My Life in the United States: 8 Months of Changing.

Yegor, Russia

Have you ever thought about being an exchange student? What is an exchange student’s life? Trips, new people, emotions and impressions! But also there are culture shocks, stereotypes and difficulties. If you are strong enough to overcome all these obstacles – welcome to America!

I am an exchange student from Russia and I am the proud member of Walker Valley High School, Cleveland, TN. My life in the United States of America started 8 months ago. Before this, I had never been in any foreign countries, so America is my first experience of such a kind. How did I feel about it? The United States of America was kind of terra incognita for me. Obviously, I knew nothing, but information from TV, newspapers, and movies. I think everybody understands that this is not the kind of information that can satisfy you. Unfortunately, our countries still have some stereotypes about each other. But the goal of exchange programs is to break this kind of prejudices.

However, I should say that since I came in the United States this country has become absolutely real for me. Just imagine a completely new life spread out in front of you... I had so many plans, thoughts and ideas but I could not even imagine how great all this experience was going to be!

I think everyone of us understand how living in a foreign country may be very different than living in your home country. Living in the United States is not an exception. The first effect on me was that the type of English that everybody spoke around me was not the English I had learned in my Russian school. I live in Tennessee, the southern state and southern pronunciation and accents differ a lot from British, which I’ve been taught. . So when I came over here it was a big surprise for me. I had to get use to the manner of speaking and now I am proud owner of what I call “Russian-Tennessee accent”. That’s a great success in my opinion, because it means that I completely adapted to the life in my town! The language obstacle seems a hard thing only at first.

Not only verbal communication was different. Surprisingly, I discovered that non-verbal communication differs even more than verbal. For example, I found out about the difference in preference of personal space in Russia and America. In Russia I got used to communication which included standing close by each other. It’s considered rude and not really friendly to keep a big distance during the conversation, though people should leave some space between them so both partners feel comfortable. It’s an interesting fact that in my country people like to converse with people opposite to them. For example, if the conversation is happening at the dinner table, they will more likely speak with that person who sits across the table rather than next to them. It’s completely the opposite way in America. In the US culture it is usual to have more personal space and it is noticeable even in friendly conversations. When friends meet they shake hands or give a short hug and immediately step aside to have some distance for conversation. So I had to get use to this and always remember that some people might prefer more private space than I do. That was another thing that was not easy to adjust to.

Now it’s funny to think about it, but I still remember, how it was difficult for me to smile when I came here. To be honest with you, I should say that in Russia we are not so friendly with everybody as Americans are. If you go to Russia you would probably be surprised, how few smiling people you would see on the streets. In our culture we prefer to keep our emotions rather than show them. So when I got here I was completely amazed how people smile on the streets and at the malls to strangers, ask somebody who they don’t know how they are doing and show this entire friendly attitude. I was shocked; I’ve never seen anything like this in my home country. I remember how one time I was walking in my neighborhood and I saw people waving to me while they were driving. I was so confused! I came home and asked my host mother about it and she said that this is a usual thing in America. I could not believe that!

To be honest with you, I came here a typical Russian. So I always had to remind myself about smiling, smiling, smiling. Now I don’t need it, I’m not afraid to be friendly with everybody I meet. That’s the thing that I want to share with my friends back home. In this new 21st century we should be more open-minded, only with this way will we be able to establish new contacts with each other. The United States is a perfect example of such an attitude, in my opinion.

How did the life in America affect me? A year in a foreign country, far from home, friends, parents and everything that you are used to is something that can either break you or make you stronger. It can help you improve yourself and discover new talents inside. Everything depends just on you. That’s exactly what happened to me. I think I became more self-confident, now I know that I am able to solve most of my problems by myself. And of course I tried many things that I’ve never experienced before. One such experience was my participation in the play staged by the Walker Valley Drama Club. That was an unusual thing for me – just try to imagine yourself as an exchange student, whose pronunciation is far from perfect (Russian accent is pretty strong) on the stage! But then I found out that the Drama Club was going to stage Bram Stocker’s “Dracula” and I thought: “This is my chance!” Count Dracula was originally from Romania. Russian and Romanian accents are very, very similar and Béla Lugosi, the famous actor from the original movie “Dracula”, was considered the best performer of the Dracula character. He was the creator of this character on screen, was originally from Hungary (which is very close to Romania) and had this accent too. So this was perfect for me. Of course, even if your accent is necessary, the audience must be able to understand you. So I was practicing the right pronunciation of English words too. Most of my friends were also in the play, so I got a lot of help from them and I am still really thankful for this. When the first performance was finally done, we got so much applause! I think that was a great success. And for me that was a lesson that some goals which seem not easy to accomplish can turn into something great – you just should try!

My flight back to home is so soon, I have only 2 weeks left in this country. I turn back to my past, to the year that I spent here – and I see how mature this country made me. I see all the new things that I’ve got to know while I stayed here. I want to say thank you to my parents, both real and host for all this support that I got, for the help and attitude. Without you I would not be able to accomplish this. My host parents have become almost my real ones and helped me to struggle with all these obstacles I met on my way here. And I want to say thank you to the whole United States of America for every moment of my life here. You made me stronger, and now the words “Be an exchange student today – change the world tomorrow” don’t sound like something impossible. I feel that I can. We all can. And you know what? We WILL do that. As for me, my changing the world started 8 months ago. When will your time come? That’s your choice. We made ours. We are the exchange students today. And tomorrow we will change this world. Amen.