Welcome to see how Brasil looks from an exchange student’s eyes!!!

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

A NEW JOURNEY BEGINS

Hi,

Ola,

This is my first blog and I am going to share how my memorable, tough but beautiful journey of a new long year to Brazil started!!

So firstly, I am 17 and I had been to Brazil for Rotary Youth Exchange.

Let me first explain what RYE (Rotary Youth Exchange) program is—RYE is a cultural exchange program for teenagers between 15 to 19 years.

Where you go to another country (host country) having totally different culture, unknown host parents, new home, new bed, new pillow … unknown people, never spoken and heard language, different weather, you can say a totally different world other than yourself, out of your comfort zone, for long 365 days!!

 You get to learn about a new culture, different languages; Gain new families in different countries; Make worldwide contacts by creating friendly relations with your exchange friends who are there with you; Face new challenges of life; and Become self dependent.

This amazing journey started on 26th of July, 2018. It was the first time that I was going to stay away from my parents for one whole year. I was in the plane all excited and nervous to enjoy the long journey. Not a drop of tear had been seen on my face whereas my mom and dad had already filled buckets!! Trying to imagine how I would land there… how my parents will welcome me… I slept in the 12 hour journey to Ethiopia. As I landed there, I had a chat with my Indians parents and was ready for my next 8 hour flight to Sao Paolo, Brazil!

Finally the time had arrived… My flight landed, I was in Brazil, 14,766 km away from my parents. All alone in a three times huge country than my home country… Knowing no one there… Exploring all odds!!! As i reached the airport i had a chat with my Indian parents… Unfortunately my host parents were not at the airport !!!!! They were stuck in traffic … Not knowing Portuguese, I didn’t know how to communicate with the people there!! I tried using sign language and a MC Donald’s guy helped me out connecting his phone to my host father’s phone. It still didn’t help because me and my host dad did not have a common language to speak. It was a bit amusing that you are all alone with high hopes that your host parents will understand you…. And there they are late!!!! But the guy there helped me out telling my host dad that I had arrived. The communication was difficult since I did not have Wi-Fi or the Brazilian sim card to use Google translator!!!!

Even though an hour passed like few minutes, I was a bit angry since all type of thoughts had been passing through my mind which were scaring the hell out of me!! When they finally arrived I was grabbed tightly for few moments…not being used to hug so tightly to newly met people, i tried to adapt myself with their customs!!

Such an amazing start..yet more to come!! Wanna know my first text written to India…..

Coming soon..

Anisha Shah “!!OF ALL THE BOOKS IN THE WORLD, THE BEST STORIES ARE FOUND IN THE PAGES BETWEEN YOUR PASSPORT BOOK!!”