My friends are some of the most important people in my life. They are always there for me and always make me happy. It's going to be hard to say goodbye, but I know it will be worth it. Here are a few words from my family & friends:​
Kenna is an amazing friend who is leaving me for a whole year -Ashley
I can't wait for us to be able to tell stories to each other. -Allison
I Hope she has a great time and doesn't forget us. -Kelli
Alaska is a very special place to me and I'm sad to be leaving, but when you are here for around 15 years it can get pretty boring. I'm excited to move to Chile but I know it will be way out of my comfort zone.
I am so excited about Kenna's exchange. I know that it will be hard, fun, and very worthwhile. I sure wish I could have done something similar when I was her age. What a great opportunity for her to learn a new language, culture and to meet new friends from around the world. -Dad
What will i do now. -Mom
:( -My dog
This was the party the night of when all of the outbound exchange students found out what country they are going to. The wonderful singer is an inbound named, Olek, from Poland. As you can see, only knowing each other for 3 days most of the exchange students have already made strong bonds with each other.
Knowing another language already and going on exchange has its pros and cons. Pro: You already know how to learn another language which makes learning another easier. Con: My brain switches to "foreign language mode" which means I automatically think in my foreign languages. But since I already know Japanese, and I'm not very good at Spanish, When I think of a sentence and don't know all of the words in Spanish, my brain automatically fills those words in with Japanese. Which makes learning hard.
Going on exchange isn't as "easy" or fun as it looks right at the beginning. In this photo, I hadn't even had my country assignment for a week and am already studying Spanish. Allison who is going to Mexico is with me.
Don't let leaving your family and friends stop you from going on exchange. It will be scary having to make new friends, but at the end of the year, you won't want to leave them. Your host family will become like your real family and your new friends will feel like ones you've known forever.