One thing that surprises me about being back in the US is how normal it all feels. When I left Switzerland, I was convinced I was going to have the worst reverse culture shock. I thought I would hate being back in the US and I would want to take the first plane back to Switzerland, but to my surprise, once I was back, I didn’t feel any of this.
For me, the last few weeks of the exchange were probably my favorite time of the year. Over the last two weeks, I was able to go on a Eurotour, a tour that takes you through various countries in Europe. Some places I got to see were Paris, Prague, Hungary, and Venice. But out of all of the places, my favorite was definitely Vienna. I found Vienna so beautiful because of the light, brightly colored architecture and how much history there is in the city. What made Eurotour the highlighted moment of my exchange is that I got to spend my final moments as an exchange students with the all the friends I had made that year. For me personally it was a great ending because we were all constantly together and everyone was always so lively and so excited to see some of the most popular cities in the world.
I’d definitely say there were some difficult moments in my exchange, at the beginning of the year I really tried becoming friends with the people in my class, but it wasn’t that easy. I’d always try to plan things with them to hang out, but they would always cancel last minute due to school. I understood that the school system in Switzerland is very rigorous, so I didn’t necessarily hold it against them but halfway into my exchange I just gave up trying.
But it did make me appreciate my exchange friends more. One of the hardest parts of leaving was having to leave my best friend Ellison. Even though I had only known Ellison for a year she had become the person I always relied on. The wonderful thing about exchange students is that they are experiencing the same thing as you are you are, you guys are the only people who understand each other, so you rely on each other for everything. Because of this I built deeper connections with them than I have with anyone else in my life. Me and Ellison would do everything together, she was the first person I went to a concert with, she celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving with me since they aren’t big celebrations in Switzerland, she was the one always willing to explore and down for any activity, she taught me how to ski better even when I was totally annoyed with her for making me go down a black diamond.
When I came back to the US it hadn’t fully hit me that I went to a completely different country all by myself and created a life for myself, even now it feels like a dream like it never happened I look back on pictures and videos and see a different person that I wish I could be again. One of the scariest things about leaving is knowing you’ll never be able to relive any of it, also not knowing if you’ll keep in contact with the people who changed your life. It’s a sad but also beautiful truth to know you had so many great experiences.
Exchange year has honestly been one of the best and most impactful years of my life and it taught me so many things as well as being able to say goodbye I don’t know who I’d be without it.