My RS Exchange Journey in the US

In this autumn, through the Round Square of our school, I went for a 45-day study in the Athenian School, a member of the International Round Square, for a period of 45 days as an exchange student. I am very grateful to the school for giving me the opportunity to experience different cultures and campus life.

Before I went there, the teacher who was in charge of this program told me the significance of this exchange study again and again, that my speech and deportment represented my school, even my country. After realizing its importance, I prepared a lot, for example, how do Americans introduce themselves and greet each other when they first meet.

Finally, the day had come. After 11 hours' flight, I arrived in the United States. After getting out of the customs, I met the aunt and uncle of my host family, and then they took me to pick up their daughter at school. On the way home, we talked a lot, and had many common topics. It was not long before we arrived at home. Once entered the door, I could feel the warmth and belongingness. At that night, my host family took me to the Chinese restaurant for dinner, although it was strange to me, I still thanked them very much. In the days to come, their kindness was shown at every breakfast and dinner. Because their daughter is a nonresident student, so every day I went home with her. She is very kind, and we have some common interests, therefore, we had a good time chatting on the school bus every afternoon. During dinner time, I would talk a lot about China with my host family, from human geography to habits and customs, and share almost everything with them. In fact, I was fearless when saying these in Chinese, but if in English, sometimes it would be a little awkward. When all the people at the table looked at me, I could not help feeling nervous and the words on my lips could not be expressed, however, they tried to guess what I was going to say instead of feeling disappointed. Although there were a lot of jokes, we were all very happy. I could learn many new things at every communication, and in return, my host family could also know more about me, my school, even my country.

There were so many things I could not forget when I was staying with my host family. The second week after I arrived in America, I was so homesick, and to my surprise, my host home suggested to make dumplings, even though they did not know how to. We had late dinner that night, but we were all very happy. There was another time, on Mid Autumn Festival, I suggested a mid autumn party, and they agreed readily, so I asked to go to the Chinese supermarket nearby for something in need. At supper, we ate moon cakes together, and I told them the origin of the mid autumn festival. I was surprised that I could tell the whole story in English, maybe I had been making progress. During my stay in America, my host family took me to famous scenic spots in San Francisco every weekend. Every Sunday morning, the whole family went to church, and sometimes I would go with them. Because the church was in the center of town, which shined from age, when they went to church, I would hang around in the markets and shops nearby.

The following was about the school. On my second day in the United States, I went to school with my classmates - the daughter of my host family. Because it was the first day, and I had no schedule, so the teacher let me attend her classes. On the second day, my classmate took me to the teacher's office, where I got my own campus network account. Here, there were no regular students, no headmaster, and no fixed classrooms and curriculum, I have to log in campus network every day to check my schedule. For things big or small, the teacher in charge would notify all students by email directly. Because the school was big, and the classroom was scattered everywhere, I got lost on my first day in school, so the teacher in charge of exchange students arranged me a guide, who showed me around in the campus. It was really tired to walk up and down, but it was also good to enjoy the campus view. As I was an exchange student, I did not take too many classes. The class hour of this school was not all the same every day. Because of limited classes, sometimes I had a lot of self-study classes, and then I would go to the library, where were a large collection of books and many desks on each corner. And there was no tall buildings in this school, so I did not have to climb stairs for classes, which was a relief for me.

On my first day in school, I met a lot of new friends through daughter of my host family. They were all very friendly and caring. Later, they also applied with the school to bring all the exchange students for a one-day tour to the San Francisco City. We got along very well quickly, so we had fun every day at school. I also met a lot of interesting teachers, whose lectures were novel and funny. And the things that made me feel strange was that the decorations in each classroom were different, for example, there were things from all over the world in international students' classrooms; the art room with beautiful surrounding environment was full of professional tools; the decorations in the math classroom were simple and regular, just like formulas. But what I likes best was the biology classroom. There were a lot of living things, simulated eco systems, laboratory equipment, animal and plant specimens, even life-sized body models, etc.. This classroom felt like a huge laboratory, and we seemed like doing researches when having class there. One of my favorite lessons was also an experimental biology class, in which I learned to use electron microscope and drew a variety of cells. In this place full of novelty, unconsciously, my exchange life was over unconsciously. Time flied, and it was over before I noticed it.

Nothing is too strange in the boundless universe. This exchange experience let me accumulate a wealth of knowledge, meet a lot of friends, and grow up a lot. With this great opportunity, I realize the gap between me and others, and understand the importance of English and the extent to which my abilities should be improved deeply. The valuable experience of exchange study has become my most special memory. It's always good to go out and see the world.

YiTang Wang