5 posts tagged “exchange”

Today I had two injections.

One was my second lost (of three) for Hepitutus B.

the other was a combined HepA & typhoid vaccination. I believe this is a one-off thing. I hope so, because its hurting...

My last HepB shot is due approximately April.

Sarah

who is going to Japan next year

left a comment on my blog :)

she likes twilight, says the pictures on her blog

I like the twilight series

and i even made a banner  :-)

Exchange is like a Long Distance Relationship

Exchange is like a long distance relationship.
You stumble across them,
and its love at first sight.

You cant touch or hold,
but you can stand from afar
and look at pictures.

You can pin them on your wall,
a flag and a coat of arms! and find that
wikipedia does nothing except
fuel your obsession.

You plan a way to go and see
for yourself. You have a countdown
until you meet your love.

A love like none other
is your lusting for this.
Wonderous and exciting,
as you walk into unknown territory.

The first time you meet you
are stunned and overcome with
shock. And as time goes on...

...you discover the real love that you share.

by Amy Taylor

1] before waiting to see if anyone understood what you meant, you start acting it out.

2] you think 100 pounds to pack up your entire life is plenty of space.

3] you don't have preferences anymore, especially when it comes to food. Nothing tastes familiar, thats for sure.

4] you spend a lot of time smiling, nodding, and pretending you understand what's going on.

5] you classify "doing your homework" as translating half of it. And that alone took three hours.

6] you sometimes use the excuse "Sorry, I don't understand" to avoid answering a question....even if you do.

7] you want to hug the people who attempt to speak your native language to you.

8] you've called every person who says "hi" to you your friend... because you don't really have any yet.

9]you'll read anything in your native language just to have something to read...even packaging labels.

10]you've got on the bus and had the driver say "you don't want to be on this bus" because you got on the same bus the night before and it was wrong then, too.

11] you sometimes walk around the school during breaks to act like you're doing something, because you don't see anyone you recognize and don't want to stand there awkwardly.

12] you know the answer to a question in a class but don't raise your hand because you don't want people to expect too much from you.

13] you're better than your teacher in your foreign language class.

14] you are a master of pantomime and circumlocution and still can't have a conversation.

15] you've ever mispronounced something in your native language (for example, names of products, TV shows, companies) because you know the others will understand it better if you say it with an accent.

16] you've tried so many different foods due entirely to the fact that you cannot understand the person asking you what you want so you just nod your head, say "yes", and hope to god it tastes half-decent.

17] after you come back everybody tells you that you have a weird accent.

18] your dreams are bilingual.

19]sometimes it takes you about 5 minutes to remember a word in your native language that you were going to use.

20] you automatically use words in a foreign language that you cant even translate but they just seem to fit the context.

21] you watch television shows and movies that you know in your native language, just to understand it for once.

22] you begin to enjoy foods that you had previously despised at home.

23] you've gotten out of a punishment or being yelled at because you didn't understand the language, or at least pretended you didn't.

24] it becomes a habit to introduce yourself by saying: "I am from (country) and my name is (name)."

25] you've gotten upset because someone assumed you wanted to do something...and then were told you were asked if you wanted too, and you said yes!

26] you've said something like 'oh yes' or 'no thanks' only to have everyone laugh because your answer made no sense compared to the qestion.

27] you actually got a high five when you understood what someone said to you.

28] you're never sure if someone's being your friend, flirting, or sexually harassing you.

29] you get a little scared before starting a sentence with big words n it in another language.

30] you are always counting the time difference between where you are and home.

31] you always forget the time difference when you call a friend or family member back home.....sorry for waking you up at 4 AM mom.

32] you do something wrong and people look at you weird, your excuse is"That's how we do it in my country" even if it isn't.

33] you have gone in to greet someone with a shake of hands and find yourself being pulled into an awkward hug/double kiss on the cheek or the other way around.

34] you carry a dictionary and a camera in your bag.

35] you get so used to broken English you finish people's sentences even though no one else can understand them.

36] you get into arguments with the foreign language teacher over how to pronounce something.

37] you try to speak in the native language and everyone immediately knows "You're not from around here".

38] you know every cuss word in your host language, but still cant conjugate into past or future tense.

39] peoples stares don't bother you anymore.

40] everyone thinks your playing the tough guy when you say you haven't called your mom yet and don't miss her too much.

41] a conversation is going fine, before it suddenly get stuck on some word or phrase which makes you completely forget what you were talking about.

42] you buy clothes in your country so you don't look so much like a  foreigner.

It just occured to me that I never really introduced myself! And so I thought I would, as well as explaining a bit about student exchange, what interests me about it, and what inspired me to apply for it.

My name is Amy. I live in Hastings, New Zealand. I'm 16 and come from a family of 6. I would like to be an exchange student in January 2009, and I am currently in the process of filling in AFS's preliminary application form for that.

So this student exchange, what is it?
I'm going for the year long programme. This involves leaving my country at the start of the year, and throwing yourself into a new country, language and culture. People you've never met, but will get to know, surround you. You don't speak the language well, if you speak any at all, and everything is strange, different, foreign.

Are you insane?
I believe so.

What inspired me to become an exchange student?
When I first started learning spanish when I was 12, I knew that I wanted to be able to speak another language, but I never knew of a way I could do that apart from continuing language lessons at school. Two years later, when I was in year 9 at high school, we had an AFS representative come and talk to the school. From that moment, I had found what I needed, and knew I wanted to do this.

Reading your blog, I see you've had some issues with organisations?
Yes. Rotary sucks. And AFS offers everything I want/need in an organisation. This may not make sense to my father, who still insists on Rotary, but its best for me.

I'll ask again, just because I like to, Are you Insane?
Aren't we all, in a sense?