Homesickness

2nd of November, Sunday

I didn't go to church today, instead, I skyped my parents. Homesickness is inevitable for every exchange student. We are taken from our natural sorroundings, and put into a completely different one. Different language, people, food, smells, air. And the only contact we have with home is our clothes and an hour a week through the monitor of a laptop. And it hurts, that I can't see them, hug them. My dad sent me a video of my cat and dog wrestling, they're adorable. But I'm missing the real thing. I'm really homesick, and I'm sure all exchange students are feeling the same as I do.

  So why do teenagers embark on a journey thousands of kilometers away from their home for a year? My personal reason is finding myself. I'm figuring out who I am, and what I want to be. It's a painful process, it envolves lots of emotions, but it's necessary and very useful. I'm learning English too, and culture, yes, but being an exchange student is so much more than learning about others. It's also about learning how I react to different situations.  

  And also, it's a really good chance to see college, and what the future could be like, if I decided to come to America for further education. So I'm loosing a lot, by not being with my family, even when they would need me the most, but I gain a lot of experience and knowledge I wouldn't otherwise, and my family is extremely awesome and selfless, for letting me do that. I could never thank them enough for what they do for me.