Stephanie's Abroad Stories – Page 7 – All About Stephanie's Time Abroad

First Day of Polish High School

October 18, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/9/13

First day of Polish High School. My summer is officially over and school now starts. I am not nervous or scared or excited to go today. I am more excited to talk to my parents or friends online.

My host mother drove me to Paderewski High School. In the parking lot I took my picture in front of the school because I want to remember my first day of school in Poland. Julia, the girl I met yesterday, was waiting for me outside by the front door. My host mom walked me to the front door and ended up giving Julia her name in order to keep tabs on me. When she left Julia showed me around the school, very quickly. It is a very small school with only 2 main hallways and only 150 kids total. Julia introduced me to other kids like Antonio (boy from Spain), Bohdan (boy from Ukraine), and Daniel (boy from Canada). They are each living in Poland now and speak fluent English.

My first class is Math lower level. I flipped through their textbook to see what lessons they would be learning and discovered this is all too easy for me. After the first break between classes, Sunny and I went to the exchange student counselor to choose our classes. In this school the lady said I can choose any classes I want to attend. It is like going to college because it is 2 house for each lesson but you can have hours of break in between your next class. My classes I chose is higher level Math, higher level Psychology, Spanish, English (mandatory), and Theory of Knowledge (mandatory).

In my new classes everyone is super nice. I met a girl who went to Minnesota on exchange last year named Ola. We have psychology together. (Yes, Ola is a very popular name in Poland if you haven’t caught on to that yet). I also met a girl named Inga who is pretty cool. We have higher level math together. Good thing I sat on the bench out in the hallway instead of sitting in the Wi-Fi room because Inga introduced me to all her friends. I met a boy named Michał who is 18 years old and is in the third class. He is super nice! I met another boy named Michał who is 16 years old and in my math higher level too. He is super into magic tricks and is very social. For a magic trick, he tried to get me and Inga to kiss but I absolutely refused. Inga and I ended up high fiving instead. I also met another boy named Michał who is also 16 years old and in my math higher level class. (As you can tell Michał is a very popular name in Poland for boys.)

In my math class, the curriculum was actually pretty challenging. Everything is more in depth here compared the honors calculus class I took in Atlantic City. I might actually learn something in this class. The teacher wears super skinny jeans, an over sized blue shirt, and crazy blowout hair…he might be a little distracting. He is very nice and welcoming but has a crazy style.

The kids in the school are so dressed up here! I noticed they each have a “hipster” style like dark colors, dark hair, big sweaters, studded boots, and dark make up. One girl wore 4 inch – 5 inch heels in school, a long dress, and nice make up. Other girls aren’t as fancy but definitely dress up to attend school. I need to go clothes shopping in order to keep up my appearance compared to their girls.

American high school is very different to polish high school. Paderewski is an elementary and high school. This would never happen in America because if their elementary kids saw half the things high school kids did…the kids wouldn’t turn out as angels. Also I can come or leave school whenever I want to because they don’t have attendance. Also this school has a Wi-Fi room for the kids who bring their computers and have a break time between classes. They don’t use notebooks in school either, they only use laptops or tablets. Boys just play games while the teachers talk and the girls’ text each other. It seems like this year will be pretty easy.

Stephanie Raquel

Party Time!

October 18, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/8/13

I went to church for the first time in Poland with my host parents. My host parents took me to Ania and Monika’s church so I sat on the bench next to them. There were so many people outside and inside the church trying to listen to the ceremony. Everyone walks into the building, gets on their knees, and prays. Ania asked me later if I enjoyed the service and wanted to see if I wanted to go to services more often with her. This service was specifically dedicated to children so all the children sat at the front on the steps. I informed Ania I am of the Jewish faith and she didn’t understand. This completely shocked me because she lives in a country where World War II mainly occurred. There are the biggest concentration camps stationed right near her city. My whole host family is very religious which doesn’t bother me other than the fact that I have to wake up early on Sundays to go to church.

Later all of my host sister’s friends came over. Ola, my sister in Ohio on exchange, has a lot of nice friends. I met Ola, Adam, Andrew, Julia, Kuba, Peter, and Bartic. (Trying to spell Polish names are hard with the American alphabet). Everyone was super nice, spoke pretty good English, and invited to me hang out with them in the future. The girls were all making future plans with me like attending rugby games, school plays, and to the mall. Ania even invited me to spend our winter vacation in France with her and her friends. It makes me feel super welcomed here.

