Manon

2011-12 Inbound from Belgium

Sponsor: Rotary Club of Mons, District 1620, Belgium

Host: Rotary Club of Fleming Island, District 6970, Florida

Manon's Bio

Almost four months that I have been here now...
I cannot believe so much time is already gone since I first arrived.

This wonderful adventure started on August 7th at Jacksonville Airport.

The first steps in the US were amazing. I was so excited.
I was just a kid who wanted to discover a part of the world and live something different.

You cannot imagine how good it is to see that people are waiting for you at the airport without even knowing you and that they are going to host you like if they knew you since you are born. At the same time it was so strange and so great to be there! It was not fiction anymore. It was really happening.

I'm so grateful to live with this family. They are breaking all the stereotypes about Americans and so I can tell to my friends and family that I was right. Americans are normal people! Well, almost. Just kidding...
Here are some evidences.

They eat vegetables and fruits, they practice sports, they can eat on a table with forks and knifes, they can cook, the fridge is not always full and you don’t especially find Coke in it, they are not eating hamburgers twice a week and finally everyone is not fat and wearing guns.

But YES, they never walk, they love to have too many cars, stores are open till 10pm and sometimes even more, they love to go to Walmart everyday and drink sweet tea. They don’t speak other language, they must have good credits to go to college, they use lockers, the schools really have football teams, mascots and cheerleaders and you really can sleep or read a book in most of the classes. (Maybe because I’m an exchange student…) People really drive at 16 years old and they really hug you to say “Hi” (but not enough). At restaurants, you can fill in your drink again and again and again. When you go shopping people you don’t even know are so nice and always ask “how are you doing?” or “How was your day?” or “what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Also you can go to the Bank like you go to Mc Donald: You just stay in your car.

In contrast with everything I just said I’d like to add that we shouldn’t judge because of stereotypes. I just gave you with humor strange and good things about SOME Americans. So please don’t think that everyone is like that because we are all different and just learn to know someone before judging him or her.

I’m at school for a pretty long time now. My impressions were pretty confused at the beginning but now I can put words on my feelings and emotions and tell you more about it. To begin with I’m used to another way to teach and to study in Belgium but it’s interesting to discover how another educational system is working. I have notice some interesting differences between here and where I come from. For example school is easier here. Taking into account that I’m an exchange student with easy classes and that teacher’s pity me for speaking another language... Yes, being an exchange student has its advantages!
People are sometimes dress weird too. Things that in Belgium seem ugly and totally tacky are totally in the mood here. But no I won’t change my mind. Wearing high socks with flip-flops are just awful.

As opposed to what I said in my biography earlier, I don’t miss my family so much. Not anymore. (Sorry if you are reading this my dear family). Of course at the beginning I did, it was very hard. But I found a way to escape to this homesickness: the cross country. I ran everyday under the sun for miles and miles and it gave me so much endorphins that I didn’t think of my Belgium anymore.

But today I have a family here so running is not something I need anymore; it’s just a bad and suffering nightmare.

Also there is a time, when you discover something different when you have to adapt. You just assimilate what is around you and you become a part of the place where you are. A part of the landscape. I first felt this feeling during a Jaguars football game. The National Hymn and the union between Americans just amazed me and touched me so much... When you are a lost exchange student in a foreign country you just realize how it’s amazing to feel one with millions of other people... It was very hot, I got burn and thirsty. But whatever! It was craziness on the field and I just went home with stars in my eyes!

At the beginning of this adventure I was interested by the USA of course but I didn’t actually love it. Today it has changed because when you begin to love people where you live. You start enjoying what you see. So yes, today I like America!

And finally being here this year, without anyone that I knew before makes me growing up so fast. It's like 5 years of maturity in only a few months. Maybe you cannot see it outside but I can feel it. I just think about things I thought I would never think about. I feel, I discover, I grow up and it's just a pure delight…

So as a result here are several things that I discovered, learned, wondered or realized:

• -Most of the English songs I listen have stupid lyrics.
• -The alligator meat has a chicken taste.
• -Apparently we speak Belgian in Belgium, we don’t have black people or TV, and we are part of Germany. Oh really?
• -I can now run several miles under the Floridian sun without sweating. Well, almost.
• -I have wonderful friends back in my country.
• -I can now hear the differences between English spoken in the US or in Great-Britain.
• -If I subtract 30 to a temperature in Fahrenheit and divide it by 2 I can approximately have the temperature in Celsius.
• -Are the cheerleaders in pain after smiling so much?
• -Why can't I get rid of this stupid French accent?
• -How much weight have I already gain? (I must stop escaping every time I see a weighing machine to know the answer)
• -When people tell me they know my language they always and only say " Je m'appelle..."
• -The French speaking people are the only one who can pronounce the sound "on" and so my name has changed today.
• -I'm in Florida but I'm always cold. Stupid air conditioning!
• -Cookies are so good here!
• -Now I'm addicted to coffee. Not sure it's a good thing.
• -My country is really really small.
• -As opposed to my country, here religion is very important.
• -You only have one life and you could die tomorrow, so enjoy. Be happy, life is good! ! !