"Nie bedziesz nic znał, jeśli nie opuścisz swojego pokoju"-F.H. Burnett "Tajemniczy ogród"

I’m enjoying my exchange more and more with every week I manage to survive in an American jungle (actually it’s not that hard, but I felt like writing it). Last time on Rotary meeting we got an "exchange student survival kit", a book that is meant for students getting ready for a year abroad program. (I was preying on that book back home, however prizes I would have to pay made me throw all papers in the air and say “screw it, I’m an natural survivor, I ain’t need any book!”). It’s a little unfortunate that we got them almost in halfway through our exchanges, however I’m glad I had a chance to read it even if I knew most of things they were talking about. It’s something you understand and get to know as you live through your exchange- maybe you are not able to fancy name phases, but as you read a book you can recognize that things they talk about are exactly the ones you have been going through. It helped to neaten my frantic thoughts and taught me that phase I’m going through is called a “culture learning”; it starts around 5^th month (I was celebrating my 5 months in US on 16^th January!) and lasts until almost last month of exchange. It basically means that I stopped judging everything around and comparing it to my home country and started living a life near to one a native student may live and assimilating to culture well. I’m not longer such a novelty in school, everyone got used having a foreigner in class and now, I think, they are no longer interested in listening “how we do stuff in Poland” but rather in finding me out as a person, treating me equally to all other students. I’m also busier than I was before, however I truly hope it’s not only a period in my exchange but that my experience will keep this pace.

This week I had my internships and as I got used to them I don’t see a necessity of sharing every tiny moment of them here, in public. On the other hand I’d like to tell you what happened on Monday (13.01), as it was something that made my entire day, even if you will probably consider it unimportant.
Internship started normally, without any problems, I was helping with math games, adding and subtracting up to 20, when suddenly speakers in classroom made alarming sound. I started up (I don’t know why, but every time I hear an alarm I think that it’s a shooting and I’ll die) which drew a smile on teacher’s face, telling me not to worry, it’s only a trial fire alarm. It turned out to be true, as after every three sounds we heard a calm voice giving us instructions from somewhere above our heads. “beeep beeep beeep, it’s an emergency, beeeep, beeep, beeep, please head to a safe zone, beep beep beeep”. Kids knew perfectly what to do and lined up at the door to follow the teacher in a way out of the school. I was standing on the end, to make sure no one pulls away and to turn off the lights. When we were about to leave the voice was still instructing us. “beeep, beeep, beeep, please do not use an elevator, beep beep beep”, one of this six-year-old girls looked at me (and I’m twice as tall as she is), with facial expression showing that she thinks people are idiots and told “we don’t even HAVE an elevator here” and almost rolled her eyes.

Not much had happened for a rest of the school week, but Friday (17.01) was off and I started having fun right after I boarded a coach bus, which was the most comfortable bus I had a chance to travel in. We were going to 7springs, a ski resort in Pennsylvania to spend a really nice weekend freezing our toes to death. I have a love-hate relationship with skiing, and I can’t decide if I enjoy landscapes and activity itself more than I suffer from cold, but truth is that I can’t imagine a winter without bruising my calves and schuss down the slope.

After four and half drive we arrived to a hotel and I noticed a big cultural difference. In our four-person room which I shared with three other girls there were only two beds. Big ones, king-sized, perfect for two people but I wouldn’t have expected it, as back home every time I travelled somewhere and were placed in room for four there were four beds. I didn’t know the girls I was sharing room with, but I decided that “it’s awkward only if you make it awkward” and dealt with it as an adult. On the other hand boys in room not far from ours were taking turns in sleeping on a floor.

Just after we arrived, we’ve rented whatever we needed to rent and hit the slopes for night skiing. That’s thing I really enjoyed that I didn’t know before- nigh skiing. In Pennsylvania they open lifts at 9 and run them until 3:30-4, and then again around 6 and run them until 10 (or 9 on north part of the mountain). We were required to ski with a buddy just in case something happen, so I paired up with girls from my room (I hardly knew anyone else). I understand the purpose of the rule, but it was very frustrating to ski with a girl who didn’t know she should have goggles and one who was snowboarding first time in her lifetime. That’s why I was extremely happy when I realized that only other person I know, TJ (guy who was sitting on my right side during “12 angry jurors” and played a gay man in one acts) actually CAN snowboard and is willing to go to black slopes with me. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN, even if I missed Austria a little (especially the view from the top of a mountain and multitude&length of slopes).

Staying in hotel of that kind was also a new experience for me. Not only that I had to share a bed with nearly a stranger, but going to breakfast and having a smartly dressed waitress only waiting to pour me more orange juice and make all my sophisticated dreams come true, as well as being able to go to pool, bowling or roller blading for free (I mean in a prize of a room) being surrounded with people who behaved as if they were there to make me happy. In a long run it would be very easy to forget that I’m not any better than they are, but fortunately I haven’t had a chance to start feeling comfortable with being treated royally. Last time I felt similar way was on a plane to USA, after being used to take a cheap airlines. I think I embarrassed myself asking a flying attendant if I have to pay for all the stuff she was giving me. Oh well, better this way than being a spoiled rich kid.

On Monday (20.01) school also were closed because of Martin Luther King Day.

Do you remember Nate who’s going to India next year, and his family who gave a lift to me and Justus last time for an exchange-kids event when outbounds found out where they are going? So apparently they liked me enough (who doesn’t, I’m awesome) that they’ve decided to host me for the rest of my stay in USA (time for applause!). 

My exchange officer (and current host dad) was working on that for some time already, and today we visited my future family so I could say hi and they could get some documents straight.

After they feed me with homemade cake (it was actually made with ingredients, and tasted real, not plastic) and gave me a tour around the house. So since next weekend I’m going to have a four year old sister, brother almost my age, sister in college and… two Korean host brothers from different exchange program. One of them is 21, studies in community college in town and has been staying with this family for almost 3 years now, other one (his biological brother) is a freshman in high school and arrived to States around the same time I did. I have never had an experience with living with males other than younger brothers or dads, so having brother my age and older seems very appealing and I’m extraordinarily excited, which is a good sign, as in a morning I was rather anxious. On the other hand my second host family, the current one was just perfect and I wish I could split and live with both families at the same time!