DESCRIBING EXCHANGE WITH SONG LYRICS

Everytime I listen to a song, that brings me back to a certain moment of my life, a good or a bad one. The first one that comes in my mind is Shake it off, by Taylor Swift. When I was in the US that song was played everywhere, I think I actually hated it at some point, it was too much. But today i want to focus on lyrics and categorize them in pre-departure, post-departure and post-exchange.

We all know that most of the times songs make it easier to explain things. It is easier to write down our feelings rather then say 'em out loud. Months ago I shared with you my exchange year playlist (click here to read more about it) but today I want to describe with song lyrics what an exchange student might feel during the whole experience, from the fear that chases us before departing to the unstoppable sadness of losing everything and everyone that takes over us when our time abroad is up.


PRE - DEPARTURE LYRICS

 Hit the lights - Selena Gomez
"It's the plane you wanna catch to Vegas,
Things you swear you'll do before you die,
It's the city of love that waits for you,
But you're to damn scared to fly."

 Sleep on the floor - The Lumineers
"Pack yourself a toothbrush dear
Pack yourself a favorite blouse
Take a withdrawal slip
Take all of your savings out
'Cause if we don't leave this town
We might never make it out"

POST - DEPARTURE LYRICS

 Hopeless Wanderer - Mumford & Sons
"And hold me fast, Hold me fast
'Cause I'm a hopeless wanderer
I will learn, I will learn to love the skies I'm under
I will learn, I will learn to love the skies I'm under
The skies I'm under"

 Where is my mind? - Pixies
"With your feet on the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse
But there's nothing in it
And you'll ask yourself
Where is my mind?" 

POST - EXCHANGE LYRICS

 Welcome to my life - Simple Plan
"Do you ever want to run away?
Do you lock yourself in your room?
With the radio on turned up so loud
That no one hears you screaming
No you don't know what its like
When nothing feels alright
You don't know what its like to be like me
To be hurt, to feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one there to save you"

I really like every song I listed here because somehow I can relate to the lyrics. When the time to depart arrived I was really excited to go, I was ready to pack and hop on a plane and when I had to fly back home nearly one year after, I felt broken, lost.
Do you feel like these songs are the ones which shortly descibe your feelings? If not which ones would you choose? I am curious to know!

- Cris

ONCE ABROAD, ALWAYS ABROAD.



Dear mom and dad, friends and family, it's not you. It's me. Once experienced the unknown I constantly feel like I need more. It's like a chain reaction, I get something and I already need more. It sounds bad, I am putting distance between myself and the people I love, but the truth is that no matter how far I travel, I will eventually come home to my beloved food and culture. So, I must follow certain paths until they are available, 'cause opportunities are temporary, you either catch them or not.

In ten years I will be able to tell people amazing stories, meanwhile a peer will talk about the same kind of coffee he drank every single morning for the past 10 years. I will be able to say that I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in beautiful San Francisco, that I saw a broadway play in New York City, that I surfed in paradisiac Hawaii and hopefully much more.


I know I arrived in Denmark three months ago, but I am already planning my way out. It is not because I don't like Denmark, but because life is short and I want to accept as much opportunities as possible. Teenagers change their iPhones every year to stay up-to-date, I just need a plane ticket every now and then, I think that's more important.

Above the clouds I always wonder where and why people are flying. On my latest flight I met an Australian guy. He's 20 years old and he moved to Amsterdam at the age of 18, without any plan. Everything worked out and last summer he travelled throughout Spain and Portugal, sleeping in tents and beaches, falling asleep looking at the stars and waking up with a kiss from the sun. Some of the things he did were kind of insane, but overall his story was inspiring. He felt Australia wasn't for him and eventually moved to Europe to walk his own road.

There are many opportunities out there, open your eyes and have the courage to "grab" yours.

- Cris
study abroad

A drop of Exchange.


Throughout my exchange I recorded many videos but I ended up rendering just the ones that I took while travelling. I've one for Denver, New York, West Coast and so on. But tomorrow (should I say in one hour?) is my birthday and this past weekend I was feeling quite sick so I stayed home with a cup of hot tea and my laptop, watching videos I took in the US. Now, I'm not sure that was a good idea, but I felt like doing something more. I wanted to gather all of those in a bigger video, and so I did. Quality is bad, framing equally bad and I didn't even follow a timeline. Although, all of this is on purpose. Between one laugh and the other travelling somewhere and behind the scenes of a play I was part of, I captured some memories with my smartphone.

