Tuesday, February 8, 2011

So..Here comes my first post,almost FIVE months after creating it.I can't believe I'm so LAZY! Well...I decided,I have to write about my exerperinces,somewhere else other than my diary,it took me FIVE months to push myself to do it.I promise to keep you updated regulary from now on.I am pretty sure I realise the importance of time,now that I'm in Europe and everybody,literally everybody is always on time.


Speaking of being In Europe,I'm an exchange student in Belgium.I'm sixteen,well I'm almost seventeen( A month and couple of days more),and I can guarantee you that this year has been the best one in my sixteen years.Never have I experienced so many emotions flowing out of myself like blood at the same time.

As you know by now,I have spent more than five months in Belgium.It has been a good experience so far.Of course I have had my bad moments,but every experience can't be good,can it? This is what I keep telling myself when I'm sad.

I am extremely happy that I am doing this program. I have learnt so many things in the last five months,things I coudln't learn back home.It's been so overwhelming,this whole program

Speaking about the things I've learnt,here are some examples. When I was still In India,doing my final year of school,I was still dependent.Looking back,I see that Aditi was still a baby.I was never capable of doing things alone.I needed my parents,my Aunt and my Grandma for everything,I needed to be told to study,I lacked concentration,I took a  LOT of things for granted.I hardly did things on my own,most of the times,I would wait for my parents to do it.I would spend hours on the phone with my friends,I never realised the importance of time,though my father kept telling me,I just didn't pay attention.

But now that I am here,in Belgium,Life has taught me many lessons. I now know that if I am not ready on time,nobody is going to wait for me.Friend or no friend,if you are late,you are alone.This is just one of the many things that I have learnt in Belgium.If I write all of them,the list is obviously going to get long,maybe it ill never end and you will be bored to tears reading it.

People in Belgium  are really different. Even after being here for five months,I am still shy iin school,I feel like a baby in front of my classmates.They are also sixteen,just like me,but they are so independent.In short they are eighteen year olds who are actually sixteen.They have already started to make money,they do what they like,when they like(I don't know if that's good or bad) etc etc.The list goes on.I try my best to fit in,and its much better now,but I still have a long way to go.

Another thing different is that shops close by six in the evening.I keep wondering,how do people make money if they shut down so early? I do not remember any shop closing before 9pm back home.It's strange sometimes.

The food....Well it is basically raw.Atleast for me. I come from a country where spices are used in almost every preparation,so the food here was tasteless for the first two months.Dinner time was the only time I got homesick. But now,I have lost all my taste buds.Indian food is spicy to me now.The other day I had Indian food and  after I ate the first bite,my eyes started watering.

My first four months were really difficult for me.Language was definitely a problem,but more than that,adjusting was difficult.I am sure I took more time than the Americans,or the mexicans,where life more or less is the same.

But now,I am doing really fine.Now that I wasn't doing good earlier,but now it is just so much more better.Enjoyable.I won't be happier if it wasn't for the friends,they come from all over the world, (The USA,Mexico,Turkey etc etc) And of course the family I have been staying with.Especially my host parents.They have taught me so much.I owe them.

Also,I have to thank my first friend in school,Esen,who is from turkey.She is there to help me whenever I need her,and my french would'nt be the way it is now if she was not there.

Okay,this post is getting a bit long I think. I hope I didn't bore you.

I forgot to thank one more person,Mikayla.She opened the blog for me.Mikayla,thankyou so much for helping me for those first few weeks in school.If you remember it was you who gave me the courage to go to school.Merci beaucoup :)

A bientot,
Aditi

1 comment:

  1. Simply put, I liked it and I am looking forward to more posts. I am sure other aspiring exchange students will benefit. I am also looking your impressions- lots of photos, of course- on the places you have seen. Good luck

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