6 Reasons to Study Abroad

Hello everybody! Happy June! 
     Allow me to formally introduce myself to anybody who hasn't been on my blog before. My name's Nicole, I'm 17, and I am an exchange student with Rotary International. 
     So, I thought it'd be a nice idea to write about the perks of being an exchange student, maybe recruit some of you!! ;D
     I'm not going to lie, being an exchange student is no walk in the park; But at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade this experience for any. I have grown so much this year. I've made some really amazing friends, all over the world for that matter. I've learned a new language! My confidence has improved, and my general knowledge of world politics has broadened. So without further adieu, heres 6 reasons why you should consider becoming an exchange student. 

1. Learn A New Language 
          This is something that I find really helps you stand out from the crowd. I'm fluent in English Spanish, and now Italian! If you're looking at it from an academic perspective, learning a new language is something that can prove very useful in the future whether it's a special skill on your resume or a handy asset in a political career (And to the dudes - it'll help you get the ladies). Aside from that, by learning a new language, you're widening the amount of people that you can communicate with in the world - significantly! It's a wonderful opportunity to put yourself out there culturally and exercise your musical ear. 

2. Become More Culturally Aware
         If there's anything that I've been exposed to, it's the difference between my native culture and the culture of my new European country. I've noticed differences in many political views, as well as racism and sexism. I live in a modernized country, but the social differences between my native and host-country are still very apparent to me. Even my general knowledge on the United States has improved. My eyes have opened to many political issues that I didn't realize were going on, and I am now significantly more educated on the subject.

3. Independence
          As an exchange student, you are in charge of organizing many things going on in your life. You need to remember everything from filling out visa applications, going to post offices, and making appointments. These are all things that your host parents can help you with. But it's your responsibility to recognize the everything you need to do (You are, after all, in your country on a visa, and you need to get temporary citizenships, permissions to attend foreign schools and a temporary living abroad license). Responsibly is an essential quality for every exchange student. Independence is also something you should have a basis of before going abroad. Your exchange year is not the best place to learn it for the first time. Unless you feel independent enough to live away from your family and take charge of most aspects of your life, exchange isn't quite ready for you- yet! A good set of social skills are also really good to have before going abroad. Your year away from your home country is a place to improve your social and independence skills, not acquire them.

4. Make Friends
          The best part of my exchange year? Making friends all around the world. And not just any friends...these are the most fun, adventurous, smart and accepting people you will ever meet. They're all people with personalities like yours. They seek adventures and traveling! Friends filled with wanderlust and the desire to learn about new cultures and people. I've met some of the most interesting people on my exchange - the most crazy being exchange students. Your friends are what keep this year exciting! They help you learn the language and culture, and they are what make up the memories of your year abroad!  And after this year, I have a home in every country. 

5.  Learn More About Yourself
          Do you know what I learned about myself on my year abroad? I'm not ready to leave home. And I am fully prepared to attend community college before going to a four-year university for the sole purpose of staying with my family another 2 years. And that's not something I would have known had I not moved away. I've experienced personal growth as well as learning more about what makes me happy. 

6. An Unforgettable Experience
          How could a year in Spain not be life changing? Or Germany or Japan or Italy? A year in Brazil?  There is no way you can spend a year of your life adventuring in another country and not enjoy it. Of course it has its ups and downs. But so would a normal year living at home. I know I'll never forget the time I flew to Rome for a weekend. The time my friends and I swam in one of the most beautiful beaches on the planet. Nothing compares to the memories you make abroad, and you'll only get to live them once, and in no way like this.

The Secret Life of an Exchange Student

     Hey there everybody! Glad to be back and writing again! If you've read the title of this article than you can probably guess that this update is about all the secrets and more so the hardships exchange students go through on their year abroad. Now before I start writing away...let me first give credit where credit is due. I was influenced to write this article based on Cristian Fabiano's article "What Exchange Students Don't Tell You" (link: http://crisgoesabroad.blogspot.it/2017/05/what-exchange-students-dont-tell-you.html ) I found everything he described extremely relatable and decided share my own perspective on the matter! Without further adieu, here's the truth about the secret life of an exchange student. 

"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are." 

     This is a quote that I find defines my exchange life perfectly. If we're being completely honest here, I don't want my friends and family to know about the struggles I've gone through on exchange. It's just the truth. I want them to see the pictures of me snorkeling in a coral reef, tanning on a yacht, and enjoying gelato on the beach and think, 'Wow, she's having the time of her life.' I've definitely mastered this concept of only showing people the bright sides of my exchange, because my photos still get those 'You're so lucky!' comments. However, here I am at the end of my exchange year, and honestly I'm enjoying the best parts because I've already been through the hard stuff. By now I'm fluent in Italian, have established my friend group, and am filling every day with fun activities because I know I'm leaving soon. So yes, right now I'm exceptionally happy because I can efficiently communicate with everybody. But after 8 months of only showing the good, I'd like to get the hardships off my chest. 