(Everyone with their winning “American” smiles! Polish people apparently don’t smile with their teeth but they wanted to be American this time.)

Tonight I ended up drinking alcohol with everyone. They gave me a lemon light beer with about 1% alcohol that tasted like soda. They also gave me a beer with tequila in it called Desperadoes. That contained about 6% alcohol which was actually delicious.

The kids, surprisingly, had 4-5 beers each. I couldn’t even believe my host parents were okay with us drinking right next to them. My father offered me drinks throughout the night and said I should have more…This all shocked me!

When Ania, Agata, and I went to meet up with Peter and Bartic…we were harassed on the streets! 4 boys came out of nowhere and starting harassing us as soon as we started walking away from the house. They each wore nice Nike shoes and were about 12 years old. They threw pine cones at my head and back. A pine cone hit Ania really hard on the butt and hit me really hard on the arm. When the boys ran out of pine cones, they started throwing sticks at us. I am now truly too scared to walk around at night around my neighborhood. We gave them a cigarette and they finally left us alone.

We walked to this dark area next to tennis courts where Ania showed me graffiti that was dedicated to Peter’s sister. The graffiti was a girl crying and had dates next to her head. Ana, the girl on the wall, is Peter’s sister. She passed away during an accident. Ana’s boyfriend designed it and designated it in respect to her. There was so many emotions between the colors and lines that it is honestly beautiful. Peter said he will take Ania and me to go do our own graffiti one day. This is different than in the United States because graffiti isn’t as popular as it is in Poland.

Back at the house we played Dance Star and Sing Star on play station. It was really funny watching Agata sing, Adam dance, and Kuba dance. I laughed a lot at everyone. I even ended up beating Ania in the Sing Star game against an English song.

What a super fun day!

Stephanie Raquel

Officially a Choduń

October 13, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/7/13

Finally, I got to sleep in past 8 am. I slept until 11 am which makes me finally well rested. When I walked to the bathroom, my host parents were cooking in the kitchen and my host mom didn’t seem happy that I slept in so late. My dad was shocked though when I woke up so late.

I did my laundry, converted my bed back into a couch, and put away any things I had laying around. My room is on the main floor so my room is sometimes used as extra seating areas. Having my bed as a couch is more convenient for my parents.

After chores I went to the cafe where Agata works and there I ate a chocolate, banana, strawberry crepe while waiting for Agata to finish her shift. It was super delicious.

Then my mom picked us up at the cafe and we went shopping. I got to buy a Nikon Coolpix Camera, camera case, and 16 GB Sony memory card. It all cost me 863.97 ZŁ which equals $287.99. In my eyes, this is a good deal for all this expensive things.

After shopping, my new family came over. I met my Aunt Agnus, both sets of grandparents, Michał (my dad’s godson), and a few family friends. Everyone was super warm and welcoming. My grandparents understood I didn’t speak Polish so they just smiled and got Agata to translate for me. My laugh was of course delayed to all their jokes.

The funniest thing at dinner was when my dad and uncle we saying “fuckin shit,” and my grandma Maria asked, “co to shit?” (Meaning what is shit?) Everyone laughed, including me, and my grandma laughed so hard when she found out the meaning.

For dinner I ate so many popular Polish dishes. My favorite dish was made of pure raw meat, peppers, onions, and pickles called tartare. It sounds gross and disgusting but I had 2 helpings of it because it was very tasty. Another dish that was delicious was the potato salad that was mixed with mayonnaise, eggs, bacon, and parsley. There was one sausage that was disgusting!! It was black on the outside and had dried blood meat on the inside. I smothered it in ketchup to cover that fact I was eating a blood sausage.

The one thing that shocked me, even though I was warned about it, was the amount of alcohol Polish people consume. My grandfathers each drank 8-10 shots of vodka at dinner. It was straight pure vodka that went right down their throats without them even wincing. My grandmothers had multiple shots of rum. My aunt had a few glasses of wine. My mom drank vodka with half a lemon. My dad and uncle each had multiple cups of coke and rum. I had trouble finishing one glass of rose wine. Agata practically finished the bottle herself. My grandmother Maria questions me on why I didn’t drink. When my dad asked me if I wanted wine, I hesitated because I wasn’t sure if I should say yes or no. My grandmother Maria questioned my actions which made me nervous.

At the end of the night my grandmother Maria was so drunk which shows me now that it is totally okay to drink at family functions.

