Noah

交流生計劃 (明尼蘇達州)

Bellevue College (華盛頓州)

“Going into this exchange program, I really didn’t think much of it and I only thought it was just a quick 10 month stay with strangers I have never met that are 7500 miles away from home. Although that still stands true, I learnt a lot during my time there. I realise that this whole thing wasn’t just about learning more about America and learning in a foreign county. I realised that it was more than that. From the friends to the different places I got to go, From the family I got to meet to the weather changes and the sky. Every little thing was amazing.

Maybe it was just me being in another country on the other side of the planet but I felt like I had another life there. I’m beyond grateful to the host family that chose me and I’m grateful that I got to experience America the way I did.

After the experience I felt like I was a different person. I changed a lot both physically and mentally. I felt as if I conquered some of my major fears like public speaking, making new friends and performing in front of others on a stage. I’ve also gained valueable lessons that Im thankful to have experienced like how you can’t take anything for granted, being so far away from home and not being able to see your family for 10 months really makes you think how lucky you really are. Also one of the most important things that I got to experience was the food. I learnt to make so many new dishes and I got to really have fun with cooking and trying new stuff so that was great. Also learnt how to properly read music for the first time (sorry for all the yapping about learning new stuff).

So what am I really trying to say? Well, I want to start of saying that this was an awesome opportunity to have and I can’t put all the great things that I have experienced into one message. Another thing is that it may just be Minnesota and how nice people were but I did not get singled out one bit and the community that I got to meet and the friends that I got to make are one of a kind. They were all awesome and wonderful people. And last but not least I can’t put into words how grateful I am to have the family I got, they treated me like a son and I treated them as my second pair of parents. This is a relationship that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Was the experience good? Of course being that far away from your parents and boarding a flight solo is kind of terrifying and depressing is not the best experience for a teenager. And yes I was homesick for all of the 10 months. But I will say this, if I had lived 100 lives and you asked me the same question “was it worth it at the end” 100 times. I’m pretty sure I would say yes more than 100 times.

Thank you for everything.”