The Truth About Adaptation

So many people kept asking me how I adapted to everything new. By the end of the program, it’s finally time to share🤗

🇺🇸 There’s this thing called culture shock, which often happens in adventures like this.

It usually has 5 stages:

Excitement and enthusiasm at the very beginning
Things not going as planned → disappointment, irritation
Denial, sadness, homesickness
Adaptation and acceptance
Reverse culture shock when you return home

🇺🇸 I had read all about it before leaving, but didn’t really believe it. I’d been dreaming about this for so long! Haha.

🇺🇸 For me, the stages all mixed together😂 And honestly, I didn’t feel homesick at all🤷🏼‍♀️

🇺🇸 The moment I arrived, I immediately felt the culture difference, but there was no big wave of excitement. Instead, I instantly hit language struggles. I could perfectly understand everyone, but they couldn’t understand me. (And that’s even more frustrating!)

🇺🇸 After just TWO WEEKS, things started to get better, and I was like: “Huh, this is amazing, I adapt super fast.” Haha.

🇺🇸 SEPTEMBER: School was tough, everything was new and strange, but I didn’t stress. I kept telling myself: it’s just the start of the year, soon I’ll figure it out and it’ll be smooth sailing.

🇺🇸 End of SEPTEMBER – NOVEMBER: This is when it got tough. I didn’t complain to anyone—it was my choice to come here, and I could stand up for it. But inside I started spiraling. Nothing bad was actually happening, nobody was mean to me. Everyone was kind and welcoming. But my thoughts went like:
• Nobody loves me
• I have nobody to hug
• I don’t have friends
• Nobody wants to hang out with me
• I’m dumb
• I’m useless (I was still trying volleyball then)
• Nobody understands me
• I can’t just casually chat with anyone
• My host parents liked the previous exchange student more
• Nobody takes me seriously
And so on…

🇺🇸 Then there were just random silly breakdowns😂 Like:

I wanted to cook something, but Americans use volume in recipes, and we use weight. How do you even measure vegetables in cups?! I gave up and didn’t eat anything😂
Whenever I got sick, I was super upset (Americans don’t really “treat” colds). No one made me homemade berry juice or tea with raspberry jam😞

🍒 I was told that everyone adapts differently and it can take time. I thought it would just be missing home and wanting to leave. But nope—it was all weird. And I’m stubborn: why should I adapt to the world when the world can adapt to me?😂 Anyway, I never wanted to go home.

🍒 People kept saying: “It’s only a couple months, then your language will improve and things will get better.” So I was literally counting days🤦🏼‍♀️ Not until May (when I would fly back home), but until November-December💁🏼‍♀️

🍒 Another weird thing: whenever something good happened, something bad would follow. So I tried to avoid happy moments, thinking I could also avoid the bad ones. Basically, I built myself a boring, monotonous life🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

🍒 But then DECEMBER came, and it felt like a switch flipped—suddenly everything started going so well🤷🏼‍♀️

🍒 After NEW YEAR, with the new semester, more exciting things started happening, but also more “problems” (plus I somehow managed to get sick like six times in three months). But I stopped hiding from life, stepped out of my comfort zone, ignored all those negative thoughts, and just started enjoying everything. Finally😂

🍒 And when I began posting on Instagram and filming videos… ohhh! I started doing what I truly love. Isn’t that happiness?☺️ It completely transformed my experience here, because now I can share everything with you🤗 And your feedback, support, and involvement mean so much to me❤️

🍒 So what’s my point? Guys, let’s step out of our comfort zones, do what we love, and simply enjoy life!!

🍒 Life will always have ups and downs, and if we shut ourselves off from the bad, we’re also shutting ourselves off from the good☝🏻

And trust me—life without variety can actually drive you crazy🤯

Now it’s your turn! Try stepping out of your comfort zone, share your own experiences, and maybe even become an exchange student yourself!