Before the Flight: Preparing for My Exchange Year
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53 days, 16 hours, and 23 minutes. At the time that I write this blog post, I have exactly this amount of time before I board a plane to Washington D.C. and officially commence my exchange year in Germany. Despite having previous exchange experience with NSLI-Y, another State Department-funded program, this still feels like an immense undertaking. After all, six weeks in Turkey is nothing compared to 9 months. If I had to describe what my leaving for Germany so near in the future felt like, I would say unreal. It feels like just a few brief weeks ago that I was drafting my CBYX application essays, or leaving the semi-finalist interviews whilst raving to my parents about how desperately I hoped to get into the program.
Besides the nerves and sadness of leaving my family and friends, words cannot describe the amount of excitement I have to embark on this journey. Although I could ramble on and on about all the things I’m looking forward to on this program, I’ll spare you and keep it short. I’m eager to meet everyone in my cohort and create friendships that will last for years to come. From my experience, there are few things that bring people together as much as traveling to a foreign country does. You know that scene in Inside Out where Riley’s core memories are kept in yellow, glowing orbs? Some of my core memories are from my previous exchange experience—sharing AirPods with a friend to blast Olivia Rodrigo on morning commutes; strolling in the pazar with ice cream dripping down our arms; laughing about how we can’t lift our luggage in the airport.
Similar to how some of Riley’s core memories were morphed with blue as she got older, going on exchange also gives you a different perspective on life and room to explore yourself as an individual. For example, no one knows you in a foreign country, so you are free to be yourself without the threat of getting embarrassed in front of someone you know. Experiencing a new culture also holds invaluable life lessons. It’s like a new lens that gives you a different perspective on life.
In anticipation of my ten-month trip, I have been attempting to teach myself German; spend more quality time with my family; and start my college applications early. Unfortunately, German classes aren’t offered at my school, so this is the first time I am getting exposure to the language. So far, my German language education consists of watching Netflix with German subtitles/audio, daily Duolingo lessons, and writing brief journal entries of each day then translating it into German. It could be better, I know, but at least I can throw out a “Wasser, bitte” to save myself from dehydration! Jokes aside, I really am eager to learn more German in language camp. Now that it’s summer, I also have an exponential amount of free time to stock up on family time before I leave for ten months. In my host family letter, I wrote that I hope to cook Filipino dishes for them, so a lot of my free time is spent in the kitchen copying my mom’s recipes. Lastly, a majority of my prep for Germany is college-related. From the SAT to signing up for college visits, I am racing to get a majority of my applications done before leaving the country…wish me luck.
If you are reading this, I would like to congratulate you for making it this far! The adventure is yet to begin, and I can not wait to post updates on my life in Germany soon!