     Let's start with host families. I cannot express to you how important your host family is. They are supposed to treat you like their son/daughter for the period of time that you're living with them. And for starters, I'd like to say how unbelievably lucky I am to have received the host family I have. They deserve Host Parents of the Decade Award for giving me some of the greatest memories, along with providing the genuine love and support that I needed this year. However...this is an article about the difficulties of host families, and truth be told I didn't experience the hard parts first hand, because I was extremely lucky. Unfortunately, many of my exchange friends were not as lucky.

     As an exchange student you don't get to pick your host family, however you are "assured" that if you have any issues with the one you are given that they will find you a replacement family ASAP. Now I'm sure that in extreme cases like abuse or neglect they immediately remove you from the home, but some of my friends went through intense verbal attacks (one so terrible that she recorded 20 minutes of her host mom yelling at her as proof), unfairness, and refusal to be driven anywhere. Refusal to be driven is a bigger deal than people understand. Some people owe the isolation and loneliness of their exchange to their host families inability to take them anywhere. If you can't go out, you don't bond with friends and you don't establish a friend group. 

     Your host family is supposed to treat you as their own, and instead some of us are met with judgement and constant comparison to our family's actual son/daughter. And let's be real for a second, sometimes there is nothing you need more than to be held by a mother "figure" and be told that everything is alright. We don't always get that. Believe me, being deprived of affection like that is nothing you're actually prepared for, nor do you consider it before departing. 

     Now on to school and classmates. When you come abroad, one of the things you're the most excited about is your first day of school.

Even I, someone who has moved schools 4 too many times, was looking forward to that day, and it was great!        Everybody is curious about you. You're foreign, maybe your accent is cute, you're probably an adventurous and fun looking person (props to you for being brave enough to move to another country!). However, the fascination and the questions die down. Now you're really starting to learn the language. You push yourself to speak even though you're making a million mistakes. And yeah it's funny for the first month or two when they tease you about your pronunciation or accent, but after a while it seems less lighthearted and more...

     'Don't you think you should have already mastered the language by now?'

     'You're making really simple mistakes...you should know this stuff.'  

     'You would think you were better after almost a year here...'

                                 - comments received every day

     Look, the truth is that they don't understand. Many of them will never understand. They begin getting impatient when you take too long to string a sentence together, they correct your grammar with attitude, and they laugh at you. What they fail to see is that when you learn a new language, you can understand more than you can speak. And in the beginning, they talk about what you're wearing, your funny accent, and judge your personality without realizing that you can understand them. But you want friends, you need friends, so you pretend that you don't get it and smile. 

     I already did an article about loneliness and homesickness, so I'm not going to get too into it. But the reality of it is that it's unavoidable. You can feel lonely in a classroom with people who are nice to you. You can feel lonely when you're having dinner with your family. You just tend to feel lonely, and it's because you're trapped in your own body. You can't express yourself like how you do in your native language. You can't tell people the really funny thing that happened today because you can't translate everything fast enough for people to get the humor. People want to know why you're upset, and you literally can't put it into words, let alone translate those

words, so you just end up more upset. In the end, it's just easier to hide in the bathroom stall or cry into your pillow than it is to actually talk to anybody. Everything just kind of stays pent up. 

     They tell you before going on exchange that it's best if you don't hang out too often with other exchange students. There's some reason to that - you'll learn the language faster and throw yourself into your new culture more efficiently. But without other exchange students, you feel really alone. Like I mentioned before, nobody understands what it's like to be an exchange student. We don't want to tell them that we stayed up sobbing until 2 a.m. because we can't communicate our feelings. We don't want them to know that school is not a place where we have fun and practice our language, but rather where we feel the most judged. They don't understand. And unless they're exchange students they never will. If you can find another student with your program, get in contact with them. Believe me it's for the better, because a lot of the time they're the only ones who understand you. 

     I didn't write this article to scare anybody out of doing their exchange. In fact I wrote it for friends, families (+ host), and teachers of exchange students...perhaps to see if I can help you understand? We may keep a big chunk of our lives secret from you. It's not a trust thing, but we want you to see the best of us. We want you too think that we've successfully established ourselves into our new culture and that we are worthy of our exchange. And don't think for a second that we're not trying, we put up a stronger fight than you think. And in exchange for our bravery, all we ask for is patience and understanding. 

