I have been in Slovakia for just over a month now—a period punctuated by the annual Inbound Orientation Meeting for RYE students from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This assembly and all the advice given to us exchange students on how to best move forward through our year has me reflecting on my experiences this past month.
The Bad
Nothing has been horrible. Nothing has made me regret this exchange. (I felt that was nessecary after such a heading. Now that that’s out of the way…)
I like to think that I have taken everything tossed my way quite philosophically, however that hasn’t always been the case. I get quite flustered at—even the thought of—purchasing bus and train tickets or dealing with the paid restrooms that are commonly found here. It is not as if I have had (more than one) bad experience in these encounters, however, the language barrier causes me to perceive myself as incompetent and a burden to the person performing their job. It discourages me. I know this can be remedied by improving my language skills, but also, and more importantly, by throwing myself at these uncomfortable situations more often.
Another thing I could improve on is the time I spend with my peers. I haven’t failed at this by any means, but I’d say I only take advantage of about half of the opportunities I find. Now, working under the philosophy of say “Yes” to everything, I have not rejected any invitations my peers have proffered. I’ve gone hiking, I routinely work out with one of my classmates at my father’s gym, and I’ve hung out with friends downtown. Where I have room for improvement is in engaging and initiating myself. The thing is, I am a very introverted person and spending time with most people is effort to me. Especially in a foreign country! But, as the Rotarians in my district told me, “This exchange is work” and I must remember that fact. At times, I feel lost and I wait for others to guide me, but I need to put my own work into these relationships; my peers won’t keep trying forever.
The Good!
I have experienced success though, in a few things in particular!
Contrary to the point above, I am actually quite proud of the number of friends I have made. I’ve discovered mutual interests with my classmates from Anime to Zoology. It has helped that my English teacher essentially made it homework for them to talk to me, but I am confident that my efforts to be a fun and engaging friend have played some role in it all!
When I first arrived, my host family took me to my grandfather’s for a special lunch. I hadn’t planned it, but something possessed me to wait and watch. I casually observed as my family picked up their utensils and mimicked the motion myself. The same for how they ate and what they did with their dishes afterwards. I committed all this to memory and made it habit. This has resulted in me being privy to more secrets of etiquette than some of my fellow exchange students, without having to be told.
The point here is; Observation. This simple act can benefit so much, especially in learning the language. I have made sure to take an active role in the majority of my classes each day. I may not be able to discuss, do homework, or even understand the lecture, but I can absorb the words my teachers speak. I can look for patterns, listen to the pronunciation of vocab that I know, and occasionally fit together entire sentences. I am unable to describe how greatly this has helped me with the Slovak language.
Conclusion
My exchange has been phenomenal so far and I am lucky to not have experienced severe homesickness. I think this is partly due to the things I’ve discussed above—and one other. You can’t let the differences get to you. A smile and nod works for dealing with people, but a shrug is all you need for the alien facts of living in another culture. This is life here. Be it the food, how they do laundry, what they’re like at home; these things are part of reality and the duty of an exchange student is to absorb these facts readily.
I will continually make efforts to improve the quality of this exchange and I am so grateful to Rotary for giving me this opportunity.
Signed,
Andrew
