Dobry den! It is November now and I feel like my exchange is passing before my eyes. I am already sad to think I only have seven months left.. My host family has been very kind to me and I am so thankful for them. These past months I have been been hiking in the High Tatras and to numerous castles. One in particular isn’t a true castle but it is a beautiful manor house close to the city I live in and it is my favorite place to go. My host mom takes me on walks there with our dog Jerry…(not to mention I have 8 dogs) The nature is breathtaking and my host family has a house in the Betliar village where my host mom will take me to paint and sew. I really don’t feel like the adjustment was hard to make. With my experience so far I feel like I could live here forever.
Now let me start from the very beginning. After arriving in Chicago airport I had nearly missed my flight to Austria!! I was the very last one on the plane which is stressful enough. Though over all the flights were good considering it had been my first overseas flight. Once I arrived in Kosice, Slovakia was when I finally realized where I was. All of a sudden it hit me.. I’m about to meet the family I will be spending my next months with. It was extremely exciting yet nerve racking. The moment I met them I realized the lack of Slovak that I spoke.. Yet their smiling faces were all that mattered at the moment. It has even taken until this day to have somewhat proper conversations with them.
School is different. Not in a bad way nor better. Just different. Though school is not the most exciting thing it is where the majority of my friends have come from. Since I am doing a gap year and have already graduated high school, I am treated a differently. I do not take proper classes because my head teacher is a Rotarian and she feels that I will get the most out of my school if I am learning Slovak during the day instead of going to classes that will not count for my school.
This month has had its ups and downs. Since it was November, Thanksgiving had passed and I became a little homesick. But the homesickness passed and it has been a wonderful month overall. This month I attended the Rotary ball. I really enjoy the people in my Rotary club they are always helpful and fun to be around. This made The ball such a joy. The highlight of this month was Stuzkova. I am the first exchange student in my city to attend. I was such a special night. Filled with friends and many memories. The students waltz with each other and family members. They also put on performances that were very entertaining. This is a night of my exchange that I will never forget.
s and telling me a little about their lives.
More from Mallori:
Ahoj! My name is Mallori and I am from Tampa Florida!
