What is it really to be an exchange student?

While most of you were born and raised in Kansas and have always had pretty much the same environment throughout your life, for me Kansas is a whole new world (or at least it was). Coming here from Bulgaria was a drastic change for me and no movies, TV shows or even my friends who live in America could prepare me for this experience. It’s like swimming; you will never learn how to do it unless you jump into the deep waters.

Now that half of my year in Kansas has passed, I could say that I have learned how to swim… more or less. I begin to understand America and American culture, and to appreciate rather than be afraid of the differences. People often ask me what in America or even just in Mill Valley is different from my school in Bulgaria and I always tell them that it’s better to ask me what the similarities are. People, their beliefs, the way of life, relationships, school, education, including the methods of teaching, TV, food, restaurants, fashion; those are all things that were surprisingly new for me. And that’s not even the whole list.

It’s a challenge, an adventure. Living my whole life in a town with a population of approximately 50,000 people wasn’t really an advantage for me. I went to a high school where I knew every single person, I used to go to the same places every single day, and I used to do the same things, meet the same people. And although I enjoyed every second of it, that’s not how I want my life to be. New is always good. Even if it’s bad, it’s still good, because it’s new. It makes your perception of life better.

I find this experience truly unique and very important for my personal growth. It helped me become more independent, it helped me realize many things and most importantly, it changed my perspective of life. Words can hardly describe the wonder of being an exchange student… or at least not the words from my poor vocabulary. If you ever have the chance to travel out of the country and spend some time away from home, away from everything that you know, do it!

This blog will be my journal of my experiences in America. I hope you like it.