While the adults talked at the table, the kids went into the other room. Ania played guitar while Uncle Peter, Aunt Agnus, Agata, and Monika sang Polish songs. Then Agata turned on the song “Bound to You” by Christina Aguilera. This made me want to sing really bad because back at home I sang this song to my friends and they loved it. Even though I didn’t start singing until the song was halfway over because I was completely nervous…Ania and I ended up singing a duet. My cheeks were bright fire engine red the entire time I sang. By the end, Ania had stopped singing and my whole family came into the room to listen to me. When the song ended everyone was giving me complimenting saying I am very talented. I guess I never realized I have true talent in singing. Ania inviting me to the city center to sing with her in a group of other singers. Now I am super excited for next week!

For the first time since I’ve gotten to Poland, I Skyped with my parents today. It wasn’t that hard until my mom blew a kiss into the camera. Her hugs and kisses are the major things I miss the most about home. We talked on the phone for almost 2 hours and I was smiling the whole time. They said I sound happy and look happy too. I talk to them every day now because they are my best friends. I don’t really talk to any of my friends from home because they are busy with college. My parents on the other hand are nothing but free so I talk to them about everything every day. Even though I feel like I am missing out on my friends’ lives like Nicole, Rachel, and Adrian’s first days of college but I am also enjoying myself here.

Stephanie Raquel

New Family. New Skills.

October 13, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/7/13

The bus ride was unbearably long! I couldn’t wait to get to the school and head back to my house. When my host mom picked me up though, she wasn’t even comforting or warm. Usually my mom would hug me and ask me how I my trip was, even if she already knows, but my host mom just said “let’s go.” I got back to the house ready to ball my eyes out. I texted my dad back in NJ begging him to let me come home. I am emotional all the time on exchange. Whenever something happens, my emotions flip on the drop of a dime. I feel like I am bipolar because my feelings keep flip flopping. I am fine then I am upset then I’m fine again.

I decided to Skype with my best friend Ashley (NY) because she was also homesick and talking to a friend always helps. And I was right, after talking to her I felt so much better. I need to learn while on exchange to deal with my mixed emotions instead of wanting to just run home when times get tough.

Around 8:30 pm my host cousins Ania and Monika came over along with their father, Peter. We all sat around the table eating cheese, York’s, Reese’s, chips, and apply pie. On television played the Polish soccer game. My uncle and dad drank multiple beers which helped my dad really get into cheering for his team. Agata helped translate their conversions for me so I didn’t feel left out. Uncle Peter and Monika speak very little English which creates a block when trying to communicate with them. Ania agreed to teach me Polish in return for me to help her with English. Her major English exam to get into college is this year so being around will help her improve her skills.

Half way through the game Ania, Agata, Monika, and I bonded over making a cheesecake. I had to find an American brownie recipe but with European conversions like cup to grams. It was a little difficult for me to figure out the conversions because I am not familiar with grams. In America we also have brownie mixes in boxes from Betty Crocker but in Poland you have to make everything homemade. It is definitely a challenge. Maybe I will gain some productive skills instead of the American skills of being lazy.

I learned while baking that Ania, Agata and I have a similar taste in music. I hope we all become really good friends. Maybe so close that they will invite me to come back to Poland after I leave. Next week we agreed to go see the new movie “Jobs” in the city center movie theater. Making future plans with my new family is really exciting.

Stephanie Raquel

Wild Cats!

October 13, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/5/13

Last day of Green School and thank god too! Since there is no internet, I am using all of minutes up to talk to my parents. I definitely went over my limit of minutes for texting and calling for the month.

Sailing today was super calming unlike the other day. I actually fell asleep on the way back to camp. There was a light breeze and the lake was calm. The only thing that made the ride a little less relaxing was the gun shots coming from the forest where the Polish Army practices. But I laid on the bow of the boat and soaked up the warm sun. Greg (a 16 year boy) laid on the bow next to me and we spoke English the whole time. We talked about the differences between Poland and United States. He has never been to America so he was very curious about many things. Greg asked me about: sports like football, soccer, and basketball; bread, cakes, and candies; peoples’ personalities, hair styles, clothes; alcohol, drinking age, and how drinking isn’t as openly accepted like in Poland; and weather patterns. It was interesting to hear his point of views towards America and our culture.

Later we broke into teams and went on a scavenger hunt around the camp. We named our group the Wild Cats because the girls liked that name in English. We went around solving riddles, taking pictures, and finding clues. We ended up winning 1^st place overall and our prize was a diploma. It was actually fun and I solved all the picture problems by observing the plants in the pictures and looking around the camp for the same plants. One cool puzzle was having to come up with a way to show the Olympic symbol with our bodies. I came up with the idea to use our legs because other teams I assumed used their arms. We also had to find a wooden statue in the forest and take a group silly picture around it.