Exchange is a change. Each and everyday was different from the previous one. So now people you know why I travel. I want to follow new paths every time I get the chance to, and while I do so, capture moments with my little device. Change is scary, because we know that things will be different but we don't really know what kind of things. Two years after I can say that it is still exciting to face the fear of the unknown. Even here in Denmark I was kind of nervous to show up the first day of University, but two months later I'm here writing this post and I cannot believe how many things changed. Take that plane, walk that path. If your friend wants to capture a moment, let him do so, even if you feel like you are too ugly for a picture (lol). There is no coming back, and the only way we can hold on to moments is to keep them in a video or a picture.


Here it is, this video shows more or less a quarter of the things I lived overseas, but I have to say that you will not be able to understand unless one of you appears in the video. There so much behind a 10 seconds video, you don't even know. So please watch it with a bit of imagination and try to focus on the content rather than the majestic quality.

One last thing - Here's a list of the places that appear on the video: Colorado, Wyoming, California, Arizona, Nevada, New York, Washington DC, Missouri, Hawaii, Mexico.

- Cris

Distance is my enemy

If I could go back in time and meet the person I was in 2013 I'd say to him Thank You.
Most of the students who leave their homes do so because they have a friend who previously did the same and told them about the experience or because their parents introduced them the idea. I found out about the programme in a different and interesting way. I was chatting with a friend and I was telling her how cool it would be to go to America and attend school there, like in the movies. So I just felt like googling it. From that moment it was like a whole new world opened up to me.

What I'm trying to say is that we gotta take the right choices because it is not just about the present, but it is also about the upcoming future. Going on exchange made me the person I am today. I probably wouldn't even be in Denmark right now if I didn't use google that night.
A few nights ago I received a random call. It was my American dad. "Hello, dad". He said he just wanted to remind me that his wife and he will always support me no matter what path I will take in life. I felt so lucky and glad I couldn't even talk. I wish every single exchange student could feel home in their host country as much as I did. If I could afford the plane ticket I'd fly back every single weekend, even if it takes 20 hours to get there.


It is so awesome to travel everywhere, to settle in different countries every now and then, to love new people etc. and this is why I'd say Thank you little Cris. But there will always be my enemy distance to ruin everything. Because no matter how hard you try to keep in touch with the people you love, you will slowly stop contacting them. It doesn't mean you love them less than you did before, but it just happens, and it sucks. People will also let you down and you will have no one to rely on. Everyone you love will be far away. You'll have to deal with shit all alone, it sucks, doesn't it?

Chris Martin sings "Oh take me back to the start" and sometimes I wish I could do that. Being 16 years old again, flying over the ocean towards the unknown land of the States.

- Cris

MY AMERICAN PARENTS CAME TO VISIT.


Time does change things. Two years ago I would not have thought of moving to Denmark, little I knew of what I wanted to study. But, there are also some things that never change, that is for instance the relationship with people you love, because if you keep loving there is no way time will ruin that. This past weekend was amazing. I was with my american family where I was born and raised. It felt like I never left america, but I actually did not see them for 14 months. We raised our glasses and celebrated family, by blood and by choice.

After seeing them in my homeland I realized that everything is possible. Last year when my american experience came to an end I felt horrible, I didn't trust anyone saying "You will see them soon" because let's face it, when is "soon"? who can define how long "soon" is? Now I really think that if we really want to, we can make things work. I met one of my best friends on a trip in Europe, I met my american parents, I am doing what I wished I could do for months and such.


Two years ago I was living with them in Colorado and now they were walking by my side in Milan, Italy. How cool is this? I feel grateful for everything they did and still do even thought I am not with them anymore. They told me they are proud of me and I couldn't feel happier. I honestly feel sad for the people who did not have them as host parents and had a bad experience instead. I actually read on the internet that some people even regret investing money on an exchange year because they had a hard time and I think it is just too bad. Host parents should be as excited as the students when it comes to the whole experience. As students change over time so do host parents. You are surrounded by new things so it makes it easier to suck up the culture of your host country, but for host parents the only source of learning about your culture is you, this is why you have to be good.

 READ ALSO: TRAVELLING BACK TO MY HOST CITY AFTER TWO YEARS.


- Cris
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)