As soon as I found out I would be an exchange student from my district, my parents began to bother me. They constantly warned me, “don’t lose your passport!” and “don’t speak to strangers at the airport!” and “don’t lose your tickets!” et cetera. I kept responding, “relax, don’t make me nervous!” but they didn’t stop.
Finally there I was, at Miami airport, faced with making a change of not only planes, but AIRLINES. All the things my parents had nagged me about for weeks, were entirely under control. Passport accounted for. Tickets in-hand, luggage present. No need to talk to strangers. The one thing no one expected was that I couldn’t read the signs to find the next airline. I DIDN'T speak any English!
I stood there for the longest time, looking at the signs, unable to figure out which way to go. Then I saw a man dressed in an airline uniform, standing to the side of the walkway. I dragged all my bags over to him in hopes that he could manage just a few words in the only possible common language we might have: Spanish. I couldn’t say much of course, but I could get a question out. I blurted out “Habla usted español?” To my relief, he replied, “sí.” I had a hard time to ask where to get my next flight and also where I could leave my luggage. He told me to go further down the hall to the next counter and said I could leave my bags with him.
We looked at each other. We looked at the baggage. We looked back at each other. I had already broken one of my parents’ rules – talked to a stranger. How much worse could I do by leaving my bags with him? So I left them and headed off for the counter at American Airlines.
Although it was the shortest leg of the journey, it was the most stressful. I had no idea whether my luggage was on the plane or not. I had always thought meeting the host family would be stressful and awkward, but that wasn’t the hard part. The torture was all of us standing beside the baggage carousel for what seemed like hours, watching everyone else pick up luggage. Finally, they arrived, my new and most favorite piece was broken. The man in the uniform had been honest. I had taken a chance and trusted him, and he came through for me.
The feeling that I could manage and that I could trust others set the tone for the rest of my wonderful adventure as an exchange student.
Some of the other surprises I have had are:
Finding out that I wouldn’t put on 60 pounds from eating at McDonald’s every night. Americans actually eat very healthy food at home!
America is not one huge city like New York. I was in a small town with trees and lawns and neighborhoods.
American high school is really just like the movies we watch in Brazil. There are lockers, cheerleaders, football games and all. It’s so entirely different from my high school in Brazil. I felt like I was in the movies the first few weeks!
When I arrived at my host family’s house that first night, I was shocked to see that no key was required to open the door. It is simply always left open! In Brazil this never done, for fear of inviting crime.
Christmas in Brazil is usually on a hot day. We try to listen to Christmas songs but the atmosphere just isn’t quite right. My first American Christmas was just like in the movies we so often see in Brazil. There was snow and cold and a real Christmas tree. Once again, I feel like an actor in a film!
In the end, I found out a few things about myself. For example, I discovered my artistic side, with the photography and art classes in school here. We don’t have those courses in high school in Brazil. I found out I like to cook here – in my first host family, we cooked all the time and it was so much fun. Somehow in Brazil, I would only help out in the kitchen when my mother asked 3 times. I found out I am more flexible than I had thought. I can try new things and enjoy taking a chance.
My final thought is that when you open yourself up to this kind of experience, your life changes forever. You find out that people are more alike than they are different, and you mature so much in those months you live away from home.
Damiana Lima Costa