Stephanie Raquel

Adventure Time!

October 13, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/4/13

I never realized how skilled I am at kayaking. We drove to the lake where it is warm and has small channels weaving between the forests. No one wanted to be my partner though because they were afraid to speak English with me. When the headmaster said for everyone to choose their partners… the boys all chose girls and then it was just me standing alone. Sunny was chosen but some quiet guy. I was standing there, alone, on the grass. Talk about an embarrassing moment. The headmaster told the guy also standing alone to be a man and ask me to be his partner. The boy finally gave in as everyone watched him walk over to me.

Turns out we were a good team and he spoke pretty good English. He was just embarrassed in front of his friends to have to kayak with the foreigner. I guess this is going to happen to me a lot. I am the intimidating foreigner to them even though they are intimidating to me because there are more of them.

I just remembered, the weirdest thing happened to me after breakfast!! I was sitting in my bed taking a cat nap while Sunny was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. Then there was a knock at the door so I pushed the covered off of me and started to get up. A boy, 16 years old, then opens me door and walks right into my room and straight up to the edge of my bed. He just stands there and stares at me. I said, “Yes?” He said hesitantly, “are you in 1M?” I said, “No.” He stands there for another minute contemplating something then turns around and walks out of my room. I guess in Poland they don’t know they need to wait for the response after the knock before they walk into someone’s room. Now I know to keep my door locked.

We had to do team building exercises like your team of 6 people all have to stand on 1 crate for 10 seconds. We also had to make a huge machine by each person touching the others, making a noise, and having an action. It was a very interesting looking and sounding machine. Another game was having to get your team on the other side of the rope by going over the rope. You couldn’t touch the rope or use any other types of material besides your teammates. We were being timed so the guys on our team lifted all the girls and threw us over the rope. Then we had to lift the guys over the rope. It was mind boggling how to get a 175 pound guy over the rope with just us girls. The best game though was when we played a hand game. Everyone sits in a giant circle. You place both your hands on the peoples’ knees next to you. You have to watch their hands closely because 1 tap of the hand means passing the energy but 2 taps on the knee means bouncing the energy back so it goes back the other way. I ended up winning though! Being a very observant person really paid off. I can’t wait to play this game at home.

After all the exercises, Sunny and I stayed with the staff by the fire pit. The staff gladly spoke English with us. This man Greg was an English professor so he was more than happy to speak English with me. All of the staff and I played a card game called Dabble. On the cards are pictured. Each card has at least one picture the same on another card. There are only so many pictures total so there are many combinations. There are 5 different games within this major game. We played it in English which was entertaining because the staff didn’t know all the pictures’ English names. I actually lost a few of the games but it was a really fun time!

At night I sat with the staff around the fire pit while they played English songs on their guitars and drums. We sand “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele and “Hit Me Baby One More Time” by Brittany Spears. The polish kids sat around staring at us and we just laughed when we forgot some of the words to the songs.

What a great day!!

Stephanie Raquel

Rough Winds on the High “Seas”

October 10, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/3/13

Today was actually a pretty good day. I went sailing on the very windy, cold lake. I wore 2 pairs of pants, 3 jackets, and kept my hands in my pockets a much as possible. While on the lake, the waves were choppy and the windy was whipping around. My hair kept getting in my face so I tucked it into my hood. The captain was a crazy guy! He would scream, jokingly, whenever the boat would tip on its side. Sailboats are designed to tip on its sides because it has to move easily with the wind. I got to steer the boat for a little but I really didn’t want to because it was hard to steer with the wind whipping from each direction. You can’t keep the boating going in one direction. The boat had to keep moving back and forth on the horizon. Sunny gets motion sickness easily but she held up really well. On the ride, the captain, his skipper, and the other girls were speaking Polish so I was left to my thoughts along with the captain’s occasional scream.

Once we were back on land, Sunny and I went to Cabin 3 where we played a speed game with the other kids. For 1 minute, people have to walk up to each other and introduce themselves. Everyone is practically new to the school and to their classes which leveled the playing field in order for me to make friends. Kids came up to me, sometimes Sunny and me, and asked us questions in English. The teacher said it is a good chance to practice your English. I didn’t mind the bad grammar. I was just so thankful I was having some interaction with other people.

