One positive choice I made in my life

[AdriannaD]

One positive choice in my life was become an exchange student.I was 15 turning 16 at the time.We visited a place that does this and it was my mom that noticed it.Came home and said she noticed I was encouraged.Told her I wanted to do it and she was for it.Dad found out and was for it too.Signed up in Febuary of 1995 going through the process.Went through and a couple from Germany was my host parents.Also had two kids,a son and daughter.I was welcomed in when I came in.Their daughter,Mika and I began a good friendship.She introduced her friends to me at the school I went to.I adapted well after that to their household.It was so good,they wanted to host me again.I loved it,still keep in touch with them.Mika and I are still good friends to this day with a tight bond.

 

[Tom]

Traveling, living in another country can be a very rich experience and eye opener. I was stationed in Germany for 5 years in the 80's and loved it. Have been back several times since. It's kind of a special place for me and my wife who were married there.

 

[Aspychata]

Did the host/au pair experience. Just loved it. It really helped me because my parents were hands off with me, so l found acceptance in who l was to some extent. I had some weirdness with the host father, thank god it never progressed further. I also had a weird incident with my nanny position before l left. But l learned to appreciate Finland and the culture of Finns.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

What an enriching experience! And you too, @Aspychata . Hard for me at times, but ultimately rewarding was working in other countries; England, Italy, Croatia, Japan, Indonesia, Costa Rica. Learning the basics of the culture in order to be effective really made me stretch and required patience and acceptance. I am happy that I did that and I was able to mentor others. I learned that when dealing with the unforseen, I could rely on myself and others who I supported. This solidified my confidence in myself.

 

[VictorR]

I've also appreciated the opportunities I've had to study in other places - it provides learning and insights that one might not otherwise get, while also providing a safety net in that you know that you're going home at the end.