     Thank you for reading! I am a little nervous that I scared off some potential exchange students, so my next article will be about all of the amazing benefits to studying abroad! I hope to see you guys soon!

~ Nicole Solomon xoxo

Long Time No See!

     Hello there! Well, it's certainly been a while hasn't it... 4 months to be exact.

     Things kind of slowed down from January to April. The weather stayed gray and gloomy for far too long and it seemed to have reflected onto my spirits. I fell into a routine which became so normal to me that I felt no need to write about it. But now the sun is shining, the ocean is sparkling, and happiness is in the air! This month I've been through some amazing experiences and I am ready to share them! 
     A couple weeks ago, Rotary organized an exchange student weekend in Iglesias, Sardinia, for all the Italy inbounds who live on the island. It was amazing seeing all my worldwide friends on the island again! We had two full days to spend on the famous Sardinian beaches, and even visited a mineral mine! That's a check off of my bucket list! It was our last RYE reunion until the Tour of Europe, which not everybody is going on. It's really strange to think how little time we have left, and knowing that we need to make the most of it!

     On to more current news - last weekend my host- mom and sister (Giovanna and Giulia) and I flew to Rome! I brought along with me one of my best friends Regina! ... I have no words to explain how amazed and enchanted I was by Rome. Perhaps charmed is the correct word? It was my third time visiting Rome...but something about this time around. Walking around with free time, no limitations or schedules to follow, and being with a friend just made the experience amazing. Rome is an astonishing place. An open museum in a city as they say. The art, the sculptures, the classic and original architecture and Italian streets, are just mind blowing. I fell in love with Rome, and no doubt left a piece of my heart there - meaning I'm just going to have to return every once in a while to check in. 
      Regina and I spent an entire day alone at the Colosseum. We ate an Italian lunch sitting on the wall across from it. She worked on some things for school, I listened to music, and we both got lost in our thoughts staring at the ancient roman building. It's amazing how you can sit and stare at a piece of architecture for an entire day, and still want to go back and do it over and over again. 
     Our second day in Rome Regina and I were joined Giulia and Giovanna. We spent our day roaming around and admiring Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Venezia. I can honestly say that Rome truly is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And I've gained a new appreciation and passionate love for Rome. 

     As of right now, I have returned back home to my beloved Sardinia. And I am finally getting to experience the summer weather on this breathtaking island. I need to cherish every moment I have left here. 3 more weeks left with my wonderful family, friends, and the most beautiful beaches in the world before I depart for the Euro Tour. 
     I'll be writing again soon! 

  ~Nicole Solomon xoxo
   

Dealing with Homesickness...

     Hey everyone! Well...by looking at the title of this article I'm sure that you've guessed this isn't another fun update on my life.  However this is a post that I think could really help a lot of people who are struggling with living far away from home...

     I've been living in Italy for about 5 months now. I just turned 17 a couple weeks ago. I'd say I'm pretty young to be living away from my family, especially considering we're on different continents. Anyone living a plane ride from home knows that you can call home a million times but you never feel close enough. When you feel sad you know that there's no way for you to get a hug from your mom. And when you want help with homework your big sister isn't there to assist.  This has been my biggest challenge when dealing with homesickness. 
     Luckily for me, it hasn't happened that often. It's something that hits me once maybe twice a month, and usually only lasts for a day. That's all it is, a bad day.
     When you first arrive to your host country, one of two things can happen. One, you might experience a vacation-like excitement. Everything is new and adventurous and because you've only been there for a short amount of time it feels temporary. It's called the "honeymoon" stage. The second thing that could happen is homesickness. You might start dwelling on the time-change and distance as soon as you step off that plane. It's probably because you're scared, that's normal. Some of my friends went through the honeymoon stage when they first arrived to Italy. And some of them skipped it and went to homesickness first. I went to the homesickness stage. 

