What I did want to tell you is something I've been meaning to for a while. And that's this. I want you all to know that there is a life after exchange. We all have to come back at some point. When I started this blog back in 2005, it was as a record of my language learning, and has evolved and grown with me. For example, right now it's a travelouge. So many students end their blogs with their exchange year. The good news (Or maybe bad for some of you) is that I will not be ending this blog in July? Why? Well mostly because the process of coming back and fitting into my "native" cultural again, is as much, if not more fascinating to me as fitting into a new culture in the first place. That's why I'm asking you readers to keep on reading, because when I get back I'm going to be talking a lot about what life is like after exchange, which is almost as unheard of blog-wise as and Exchange Student in Yakutsk.
That having been said, I've created this post to give you a brief idea of what I will be faced with when I get back to the states in 7 weeks and one day. Okay, I won't be faced with it Immediately, but fairly quickly and namely, this lurking monster is College! Or as we say here in Yakutsk University Either way, it's a little scary.
Starting in August, I will be attending a lovely urban university not too far from home. I affectionately call it Satan's Personal University or SPU for short. No, it's not because I hate the school, I actually think it's a decent school, but the name comes from a joke I have with a good friend about the fact that it's a state-run school.
I will be starting as a Freshman in the fall, but thanks to my lovely Post Secondary Courses, I will be a sophomore by December.
I'm in the honors college which, I will admit the only reason I wanted it was because they have nice dorms. Yes, I will be living on-campus, yes I'll be rooming with someone and yes, I've already tried getting in touch with Roomie. We'll see what happens. I figure if I can handle living in a foreing country, I can handle having a roomate.
I (so far) will be taking 18 credit hours I say so far because i'm not yet schedulded for a Russian class and there's no way I'm not taking a Russian class next semester.
I will be taking such mentally stimulating courses as:
-How We Came From Monkeys I
-Where In the World Are We?
-Learn to Deal With College
-Comparing Politics
-You Must Take This Since You're Honors and Need One More English
and my personal favorite (not)
-Algebra, The Final Math.
So that's where I stand. If you're like "yeah, who cares." Then fine. Don't read this post and stop reading whenever I go home, but you'll be missing out. Because I know that you really want to know what happens when a former exchange student is hit with Reverse Culture Shock.
I will now return you to your regularly scheduled Yakutsk posts...
1 comment:
Please forgive me for barging in, but I surfed onto your blog some months ago and stuck around because I was an exchange student many years ago, and because my husband did study abroad in St. Petersburg. Anyway, I've enjoyed your writing very much, and I wanted to tell you that you are so right about the readjustment to "home" being just as much of an adventure. It was, for me, more difficult-- and ultimately more rewarding in many ways-- than the adjustment to my host culture. But you are ahead of the game because you recognize it. I had no idea that it could be difficult at all, which seems silly in retrospect. :-D (P.S., you won't be able to see my blogger profile, but if you want to see who I am, my own blog is at www.errantapostrophes.blogspot.com)
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