My name is Pat, and I went on an exchange program to study in Nebraska, which is a state that many people are not familiar with. Though it does not have many tourist attractions, it is a safe, quiet city and a pleasant place to live. It’s also a good place to learn about the language and local culture.
During the first two to three months of my stay, I was really homesick, and I felt that it was very difficult to be living abroad. When things started to get better, I tried to find ways to reduce my homesickness. The first thing I did was help my host mom cook, since I like to cook. It’s been something that I’ve liked helping out with at home since I was a kid. By helping my host mom cook I learned how to make western food, and how to adjust flavors to my liking. I tried cooking for my family when I came back, and they loved it.
Aside from cooking, I also helped out around my host family’s house. For me, this was a way of spending quality time with them and becoming closer as a “family”. I tried my best to take part in all the family activities, even if some of them were things I normally didn’t like to do. For example, both my host mom and host dad really like watching American football, but I am not a sports fan. So sitting and watching with them for hours was something I would normally find nearly impossible. Or in the case of my host sister— who is just a little kid— I’d accompany my host parents to watch her play in the playground. Obviously I didn’t join in and play, but I had to follow her everywhere (you know how kids are always so energetic), and I never exactly enjoyed being around little kids all too much. But I decided to be open-minded, open to trying things I would normally find boring or uninteresting. This helped me adjust really well and my host family loved me even more for it. I didn’t just spend time with my host family. My host mom and dad come from a big family and have lots of relatives. I went with my host family to different parties just like a real member of the family and so I got close to the relatives.
When I went to school, my host mom and host dad would take turns sending me to school. In the first few weeks, my friends seemed to speak so fast that I couldn’t understand them. At first I didn’t talk much. My teachers and friends saw me as quiet and shy. But actually I was just trying hard to listen rather than talk and I was worried that if I spoke incorrectly that it would look silly. But not long after that when I became more confident at communicating, everyone saw that I was actually talkative and fun to talk to. And so later on friends would come and talk to me in every class. All of my teachers liked me a lot too because I tried my best at my studies and I was always on time for each class. But what was very important is that I treated everyone with honor and respect. I knew what my responsibilities were. I made new friends by having lunch with others and afterwards I became best friends with an American. My local coordinator organized a get together for exchange students from different countries every month. My local coordinator was also very sweet and friendly and so I felt comfortable consulting my local coordinator on many things just like I when I would ask my host for advice. I made lots of new friends and got to try lots of new activities. One activity I was very committed to was the Speech Team. I worked on the topic of autism because I was inspired by my younger brother. I traveled to compete in many different cities. Even though I didn’t get any awards, my English skills really improved. And my host parents went to watch me almost every time. Even my local coordinator went to watch me compete.
Being an exchange student has helped me learn about life and understand that no matter where you are in the world you can always learn new things. All you have to do is be open-minded. I can honestly tell everyone that I loved being an exchange student.
Patcharaporn Bumrerraj
An exchange student from Satit Bilingual School of Rangsit University
