What Exchange is about

Exchange is about learning. It's not as simply as learning whatever it is that's taught in school, though.
It's about learning how to listen, how to speak, how to think. Learning who you are, who your friends are, the type of people you want as friends. Learning how to trust your innermost feelings, and how to find those feelings in the first place. It's about learning what's really important to you, and learning what you really don't give a damn about. Exchange is about how to tolerate, how to accept, how to like and how to love. Learning how to give as well as receive, and how to trust that everything will even itself out on its own.
It's about learning that your mom and dad do have the right answers sometimes, and that your kid sister isn't such a dumb little kid anymore. Exchange is about learning to treat people as people, not as stereotypes. Learning that sometimes a kiss isn't just a kiss, sometimes it means more, and sometimes it means less. Learning how to achieve, how to succeed, how to accomplish.
It's about learning how to not come in first place and still be proud, and about coming in last and learning how to admit that you could've been better. Exchange is about learning that large parties don't necessarily mean a good time. Learning that loneliness doesn't go away in a crowd, and that sometimes it's okay to be by yourself on a Friday or Saturday night.
It's about learning that your lunchtime crowd doesn't constitute your popularity, and that popularity is all a matter of perspective. It's about learning that boredom is simply laziness of the mind, and that watching three hours of TV every night is not quality relaxation time.
Exchange is about learning how to pack a bag, and how to pack a room full of way too much stuff. It's about learning that people probably like you a whole lot more than they'll ever tell you, and that it's your responsibility to make sure your friends know how much you appreciate them.
It's about learning that simply doing what you're supposed to do isn't enough, you need to put forth twice that effort in order to fully grasp whatever it is that's sitting in front of you. It's about learning how to make people smile. Exchange is about learning how to miss people enough to not stick them in the past, and how to not miss them so much that it keeps you from moving into the future.
Learning how to motivate yourself and how to motivate others. Learning what the phrase 'make do' means, and how to use it to make it seem as if you're not simply 'making do.' It's about learning 25 different ways of saying 'we made out,' and how to swear in all the different languages of the other exchange students. Exchange is about learning. Learning how to live.
Author unknown

'Twas The Night Before Becoming An Exchange Student

'Twas the night before departure, and all throughout the land
Next years exchange students with plane tickets in hand
they said their farewells, and hugged everyone goodbye
not knowing of the crazy adventures in front of them that lie...
A room full of memories all packed in a hurry that night,
"Hey Mom, can you sit on this for me while I zip up it tight?"
Visions of faraway places and foreign lands they dream
It's all fiction until tomorrow, when their planes will leave

Half way across the world their new friends awake
they don't know it yet, but he/she will be their best mate
their dreams continue, all exciting and stoked
little do they know, this time next year they'll be broke

The moon gives way, for the bright sun the next day
they wake up to reality, for today is the day
A day of tears, fears, and many make-up smears
A day of joy, adventure, and a little maturity I might add
I love you so much, I'll miss you Dad.
"Hey Mom, who's gonna do my laundry?"
"Just kidding, I'll miss you real bad."
"Hey Sis, I took your favorite dress (hehe)... no I
didn't, but I wanted to real bad. I guess I never said this,
but I love you to death."

The tears trickled through, but the excitement prevailed
All proud and adventurous, as my moms arms "flailed" goodbye
I never thought I'd miss them so much until they weren't by my side
The plane took off, and the flight attendant brought drinks,
A little turbulence got me nervous, but I'm ok, I think...

The flight continued, and in their dictionaries they looked
Actually, this was the first time they had ever opened this book
"How do I say 'Hi'? 'Goodbye'? What if I need do to go the bathroom?
I don't know!" The fear inside them began to grow.
Another night passed, and thus another day
They are all needles in a hay stack, special in their own way.
The flight attendant woke them all up, "hey lady, I don't want any orange juice,
why did you have to wake me up?" They say...
A great way to start off such an important day

A smooth landing and they were there at last
about to meet their new host families, not knowing
their year would go by real fast
A big smile, and some good-old morning breath
"I can't wait to take a shower, I hope they have one, I wept"

A new culture, a new family, a new language and land
"Anything else? ... I don't even recognize the sand"
"Where am I, who are you, how do I say... and what's this?
I feel really lonely, I can't stop thinking about everybody I miss."
"I wonder what my friends are doing right now, what happened
at the party, and who kissed."

The story continues on, for about a nine months to a year
The adventure has just started, and the end doesn't seem near.
Their days pass, and their friendships grow, "leaving my new home
is the toughest part... I wish I had known."
Their eyes are wide, they're flaunting overwhelming smiles alike
I hope mom and dad don't mind my new tattoo, curfew, study habits, and insight
I've changed a little bit, gotten out on my own, you know
I've lived by my own rules for a year, I thought you should know
It just won't be like it was before my friends
I'm lost in my own paradise, I no longer need your advice.
Hey, what's up? Not much I say.
If I told you, you wouldn't understand, anyway

The sun sets, and back in their own beds they lay
A year of their life, well worth the extended stay
So many stories, and so much to tell
The experience of a lifetime, "I went through heaven and hell
I can't say it was easy, and I can't say I loved every minute
But I grew a lot, I learned a new language, and no that's not it
sometimes I like to keep it to myself, that way I don't ruin it."

