CRIS GOES ABROAD

Today I wanted to tell you about my American family. The people who took care of me for eleven months in the other side of the world. They came to Europe before I went to America and so I had the opportunity to meet them even before I arrived at their house. They hugged me and welcomed me as their son that day. We had lunch together and enjoyed landscapes in Switzerland. They had been the most beautiful thing on exchange for me. Of course I had wonderful friends and I did really cool things, but if I were in a different house it would have been all different. They were so nice to me since the beginning that I didn't even want to stay in my room like ever, I was always around the house, trying to help or to chat with them. Even my first morning there; I woke up so early that I went with my american dad to wash his car.

Wherever we went if my american brother wanted something, his dad would buy it for me too, saying "you are like my son". I am writing this here because sometimes exchange students, if something doesn't work at their house, say that it is their family's fault. As international students, who decided to leave the comfort zone for almost a year, we need to understand that when something doesn't work, it can be our fault too. Try to connect with your family, to get to know them, to prove them that it was worth it to host you. I am not saying it is the student's fault, I am saying that before complaining you should think twice.

In my case, my family didn't choose me, they received my application and accepted it, but most of the families choose the student they want to host, and at that moment they decide to trust you and to get to know you. You should think about that, whenever you feel like behaving bad. Is it really worth it to lie to them? I don't think so. I've always told them stuff and they trusted me, I could hang out with friends and even sleep over.

So concluding, talk to them, spend time with them, get to know them. If you think your host family doesn't like you it is probably because you appear weird or not really nice. Do all these things and everything will be better, they will start to know the real you. Even I met people who seemed weird but eventually became really good friends of mine: "Don't judge a book by its cover".

- Cris

It was 548 days ago, a hot summer day and I was ready to leave the house at 8 am. 

People kept asking me "Are you scared? Are you excited? Won't you miss home?" so now I decided to tell you more about the day when my life changed forever.

I arrived at the airport and my parents and I captured the moment taking some pictures. I checked-in before having breakfast because I was anxious and did not want to be late. As a result, I had everything done 2 hours earlier than expected. I tried to talk about anything but my departure with my parents since I did not want to make them sad. After hugging them for the last time in 2014, I walked towards the gate and turned right. The last thing they saw was my back. I was out of their sight now, and so they were out of mine. My dad sent me a text: "Wait up, if I enter this shop and you do too, we can see each other one more time before you go". I just got in line with my passport in my hand.

There, my mind started to travel. I looked around myself with a big smile. I was 16 years old and traveling out of the country by myself. I was ready to show who I really was. In Milan, I felt like things were holding me back but from that day on, the situation changed.

I landed in London and I saw thousands of people walking left and right, either hurrying or taking their time in coffee shops. It was so cool. I decided to drink my first Starbucks ever and then since they wouldn't release the gate number I also had a frozen yogurt. In the meantime, I kept thinking "What and who is waiting for me on the other side of the world? What if..?" I really asked myself tons of questions. But then I stopped because I wanted to enjoy every second of my exchange, and the flight was already part of it. I did not want to have any expectation. I tried to text my friends and family to let them know that I was okay and then used the restroom. Guess what? My gate was announced just when I entered it. On my way out I checked the screen and found out the gate was on the other side of the terminal. I landed in terminal 5 and I was departing from the same, but I guess that was just too perfect for me so I had at least run to reach the other side. Fun, or maybe not, but I reached it. I was looking at the big aircraft.

People told me to sleep on the plane, to watch movies or listen to music. I tried to sleep but I couldn't, I tried to watch a movie but I couldn't focus. I was too excited to land in the USA for the first time, and not for a vacation but because I was moving there, that even if I was tired I could not close my eyes. I repeatedly listened to the same song hundreds of times on board (Hopeless Wanderer, you should listen to it).

Even the clouds looked different through my eyes. I landed and after playing some hide and seek (not literally but yeah, we could not find one another), I met my American family. On my way home I kept looking out the window while my American parents were talking to me... I remember that day like it was yesterday. My host brother was fifteen and I remember him staring at me as if I was some kind of alien. You may think I was their first exchange student and this is why he wouldn't stop looking, but I was actually the 17th.

And you, do you remember your first day?

- Cris

Everytime you give me the opportunity to start a discussion, I talk about traveling. There is nothing that makes me more excited than going somewhere; even better if I've never been there before and I get to discover it.

I'd travel my whole life if I could. There is a quote that goes like this "Life isn't meant to be lived in one place" but also this one "We must take adventures in order to know where we truly belong" and I couldn't agree more. I feel sad thinking that I am doing the same shit everyday. Y'all know, I wake up every morning and go to school, come back and study, complain about how much stressed I am during the free time and go back to bed, in order to wake up the next day and do the same thing. 

