My American Dream

Hi :) My name is Merle, i'm 16 years old and i'm an exchange student in the U.S. right now. Hope you like my blog xx

[oneyearinamerica]

This is a goodbye

I've been back in Germany for a few weeks now and life is getting back to normal.  I could write about all my feelings and experiences of being back home but I kinda think that everyone has to figure this part out by themselves. It's not easy but it isn't as hard as you make yourself believe either. Of course there are tough days and days where you just wanna hide in your room and never come out again. But everybody has these days no matter if they went on exchange or not. It's just life. During your exchange year there are tons of people who are there for you and everybody is incredibly understanding. But being home is completely different because people expect you to go right back to who you were before your exchange year. And nobody can help you with being yourself. It's your god damn life after all and you can't expect anyone to figure it out for you. So sorry that I haven't been posting much since I'm in Germany but I just felt like everyone has to go through that stuff alone.  This is most likely my last entry and I have to admit that I'm getting really sad and nostalgic while I'm writing this. The past year has been incredible and I wanna thank every single one of you. I have 255 followers at the moment and I've never ever expected any of this. You guys have been so supportive and understanding and made me feel like I actually make a difference in people's lives.  I thought a lot about what to do with this blog after my exchange year and I think I'm just gonna leave it like it is. A lot of people turn their blogs into some personal blog thing but I know that everyone is only following me because of my exchange stuff and i don't wanna ruin that. Another reason is that this blog is like a diary for me and I wanna be able to look back on everything. And now I want to encourage everyone to become an exchange student. It may not always seem like it but at the end of the day it's the best decision you can make. I know it can be hard sometimes but you are always stronger than you think. So if you debating right now if you should become an exchange student or not, please do it. I promise you won't regret it.

Okay that's it. Thank you again. Stay awesome, Tumblr xx Love always, Merle

[oneyearinamerica]

Hi! I've really enjoyed reading your blog, and getting an insight into exchange student life! I'm so glad you had an amazing time, and I hope you're adjusting well to life back home. I'm just about to leave for the US to do an exchange myself - I leave in a month (!) - so your blog makes me so excited about all the amazing things I'll experience out there!

Thank you:) Have fun in the U.S. !!!

[oneyearinamerica]

oh honey don't feel sorry about that! it takes a while to adjust back to your home life, it took me a long time to get over my exchange. it feels weird because the last year was something they didn't experience with you - and that's a long time. but have no fear - soon enough you'll be making new memories at home. :)

Thank you :)

[oneyearinamerica]

Hey, so I want to do an exchange program, but money is a bit of an issue for me.. Do you have any tips or amything?

Just talk to your exchange organization. They usually have a lot of different ways to pay for your exchange year.Money should never be a reason not to go abroad.

[oneyearinamerica]

Hi :-) ich werde nächstes Jahr auch ein austausch jahr machen und möchte mit yfu fahren :-) hast du gute Erfahrungen?

Ja, ich kann YFU nur empfehlen :)

[oneyearinamerica]

There comes the time after your exchange year when you start feeling a bit sorry for yourself Being back home can be tough but your friends and family don’t understand that and sometimes I don’t even understand it myself. And i feel like I don’t have the right to be sad or upset because I had this amazing year and those amazing people and experiences and that’s more than a lot of people can wish for But I think many of my friends don’t understand that all this doesn’t make life any easier and that I still have bad days and sometimes even worse than they do And I know that I’m sometimes not as thankful as I should be and that I should just be happy that I could experience this amazing year but I’m still human and humans usually suck at appreciating good things the way they are worth it And instead of focusing on all the good things that happend to me I can’t stop myself from looking at every negative aspect of my life and how everything used to be and how everthing is going to be And I don’t know if any of this makes sense right now and I know that I have probably just a bad day and that things will get better But again, while I’m writing this I feel like I have to justify every bad word I say about my life and i have to explain why I am not in a constant happy mood and I’m so sick of this guilt I’m feeling for not being perfectly fine with everything

[oneyearinamerica]

My fucking flight got cancelled

[letitbeicecream]

Pretty much it

[oneyearinamerica]

Parents: what are you going to do at the airport when your lagguage is too heavy or when you can’t find your gate or when something happens that you didn’t expect?

Me: cry.

[oneyearinamerica]

There is so much going through my head right now

[oneyearinamerica]

My last night in the U.S. and of course I can’t sleep… i’m gonna be so exhausted tomorrow (well actualls today because it’s already 2 a.m.) and I hate sleeping on planes

[oneyearinamerica]

[oneyearinamerica]

Hi :) Ich geh ja auch bald in die USA und wollte mal fragen, ob du irgendwelche bestimmten Tipps für mich hast? :) Also so allgemein von Abflug bis hin zum Abflug ^^ :) Ich hoffe, du kannst deine letzten Tage genießen! :)

Hey :)Es ist schwer allgemeine Tipps zu geben, da jedes Auslandsjahr unterschiedlich ist. Aber ich habe ein paar Tipps hier zusammengefasst.Hoffe das hilft xx Und danke!

[oneyearinamerica]

Hey! I'm and Aussie going to Germany in August for 5 months! I'm so nervous about the language especially the whole informal du/formal Sie business, still don't get it haha.

Hi I know the German language is tough and I highly respect anyone who tries to learn it! To make it clear for you, you say 'du' to people your age and under and people who you know well (like friends, relatives, etc.) You call people 'Sie' if they are older than you and you don't know them well or not at all (like a friend's parent, a teacher or a stranger on the street). If you are not sure what to call a person start out with 'Sie' until they tell you otherwise.But honestly, don't worry about it! Nobody will kill you if you do it wrong ;) 

[oneyearinamerica]

In welchem teil der usa bist du? Und durftest du dir aussuchen wohin du kommst? Danke!

Hey :) ich bin in Colorado und nein ich konnte mir nicht aussuchen wohin ich komme, was meiner Meinung nach aber in keiner Hinsicht ein Nachteil ist. Wenn überhaupt ist es vielleicht sogar besser weil die perfekte Gastfamilie für dich möglicher weise in einem Teil der USA wohnt, wo du niemals drüber nachgedacht hast hinzugehen. Zu dem Thema habe ich schon mal ein bisschen hier geschrieben.Hoffe ich konnte helfen :)

[oneyearinamerica]

Wie hast du deine Gastfamilie begrüßt als du sie am Flughafen des erste mal gesehen hast??😄

Ich hatte ehrlich gesagt keinen Plan und bin einfach auf sie zugegangen und sie haben mich dann sofort von sich aus umarmt. Mach dir keine Sorgen über die Begrüßung, mach einfach das was deine Gastfamilie macht (was in 99% aller Fälle eine Umarmung sein wird) xx

[oneyearinamerica]

My last 3 days in the U.S... The funny thing is that two weeks ago or so I was totally ready to leave. I was like "well, I'm kind of done with this whole exchange thing. I just wanna go home and see my friends and family again. If I could I would leave right away" But the closer the depature gets the less I'm acutally willing to leave. I wish it could be the other way around