     In the time that I've been here I've dealt with both the hard and easy sides of homesickness. It's not something that you just wake up with. For my friends and myself, we've noticed that it comes from having a bad day, or maybe a bad week. Maybe you had a hard time at school, you have a headache, and you're stressed out about a couple things. Then your mind wanders to relaxing in your old bedroom, to hanging out with your mom...it's almost like everything happens in an illusion. Sometimes you get so lost in your mind that it feels like you're actually back home for a second. Personally, when this happens to me there's this strange sort of jump moment where I realize I'm not back home, I'm in Italy, and I have this mini-shock where I look around and remember where I've been for the past 5 months. It's freaky. It might be too complicated to explain.
     I've handled homesickness a few different ways. The thing that troubles me most about it though is that people don't understand it. The typical response you'll get when you tell people you're homesick is that you should go out with them or do something fun. And if that works for you then by all means go ahead, have fun! Adventure to the beach, go for a hike, hang out with friends! It's the perfect solution to homesickness for some people. For others (me being among them) I need to stay home in my room for the night, and I'll be fine the next day. It really depends on the type of person you are. Handle it the way you feel it needs to be handled. I'm telling you this because I did not get this memo before coming here. If you feel like everybody is pushing you to go out when you're sad, don't go if you can't handle it, it's okay. 
     However let me make myself clear, I am 100% not telling you to lock yourself in your room every time you feel this way. Don't build up a bad habit of isolating yourself, because then you could become depressed. Most exchange students experience depression a couple times during their exchange, so try to stay away from that. As much as I need these "stay-at-home" days for recovery, 4/5 times I make myself go out. This is the way that I handle my homesickness because I know it's right for me. 
     That's another thing I'd like to bring up while I'm on the topic of pushing yourself. I've developed a way of thinking since I've been here that really works for me, and although it can be scary, it's what has made my exchange year so special. My new motto in life is "Just Say Yes." 
(Remember kids:  Pugs before drugs) ==>
To me, "Just Say Yes" means saying yes to lots of things I would normally say no to. Like going out to a party with a bunch of people I don't know. It's not something I am usually comfortable doing, and I still don't love the idea when I first hear it. But for New Years Eve, Christmas, and all the parties in between, guess who always pushed herself to go out and socialize?

     So yeah. Do yourself a favor and adopt the motto. Just say yes guys.

     And again, please remember that homesickness is temporary. And dealing with it is hard, but you'll get through it. Talking to other exchange students about it can be really helpful. You'd be surprised how close you'll become with each other. Remember that you're all going through the exact same thing even if you don't think so. Maybe someone feels alone, so talk to them about it, nobody can relate to you like they do. 
     I hope this post was informative and helped some of you guys out. 
   Lots of love, 
     Nicole xoxo

Hello 2017!

     As of yesterday, I officially passed the 4 month mark of my exchange! It's been a whole 4 months since I've started my new life here in Italy, and I've already made some of the best memories I know I'll ever make. 
     I'd like to start off by saying Happy New Year! It is now 2017!

     That is so insane to actually write out. It feels like we should just start inventing new months to add on after December, like 2016 should just continue going on as it did.
      I think it's pretty obvious that the craziest part of my year was my big move to Europe. Nothing has ever opened my eyes to the world like living in Italy has. I see everything through the eyes of another culture, and everything in my life seems lighter in a way. Stepping back from the life I've lived for almost 17 years has made me feel different. I feel more adventurous, and more at peace about certain things that used to caused me such an immense amount of stress. And I've found that I'm even more patient than I used to be. Now I look forward to traveling the world. I want to keep trying new, exciting things and going to more amazing places. I want to get back in touch with my Mexican roots and improve my Spanish. My views on what I want to do and who I want to become have been changed by this whole experience, and I'm only 2/5 of the way done! 
     These last few months, I've started doing things that I used to do, and I've found that they still make me very happy! I write in a journal nearly every day and I started a Youtube channel! As of right now it is specifically for my exchange, but I'm thinking about maybe turning it into something more... (SUBSCRIBE to me at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh6-uaUwhf9744fRfdprNKQ )
     I think my greatest achievement in 2016 is the improvement in my confidence. I no longer feel as nervous traveling alone or going out by myself. And I even feel like a healthier person (perhaps that's to do with the absence of fast-food in my life). I even enjoy being more active: hiking, skiing, running and even walking are all things I look forward to. I just want to get out and go places! 
     My confidence in my Italian speaking skills has improved. Both because I have a better understanding and usage of the language and because I feel more comfortable speaking it than before. I don't feel embarrassed when I'm telling a story and know that I've made about nine-thousand grammatical errors in just a short paragraph. I no longer put pressure on myself to perfect a language that I've only been learning for four months- I know I'm doing great so far! What matters is that I can effectively communicate. When I talk, they understand- that's all I need... :p 
     I've got another 7 months of my amazing exchange. I hope to fill it with even more memories, laughs, and strengthen the friendships I've made. I still have a European Tour and a couple trips with my family to look forward to! 2017 will be an amazing year and it's already off to a great start! I look forward to sharing it with all of you. 

Lots of love, 
    Nicole xx

Italians Try American Candy! - video

Ciao a tutti! 
Here's the video you've been waiting for! "Italians Try American Candy!"
This was such a fun video to film and I want to thank my close friends Carla and Mavi for filming it with me - not that they didn't enjoy it ;)
MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

For My Friends...

I know no better way to express to you all how much I love you. Forever in my heart and in my memories.
Love, 
Nicole