What I expected my exchange to be like, and how it actually turned out

Before going on exchange everyone hopes for the best, but how can we really define what the best is? Well, I was hoping to go on exchange somewhere close to a big city, just because I'm a city boy. I would have been okay living in a smaller place than my own because going abroad is also accepting what is different from what we are familiar with.

My expectations

My first desire was to be placed somewhere near New York because it has always been my dream city. I've seen it in movies, all over the internet and paintings. I was (and still am) a bit obsessed with it. I'd have loved to be placed in a big house, with a welcoming family. I was dreaming of snow during Christmas and lights all over the neighbourhood. The school I was hoping for was quite big, with a strong consideration for the Arts and just a few exchange students. I was wishing to be able to be in a place with at least a minor transportation system. I didn't know what the States really were like, but I've always dreamt big.

Source

What my exchange was actually like

To start off, I was placed in Colorado which is great because eventually it was one of my choices. I was one hour away from Denver, which was what I was hoping for - as in being close to a big city -. My house was amazing and so was my American family.

The town was actually quite boring, with little (or basically absent) public transportation. I had to rely on others for rides home, which was quite annoying. I was independent for a lot of things but dependent for a few things as well.

My school was pretty small. I believe my senior class was composed of less than one hundred students. The arts had their weight but the auditorium was quite small and so was the amount of people interested in supporting the plays and shows.

I did have snow on Christmas day which was fantastic. The atmosphere was so nice and enjoyable that every day during winter break felt like Christmas day. I went to concerts, shows, and church. We exchanged gifts, watched movies next to the fireplace and had one of the previous exchange students come to visit us. The town was also hosting a Christmas lights competition, which basically meant that the best-decorated house would win a prize, so the town looked amazing with all the lights and Christmas ornaments.

Deliberation post-exchange

Was my exchange the way I thought it would be? Not really. Was it bad? Nope. I think it is understandable that people imagine things before they actually become real, but I think it is safe to say that it is better not to set high-expectations so that there's no disappointment afterward. According to me, our exchange has to be different to whatever we had in mind because it is more fun. Think about it, would it be really great to know in advance what your experience would be like? There's no point in going abroad if you already know how it will turn out.

Prior to departure, we (might) feel:

• Scared: We don't know where we are going, who we are going to live with, we don't know if we will have friends and things to do after school and so on.
• Sad: We are not going to see our family and friends for almost a year. We are going to change and grow without the people who have always been by our side.
• Confused: We basically don't know what we signed up for. Yes, we are going to study abroad, but did we really think about every aspect?

If we could have proof of what our exchange could be like before going, all of these feelings wouldn't be there anymore. Some of you might think that it is a good thing, but I think that what's cool about exchange students is that we are brave, interesting and open-minded.

-Cris