In 6 weeks

A year has past
and now we stand on the blink of returning to a world
where we are surrounded by the paradox of everything and yet nothing being the same.
In 6 weeks we will reluctantly give our hugs and,
fighting the tears,
say goodbye to people who were once just names on a sheet of paper
to return to people that we hugged and fought tears to say goodbye to
before we ever left.
We will leave our best friends to return to our best friends.
We will go back to the places we came from and go back to the same
things we did last summer and every summer before.
We will come into town on that same familiar road,
and even though it has been months, it will seem like only yesterday.
As you walk into your old bedroom, every emotion will pass through
you as you reflect on the way your life has changed and
the person you have become.
You suddenly realize that the things that were most important to
you a year ago don't seem to matter so much anymore,
and the things you hold highest now,
no one at home will completely understand.
Who will you call first?
What will you do your first weekend home with your friends?
Where are you going to work?
Who will be at the party Saturday night?
What has everyone been up to in the past few months?
Who from school will you keep in touch with?
How long before you actually start missing people barging in without calling or knocking?
Then you start to realize how much things have changed,
and you realize the hardest part of being an exchange student
is balancing the two completely different worlds you
now live in, trying desperately to hold on to everything all the while
trying to figure out what you have to leave behind.
We now know the meaning of true friendship.
We know who we have kept in touch with over the past year
and who we hold dearest to our hearts.
We've left our worlds to deal with the real world.
We've had our hearts broken, we've fell in love, we've
helped our best friends overcome
eating disorders,
depression,
stress, and
death.
We've lit candles at the grotto and we've stayed up
all night
on the phone just to talk to a friend in need.
There have been times
when we've felt so helpless being hours away from
home when we knew our families or friends needed us the most,
and there are times when we know we have made a difference.
6 weeks from now we will leave.
6 weeks from now we take down our pictures, and pack up our clothes.
No more going next door to do nothing for hours on end.
We will leave our friends whose random emails and phone calls
will bring us laughter and tears this summer, and hopefully years to come.
We will take our memories and dreams and put them away for now,
saving them for our return to this world.
6 weeks from now we will arrive.
6 weeks from now we will unpack our bags and have
dinner with our families.
We will drive over to our best friend's house and do
nothing for hours on end.
We will return to the same friends whose random emails and phone calls
have brought us laughter and tears over the past year.
We will unpack old dreams and memories that have been
put away for the past year.
In 6 weeks, we will dig deep inside to find the
strength and conviction
to adjust to change and still keep each other close.
And somehow,
in some way,
we will find our place between these two worlds.

In 6 weeks, Are you ready?

"HOME"

Ten month ago,
she fighted against tears,
a last view and Goodbye!
She entered a plane with big fears

A year has past,
a year ago,
it changed her life,
when she decided to go....

She came to a different world,
a world she did not know,
a world she soon called "home",
the world she did not know

A year has past,
a year ago,
it changed her life,
when she decided to go...

Now she's fighting against tears again,
like ten month ago,
a few weeks left,
and then it's time to go....
A year has past,
a year ago,
it changed her life,
when she decided to go....

She's going to return,
to a now different home,
something she does not know anymore,
which is called her "home" A year has past,
a year ago,
it changed her life,
when she decided to to....

UNTITElT

Far away from home
From friends and family
Learning how to get along
Learning to make others see

That you'll never close your eyes
That you'll never shut the door
That you sometimes need a helping hand
'cause all is different from before

Watching the moon within the nights
Knowing that it is still the same
Why doesn't it look like yesterday
Why is its light so far away
Why doesn't it reach within your heart
Whre is the friend
Who offers help
You don't have to search him in the past
'cause there's so much love out
in this world

Words that make you smile
And hands which dry your tears
And hold you for a little while
So you forget about your fears
Not only heat can keep you warm
Also hugs can make you feel
That you're welcome where you are
And that the love for you is real

Watching the moon within the nights
Knowing that it is still the same
Why doesn't it look like yesterday
Why is its light so far away
Why doesn't it reach within your heart
Whre is the friend
Who offers help
You don't have to search him in the past
'cause there's so much love out
in this world

SAYING GOODBYE

Saying goodbye to people like you
certainly is a hard thing to do,
for you will be missed much more than you know
and thoughts will be with you where ever you go.

Where ever you go, there you are

Two homes nothing in between
but there you are, somewhere
you thought you'd come back
and you'd know who you are
but instead
you are even more confused

You are empty and aching
and you just don't know why
No one seems to understand how you feel
No one seems to know what's in you're heart
And you're there in the crowd
but alone

Not a single day passes by
without something reminding you
of your new, old, loved home
People that cross the street
look like that girl from your English class
You hear a song
and you've got the memory of Prom
stuck in your mind

You realized that you're always defending
the place where you've lived
the people you've met
but later, when you're alone again
you realize that you've always defended
the city you live in now, your home, too
the people you call here friends
and that somehow, you'd like to be both
on both sides of the Atlantic
American and German

Old pictures, still not in order,
lying on the carpet in your bedroom
You know you've got to close
that amazing chapter in your life
to be able to look forward
but you just don't know how
Or maybe, you should just combine
old with new
But what is old, what is new?
You thought beeing back home,
everything would come back to normal
but you forgot, that life is crazy itself
and that you can't plan anything

You think of all the things you've learned
and you realize
that you'll never stay on one spot
You are like a bird, travelling
So you start talking to yourself
"Wherever you go, there you are!"
You look out of the window - and smile