I discovered that NO ONE knows where New Jersey is located. People need to study their United States maps because I am highly insulted!! Everyone asked if I was close to New York City…Glad there know where New York is located. The teacher didn’t even know where New Jersey is located. That is pathetic to me.

The stars here are gorgeous! Looking up into the night sky, I see about triple the amount of stars here then I have ever seen in Margate. I never realized how many stars there are in the sky. Sure I know there are an infinite amount but it was very beautiful to see some together in the sky.

Poland has a lot of nice things here but I have to say food brands is definitely not one of them. Food brands in America like Hershey’s and Schneider’s are so much better than the Polish brands.

Lying in bed I still feel like I am on the sail boat. I hope tomorrow is as good as it was today. Don’t let the good day momentum stop.

Stephanie Raquel

Frustration Boils Over

October 9, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/2/13

My second day of Green School and I’m still not happy. It is a little bit better then yesterday but not the best. On my bed I can feel the medal springs under my body. This is super uncomfortable. This room is really crappy too. There is no heat so I have to take extremely hot showers to warm up. There is no wifi in this cabin but in other cabins the kids have wifi. In order to call my parents, I have been using all my minutes up. I call my mom upset, but I won’t tell my host family. As far as my host family is concerned, “I’m great and everyone is great here!”

The weather is freezing here. Rainy, windy, and cold. I have to wear 2 pairs of pants, 3 layers of jackets, and sometimes gloves. A warm shower definitely does the trick at night.

Today is a big blur to me. I built an airplane with a group of girls. It looked more like a kite to me by the end. Plus the girls didn’t know what to do so I was trying my best to communicate to them. They were more concerned on making it look pretty then having it function.

Later we went to a class where everyone learned CPR. The teacher talked in Polish so I ended up falling asleep because I didn’t understand anything.

After dinner, we went to the gym to play sports. My team in volleyball dominated. The kids were surprised I played so well. I’m sure I would have made Gina very proud if she saw me play. But one thing that is different in Polish gym then in America..they have very different warm ups. They run around the perimeter of the gym swinging their arms. I guess it’s to warm up their arm muscles but in America we definitely do not do that. It was extremely funny to me to watch the kids do these exercises.

The Headmaster of my school taught 4 of us about a poem written by Seamon Hearey. He is known as the greatest poet of all times, won many awards, a proud Irish man, and sadly passed away this year. We read the poem “A Call” which was about the anticipation of death. Death causes you to love deeper because it represents how short life can be for anyone. Everything is only temporary. This made me think about the exchange; it sucks now but that will only temporarily last. By the end of the exchange I will be crying about how I DON’T want to go home. Soon it will be okay!

After supper, Sunny and I hid in our room. I am tired and it is freezing outside! It’s about 7 degrees Celsius. But sadly a teacher came looking for us and told us we had to go out and find something to do. We ended up going to this drum session in the basement of one of the cabins. It was actually really fun and the drum teachers spoke English to us. Sunny and I beat on the tops of the drums until our hands hurt. We were the last ones in the room. One of the drum teachers with long dreadlocks did a very interesting trick on me. He took this medal bowl and cork stick, placed in on my chest as I laid on the floor, rubbed the edges of the bowl gently with the cork stick, and the bowl vibrated my chest. I could feel it vibrate my heart and my chest. It was the most interested feeling I have ever felt. He said it relaxes people as they focus on the vibrations that are sent through their bodies. It was nice to focus on something other then my frustration with the language.

Honestly, Sunny and I cried to each other again in our room. We are extremely homesick and the lack of friends here…it adds on to our shoulders. I am very lucky to have Sunny as a friend. We sat together crying about how we missed our moms and we didn’t realize how hard this exchange actually is on people. Sure people warned us about the heartache and frustration but when you live it, it is completely different. You never understand truly how it is to be frustrated until you go on exchange to a country where you can’t speak the language.

I absolutely tip my hat off to all exchanges around the world right now! Stay strong everyone..I hear it gets better!

Stephanie Raquel

Green School Begins

October 3, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

9/1/13

I’m on my way to Northern Poland to a city called Gizycko. It is about a 7 hour bus ride from Lublin. Sunny and I don’t know anyone except the Headmaster. People speak English but they don’t want to talk to us. It’s definitely overwhelming to be surrounded by people who only speak Polish. It’s also hard to even have English thoughts when you only hear Polish. The girl behind me constantly hits my chair and speaks obnoxiously loud. 5 more hours to go!

