Challenges of Being an Exchange Student essays

Challenges of Being an Exchange Student essays I was born and raised in Hong Kong. Living in a city that is always hustling, my life was very structured. I was always doing my homework or preparing for my exams. My schedule hadnt changed much since the day I went to school. I never had too much time to think about who I am and who I wanted to be. As I am getting older, I often ask myself, why I couldnt live a more interesting life and get rid of my structured one. One morning, I was walking to school from the subway station and I saw a huge billboard with a group of teenagers of different ethnicities. All of them had a cheerful and sincere smile on their faces. Connecting Lives. Sharing Cultures, the slogan of an intercultural exchange organization on the billboard had caught my attention. I had always been dreaming about living in another country and to experience a brand new culture. After a few days of researching and negotiating with my parents, I decided to be an exchange student. Welcome to the Music City, Nashville! the flight attendant announced. After an exhausting fifteen hours flight, I had arrived to the place where my life-changing intercultural journey started, Nashville, Tennessee. As I was walking towards the arrival lobby, my eyes were opened wide trying to find my host family, a family that I had never met in my life. After a few minutes of searching, I found my host mom holding a paper board with my name on. I was so excited and also nervous as I didnt know what to expect. I walked up to her and quickly introduced myself as she introduced herself and her family members who were standing next to her. We then went home and got settled down. Everything seemed to be working out perfectly, but as days went by, I started to experience all kinds of cultural shock. Hey mom, if... I want to go out and get groceries, wheres the closet bus station? I asked my host mom with my broken English. Um...t...