I'm Not Socially Awkward I'm An Exchange Student

There's nothing like being in another country to remind you that we are all incredibly capable of being socially awkward. Forget everything you learned from Mean Girls and Degrassi as a pre-teen, and the realities you encountered as you stumbled to find a group of friends that fit who you were( although often you weren't even sure.) They won’t help you here, the same rules just don't apply, in a different country with a different language and different social norms even Regina would find herself stalling in the bathroom till the class bell rang, likely in the hopes of not having to stand obviously alone in a sea of friendships established long ago.
So what is an exchange student to do? There are many social labels for exchange students from weird to party animal and that just shows how varied exchange experiences can be but being an exchange student it's inevitable to feel weird ... I'm sorry it just happens because guess what you are weird at least to the people in your host country. The trick to it is learning how to embrace your differences while assimilating into your host -country. Here are some of the tips that I've found most helpful on my journey as I try to assimilate into a culture different from the ones (I was raised Cuban-American) I've grown up with all my life. 

Observe - Remember Kindergarten when your mom walked you to class after months of explaining what school would be like, only to have your teacher remind you tirelessly about the daily schedule once you were there. And I'm sure you remember this process included feelings of amusement, adventure, and later frustration until you finally adapted . Right? I mean you saw that Caiyu kid do it on T.V. but all he ever did at school was play, so someone explained what school would be like and gradually made you accustomed to the fact that on top of playing there would be some serious ABC learning going on .Remember? Yes?!  Well than you possess a wonderful childhood memory, one that unfortunately will not ever be repeated. Going to school in a completely different country is like going to kindergarten minus all the support systems and T.V. shows to make it less scary , and sometimes you don't even know your ABC's when you get there. That means you’re going to have to be a big boy/girl and do it all on your own. No one is going to stop and wait for you and if they do thank them, they do it out of the realization that you are completely lost. Find good examples and copy, that's the only way you’re going to do it right, and for goodness sake remember you’re not in an American school so don't compare. Actually that's number two. 

Don't Compare (unless it's productive)- Ever played sports in school or been in a club, how long did it take you to realize the seniors were better, bigger, stronger, smarter, faster, and more capable than you could have imagined as a know it all freshman? Took me about 20 seconds in both athletic and academic settings. Here's the thing those seniors had four years on you in whatever specific activity but the people in your host-country will have an entire life of advantage in everything. So what do you do? You do the same thing you did as a freshman, you realize you know absolutely nothing and so you become friends with the people you aspire to be like and they teach you everything they know eventually you learn and make your own discoveries as well .Unlike being a freshman you may never surpass the natives in well ...nativnes ( yay for made up words!) but you can certainly learn to live comfortably in a different environment . The only person you should be comparing yourself to is the slightly less cool socially adept you of the past. Gradually as your accent gets better you can even play a very popular exchange student game called "How long does it take the native to realize I'm not from my host country" ... this is not unlike seeing how long it takes the cute senior to realize your a freshman, except when on exchange you would be better of exploiting your foreignness with cuties ;) . Again a perfect segway ...
Different Is Cool - Why did you come to a foreign country in the first place? The chance to get away from a predictable and familiar environment had to play a role in it somewhere or you wouldn't consider such a drastic decision, after all there are good language and culture schools but no Unwritten Laws of Acceptable Social Behavior School (if there is please let me know!) Somewhere in your mind there was something that said going to a different country is cool (poor thing you had no idea all it entails), and that somehow brought you to be an exchange student because that to is cool (or so your friends think.) The reality is that whether living in another country is "cool" or not is irrelevant, people will think your cool for the same reason people think Snuggies* are cool it's just a blanket but the fact that it has sleeves is different and so people buy it , your just a person but your different so people will be interested .

You can’t change who you are I don't know why you would want to as being an exchange student is one of the most amazing things you can be even if at times its hard and seems far from fun . Sometimes you just have to remember that you’re in a country for a very short amount of time and that eventually you'll go back to not having to think about what you say , how you eat, or how you greet people and that won’t necessarily be when your back home but while you’re still in your host country. We might never be a part of the country we are hosted in but if we don't open our minds to what it has to offer we risk having our host-country not become a part of us, and that is truly a shame.

Amanda <3

*Yes I used a Snuggie reference don't judge me! Or rather judge me, I'm an exchange student and have learned not to care ;) !