At school you have to listen to teachers who sometimes can't teach anything at all, the only thing they can do well is talking and make their mouth going. If only teachers, at least where I live, were more passionate about their job, cared a little more about their students and instead of talking hours just because they get paid they would insterest their listeners, school wouldn't be so bad.

I want to travel because why not. Why should I stay in my home town every day? What makes it interesting? Nothing. I know by memory where everything is and what everything costs, for example. I appreciate my home town only when I am away from it for long, so at that time I miss even the little things of Milan. Now that I know what's like to live where everything is new and people don't know your story or name, I for sure want to do it, again. I want to start from zero, again. For someone that was the scary part about the exchange year, they cried when they arrived in their host countries, but I was actually really happy with my life as it was.

When I get older I want to be able to tell good stories to my family and friends, I don't want to say something like "I'm good, nothing new.." but instead I want to tell them how much fun I had on road trips, adventures, hikes and travels around the world.

When I say I want to travel I do not want necessary to spend 5 days in a hotel relaxing, but I want to get in touch with locals, find out non-targeted places which are as cool as touristic ones and not only take pictures to remember stuff but also make actual memories.

I am for sure going to Copenhagen and Budapest in the next few months, I can't wait to see where this 2016 will take me to. Where will you travel to this year?

- Cris

... please be full of joy. Make my friends and family happy. I want to travel and live a new life again because I feel like that's what I need right now. I learnt a lot about myself this past year, I wonder how much more I can learn if I leave again..

My wishes for 2016 aren't a lot, but they are big ones. I don't ask to be rich and famous (yet), but I wish I get to see my exchange friends and family again because they are far away, and distance sucks. I also hope I will be an international student in college and that I will find my way in a foreign country.

Last year I had champagne at midnight with my american family, this time I get to celebrate New Year's Eve in my home country again. The company will be different but the situation will be the same: a bunch of people making toasts and counting down the minutes for the start of a, hopefully, wonderful year.

I read on the internet that for someone 2015 has been a crappy year. The purpose of this post is to share positive thoughts. My year has been actually pretty good, at least for the first half of it. Your year will come soon and you will get to show who you are to people. You need to work on it and to be patient, time is the key. I remember complaining about the fact that I had to wait a year before I could go on exchange: It was 2 years and a half ago, now I already came back and I've got just 6 more months of high school. There are just a few days left of 2015, live them up the best we can!

2015

- I traveled somewhere I've dreamt of visiting for years.

- I met a lot of international students.

- I went on a road trip.

- I tried new foods.

- I learnt new languages.
- I caught 17 airplanes.
- I spent the 4th of July in America.

- I went to the MTV EMAs.

...

2016 ?

- Coming soon.

Share your 2015 with me in the comments!
What would you like to achieve in 2016?

- Cris

Hello guys, I'm going through a tough time, but I know I am not the only one. I see a lot of people talking about homesickness during exchange, I want to talk about the one you feel post exchange, because according to me it is the worst kind. You know you will never live the life you lived in your host country, you scroll down your camera roll and you think "Was this real? Was I there? And were they there for and with me?" yes, yes and yes. It was real, but it felt like a dream, and not even a long one, but a really short dream.

I remember when I was getting into the plane from my home country like it was 5 minutes ago. I remember crossing the gate and receiving a text message from my dad saying "Do you want to meet? Maybe if you enter this shop we can meet again". I responded "Dad, I just saw you" and I kept going forward because I was ready to go and I wanted him to be too. Even if I came back to say goodbye one more time, eventually I'd have left again and it could have been harder for him and my mom.

My adventure ended, forever. By the time everything was getting so perfect in every regard, I had to go home. It is like I paused my american life, but I know I cannot resume it.

It is hard to move forward because everything here is the same, same school, same roads, same habits, same crap. The only thing that changed is the level of difficulty of school, and it changed badly.

But we need to keep our adventurer soul alive, archive the past and live the present. I have so many plans for the future that I do not even know which one to choose. I am thinking on studying abroad again, as an international student, so basically I will be out of my home country for my whole college career. Also, I wanna try to do my internships elsewhere because my goal is to travel as much as I can while I am young and to meet amazing people from all over.

While abroad I found out who I really am and I want to keep on doing what I love. People will think you are crazy if you leave again, they will say you don't care about them. The truth is they don't fully understand you. They don't understand that you don't want to take just a vacation but traveling is your passion, you do it because you love it and maybe you need to. I feel like I can't fully express who I am at home because everyone knows me, everyone think they know my limits, the truth is they don't. I would do so many things if I could.

I'm gonna stop here, I don't want to lose the point of the post:
After exchange there is another step: depression. But after that there is you and your decisions. Make good ones and live again. Exchange was just a chapter of our book and we need to keep writing it. Remember, we left once, we can do it again. Exchange is gone, but something else is on its way.

- Cris