Inbound Orientation

This weekend may have been the best weekend I have had yet. After about a 4 hour car ride on Friday to a city called Lindoya, I met with the other inbound exchange students in my district. There are kids from all over. We’ve got lots of Americans and Mexicans and even a few Canadians, then some kids from Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand, 2 kids from Denmark, a girl from Venezuela, one from Columbia, one from Slovakia, and lastly a boy from India. I think that covers everyone. It’s so amazing to me how so many kids from completely different places can get together for a weekend and bond like we all did. Everyone speaks English. Well, mostly everyone, the Asian girls struggled with English, and the Venezuelan girl did as well. Luckily, one of the Rotarians was Chinese and could translate to the girls and the orientation itself, was spoken twice, once in English and once in Portuguese. (Therefore, the Venezuelan could understand, and the rest of us could pick up a few Portuguese words.)

It has been quite a long weekend, and I am the most tired, but before I go to bed, I will tell you about the great fun we had. When we first arrived at this glorious hotel, and let me tell you, it was neat, but anyways, we were given our room numbers and got settled in our rooms. Most of the exchange students were already there when I got there and sitting on the steps on the way up to my room. They all greeted me kindly and let me go quickly, knowing I’d be back in just a few minutes. When I came back downstairs, I found common interest with a boy who is about 6 foot 4 and I guess a basketball star at his school. We conversed and shared a few laughs as the group made way to a community type room. In there, I met some older girls, 18, saying how they could have never left home at 16…or 15, which is how old the 6 foot 4 boy, Aden, is. New kids kept dwindling into the group and I was wondering where the Rotarians were when a familiar boy came struggling up to the group with his host parents and luggage. CODY! Yes, how could it be that I would know someone? Cody is a boy from Waynesboro, PA, you know, about 40 minutes from Gettysburg who I happened to ride on the huge plane from DC to Sao Paulo with. What a relief to know someone. Because we’d already met, we found comfort in each other and spent most of the weekend close to each other. Not like that though, no worries.

The first night, at the lectures, most of us were feeling quite grungy and tired. Or maybe that was just me. But anyways, after rotary went over the rules and such they left us with rotex, former exchange students, for ice breakers. The ice breakers weren’t the greatest thought out games, but most of us inbounds bonded over the funny fact that they were a fail. After that, it was time to go to bed, or not. I roomed with 2 girls, Selena from Taiwan, and Amy from Ohio. Because you don’t find many people who speak English so well and that live so close to your home, Amy and I immediately began chatting away. Sadly, there was a slight language barrier with Selena, though we talked with her as much as possible. Amy and I have so much in common, which, not going to lie, I was shocked. It’s almost like we are the same person. We like a lot of the same music, have so many common interests and share so many thoughts on life. We even have the same favorite chewy bar. It was almost scary. We stayed up really late talking until angry Rotarians came knocking on our door. After one time, we giggled about it and continued to chat. After the second knock (pound) we decided it was best to go to bed.

On Saturday, after breakfast, a dank breakfast if I do say, I got sick. Rock on. Nah, it wasn’t sick, it was just a reallll bad headache and stomachache. So yeah, maybe I was sick. During the first lecture, one of the rotex kids caught me struggling and could tell something was wrong so it came to him as no surprise when I told him I wasn’t feeling well. He walked me to my room and let me stay there and sleep until lunch and free time. Luckily by then I wasn’t feeling as miserable. During free time, a girl Favi, from San Francisco, Jordann, a Wisconsin girl, and I watched some of the boys play soccer. Then after a while the lecture began again. Us three, all American, girls sat together and giggled through most of the programs, so one speaker decided to call us out. The whole time. He wasn’t rude or anything, but when he said things about drinking and sex he would look at us and tell the whole group we knew all about it. Favi and I had a lot of fun picking out the flaws in the English we were hearing. No, I think all of the Americans enjoyed that. :P After a while, we were split into groups (Americans, Mexicans, and so forth) with rotex to talk about what teenagers talk about. It was nice to have a chill conversation and hear everyone open up about their lives and experiences. William, the rotex boy who was with us Americans, also told us a few stories about Americans being sent home and told us not to become a story like them. Mr. Stalker… (you other American inbounds are the only ones who will understand that.) After the basically group heart to heart, we had a dance party. On the way to Jordann’s room to get her iPod before the dance party, she kept trying to teach Favi and me some ridiculous dance called “Creu.” Turns out, its Brazilian funk, and about 20 minutes later, the rotex kids taught us. Jordann, Favi, and I were pros though. :)

After the dance party, we were sent to bed. Though Jordann, Favi, and I were far from tired and were still hype from the dance party. Since the three of our rooms were beside each other and had connecting balconies, we did what any other hyper teen girls who wanted to talk would do and hopped our balconies so we could all congregate on one. Rule breakers…sorry rotary. Cody though, was feeling sick and was outside his room below. We talked to him for a while and then led told him where rotex’s room was so that he could talk to them about his sickness. Of course though, he told William that the three of us were all out on Jordann’s balcony so it was quite funny when there was a knock on Jordann’s door how the three of us scrambled back to our rooms. Jordann opened the door, pretending to have been woken up. Then Favi did the same, and thirdly, I did. William called us all stupid and laughed as Cody told us William already knew we were hopping balconies. After Will left, the three of us girls all met back out on Jordann’s balcony. We were told by Will at three different times, from three different places to go to bed. I think he was just jealous he wasn’t in our conversation. We finally went to bed around 3:30. Thank God today didn’t consist of many lectures.

After 3.5 hours of sleep last night, and a day in the pool, I am real tired. Today, we only had about 2 hours of lectures. We learned about the trips that Rotary offers to the exchange student. There are 5 trips. I’m pretty sure I will be going to Iguazu Falls (which will also put me in Argentina and Paraguay) and the Amazon. The way the Amazon trip was described and all the things it consists of are incredible. I really hope they both work out. After lectures, we had free time. Most of us went to the pool since it was really hott. It was really fun. There was a slide and everything. Jordann and I even made a new friend as you can see to the left. He was very suprised and I think impressed when Jordann asked him in Portuguese if we could take a picture with him. He and his friends all laughed we explained we were American. They must have realized that most Americans' don't see men in very small speedos that show off their butts. :P

I am exhausted, but I am so thankful this weekend went the way it did. I have already build friendships and bonds that I could never make in the United States because these kids, like me, are different. We are exchange students. No one, other than us can really understand what it’s like.