The Most Significant

Well it’s about time I get to posting another blog…now that I’m receiving a bit more traffic from the wonderful guys at CIEE I think it’s good for me to post more about the return life and coping ..ya know that great stuff. Well this post is actually focused on an assignment given last week in my Pre-Cal class. Our assignment was to write a minimum of 3 paragraphs covering a couple of questions. The one I chose was one I thought would be very appropriate to blog about. This is actually amazing because she said I could just blog it and then send it to her via email…so yeah I need to get it done. Psssst procrastination sucks hehe. Anyways the question in fact was  ’What is the most significant thing that you have learned in the past week?’ Well this was a nice one because well the thing I learned, which I continue to learn over and over again, is that people are amazingly nice. I mean there are exceptions, but at the time this question was posed a number of unexpected things happened. 

These were , of course, random acts of kindness from the people around me. Not only my friends, the family of those friends and then basic strangers as well. From being offered a ride by someone who I thought to be completely unlike that sort of person. (Yes, I know we’re not supposed to judge people. I’m sorry, I’m human.) It certainly was surprise though. Then a family member of one my friends, very randomly, gave me 40 dollars to redo my hair in the national colors of Germany. That was superbly awesome, but on a side note I have decided to let it grow out or dye it black in order to have a better chance at job opportunities. Still, she told me to keep it to buy myself something nice. I can’t thank her enough for being so kind. It’s really amazing what people will do for you when you ask, or even when you do not. So my lesson is to never under estimate the kindness of those around you.

Yes, I do have the train of thought enough to now intertwine this into the life of any exchange student. You see while abroad this was a big lesson I learned and I think that all exchange students will learn. People are amazingly nice and in times when you’re vulnerable and all alone there is nothing better than that kind new classmate of yours to simply ask you to sit with them at break or to go hang out after school. I know that while abroad I saw so much selflessness to help me and to make sure I was happy and enjoying my time. Your host parents and families are the biggest one of these. These are selfless families that have graciously accepted a strange foreign teen into their home! Thank about it we all know how our parents talk about dealing with us teens…and then think how these families accept strangers that just so happen to be…teens into their home for lengthy periods of time. If that isn’t ultimate kindness I don’t know what is. Then they are those wonderful friends that accept you with your weird foreign ways your “cute” accent. Never can we as a whole thank these people enough for the memories they will help make that will last a lifetime. Okay, so I’ll stop with the cheesy rant, but seriously. I encourage all past, present and future exchange students to take a step back and think about all the selfless things those people did, are doing or will do for you. It’s humbling. Then I challenge you to do the same, help someone out, give a random compliment go out of your way to do something to show that we humans aren’t so bad at all and don’t forget to say thanks when others do the same for you. It’s good for your health anyways, like seriously saying ‘thank you’ releases endorphins into your body which make you happy and happy is healthy!

Oh and yes like every blog of mine since being back I’ll once more say the compilation blog of those journal entries of mine will be coming shortly we’re moved into a new house and I’ve got a room now with all my wonderful papers and assortments so I can finally find all of them and begin to compile. As far as my reversal culture shock. It’s going, not a day goes by that I don’t think of Germany and my wonderful time abroad, but as said it humbles and makes me sad lol. I’m just so grateful it happened…and it was said to be impossible. Anyways, it’s not too bad since I’ll be heading back in August again heh! So that’s gonna conclude this one and well I hope it’s up to the standards of my Pre-Cal teach..since this is a grade heh. Hope she finds motivation and inspiration enough to give me an ‘A’…jeezums I need it heh.

Till next time!

Kurtimus