It has officially been a whole week of living in Kocise Slovakia, and it has been a very full week. A week full of amazing amounts of high points, a hand full of low points, and many new challenges.
When I had first flew into Kosice, I had many different emotions crashing over me, it was my first time seeing in person what my life will look like for the next year. I walked from my plane into one of the smallest airports I've ever seen, with one area to pick up your luggage, and another to exit the actual airport. There my first host family was waiting for me with a sign and open arms. Through out this whole week they have been the reason why I have kept my positive attitude. They're incredibly helpful to me in every single way and they have done a great job of making me feel like part of the family since day 1. My first hours were spent talking with my family and trying my first Slovak dish, Bryndzové Halušky, which is very different, but very delicious as well. My family showed me around my new home, introduced me to the cat, Tidy, and finally let me sleep for I had been up for the past 24 hours. The following day was spent touring around the center of Košice, which was nothing like I had seen before, every building seemed to be perfected with amazing precision and detail. My favorite site was the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth. Everywhere you looked was a image of beauty, with stained glass windows, becaustiful statues, and details everywhere you look. The rest of the week was filled with meeting new people, and figuring out the challenges that I was gonna face through out the year. Basketball practice was my first look into what its like to be a complete alien, a total stranger, which is something I'm not use to. But as the week went on my conversations with the team became longer and I began to feel right at home with a new team. And the same for my new school, with time things seem to just get better and better. The first day of school was most defiantly my 15 minutes of fame, I was the talk of the school and everyone was very excited to have me there. Despite the hour commute to school and the early mornings starting at 5:00 AM, I'm very happy with my school life. Of course its very challenging for me, not knowing slovak and always being behind my other classmates, everyone there is ready to help me as much as possible. As for my Slovak, its defiantly something that is going to take a while to catch onto. Every word comes with a crazy pronunciation and total new form of grammar that is really challenging. but my family is extremely helpful when it comes to learning my language. Even though they are very hard on me, its because of them that I am practicing my slovak at all. And as for the future, it is still filled with many unknowns. Im very happy here and I know that its something that makes me who I am but of course its not easy. But one thing I'm very very sure about is that when I finish my exchange, I will be a stringer, smarter, more experienced human who has grown immensely over this past year.
1 Comment
Lyn Corona
9/13/2017 05:21:54 pm
I am so glad you are loving your family and city. Keep up the posting. It is fun to feel part of your adventure.
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AuthorRotary Youth Exchange Student traveling to Slovakia from the USA. Archives
December 2017
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