if you never had one that supported you unconditionally .
How do you know what are borders, if you never crossed yours , to see what there was on the other side.
How do you know what is imagination, if you never thought about the moment when you would go back home.
How do you know the world, if you have never been an exchange student?