We stopped at a gas station and there was no toilet paper in the bathroom! I don’t know how every girl went to the bathroom without toilet paper. Apparently it is common for the bathroom to not have toilet paper. I need to buy packs of tissues to carry around with me.

I met a girl who is very nice. Some girls here, I’ve noticed, wear all black. Definitely not the style I’ll be wearing this year. I love colors! (Just like my mom.) Her friends that she introduced us to seemed nice also. Sunny and I kept saying to each other that we can’t wait to understand Polish so we know what everyone is saying. Sometimes I understand simple words they say like a number or girl (Osiem =8 and dziewczyna= girl) I hope I make friends on this trip. I can’t help but sleep the whole bus ride though because I haven’t caught up on my sleep yet.

When I first got to the school, everyone was starring at me. Boys, girls, teachers all starred. A few people even knew who I was! It was strange when a man in a red jacket walked up to me and said, “Hola.” I said, “Hello?” He said, “Hello, are you Stephanie?” I said “yes.” Then he walked away nodding his head. Looking around at the kids; some girls are pretty but the guys aren’t very good looking.

It is FREEZING here! My teeth are chattering constantly. Thank goodness I brought my North Face jacket with me! I should have brought me UGGS too. My feet are freezing in my flats. It is already 10 degrees Celsius which is about 43 degrees F.

At a restaurant when we stopped again, I saw empty seats at a table so I asked the kids sitting down if we could sit in these empty seats. Shockingly, the kids did not speak any English. A young boy finally spoke up and told us to sit down. We all just starred at each other because we couldn’t communicate with each other. Apparently these kids were in the first class meaning they are 15 years old so they don’t have enough practice with English. No one else spoke to us though. I am thankful to have Sunny with me because I would be super lonely without her.

Towards the end of the night, people finally started talking to us! They are being forced but honestly it’s better then nothing. Sunny and I are trying really hard to put ourselves out there. We walk right up to girls and introduce ourselves. The kids may not understand but it shows we are being friendly. We realized though that our class, 2B, isn’t at this green school. We are in class with 17 year old kids but at this camp are 14-16 year old kids. This sucks because I really was looking forward to making friends with kids in my class.

I hope tomorrow is better!

Stephanie Raquel

Introducing Stephanie’s New Life

October 1, 2013 By Stephanie K Leave a Comment

Today has been a very emotional, rough day for me. I finally made it to my host family’s house. My host dad and I spent the whole day together. I unpacked my huge suitcases and the whole time I heard Uncle Jack saying in my head, “The boy stayed 9 days in his country and never even unpacked! Promise me you will at least unpack!” So I made sure I unpacked.

For lunch I ate Polish noodles which are like little cheese potato cubes, a piece of veal, and spinach. For dessert I ate Krowki which is like Polish fudge. It is sugar mixed with cows milk.

Definitely not for me..I did not enjoy it, but I at least tried it.

I then sat with my host dad on the couch and showed him my photo album. There were baby pictures, family vacations, prom with my family, and graduation.

My host dad loved it so much that he went upstairs to get his photo albums. He showed me his career with Levi’s Company, his family trips, my new family, baby pictures, and his days in New Jersey.

I learned that my host dad LOVES Levi’s Company. My towels for showering is Levi’s.

After unpacking I realized I brought barely any clothes with my to Poland. I definitely need to go shopping for winter because I will not be warm.

When my Polish dad left for the bus station to pick up Agata (my host sister), Ania and Monika (my host cousins), and my mom..I called my dad back in New Jersey. I was soo homesick and scared. My anxiety level was sky high. My stomach was twisting that all I wanted to do was throw up. All these emotions and changes is completely overwhelming. I know this is a GREAT opportunity but I miss being home. At camp it felt like a vacation with new people but now that I am home, it hit me. This is my new life for one year! I am surrounded by foreign people speaking a foreign language in a foreign country. The dog Levi’s doesn’t even understand English! I thought maybe my dog could become my new friend but he doesn’t even understand me. I was driving myself insane! Talking to my dad at home reassured me that this will pass but right now it fills like a life time of pain in my stomach.

Levi’s is my very furry Polish dog.

Meeting Ania, Agata, and Monika wasn’t too bad. Ania speaks little English, Monika doesn’t speak any English, and Agata speaks fluent English. I kept reminding myself that this awkwardness will pass and soon I will be like regular family with them. They tried asking me questions but it was uncomfortable at times. I’m foreign to them and they are foreign to me. I hope this passes quickly.

Stephanie Raquel

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