Have Dreams, Will Travel: Fearless

I sink into the green plush chair beneath me with my grey sweat pants, AFS t-shirt, and huge bunny bedroom slippers. In front of me, books, a blanket, a Wii, a candle, cds, and remote controls are sprawled on the coffee table with a pillow having Patrick, the infamous starfish on it lying beneath the table - all signs of a house inhabited by kids. The clicking sounds of my clothes hitting the walls of the dryer as it spins them run in the background. The television plays in my parents' bedroom and a slight satisfaction creeps beneath me as I see sun rays peeping through the blinds - Yes! Summer is almost here.

Five months have passed.

What am I to say?
Have I changed?
Was what I had anticipated five months ago...anticipated?

I'm not sure if this might spoil whatever momentum I was building or climax I was reaching by throwing out those questions because the real truth is...I don't know.

It's almost as if all the feelings, sights, smell, taste, and sounds I might have experienced throughout my stay here have been so...STRONG that I cannot SHOW nor TELL you how it has changed me but IT HAS. You would think that nothing is simpler than putting my thoughts to paper in black and white. "Who is this girl who claimed power in words and now fails to express a mere feeling?" you say. But it is...the truth and for the most of it, I feel I have grown more sincere in my words, thoughts, and actions.

So, this is one millionth of what I have done in the past five months. Then again, sometimes, I feel that I can never do enough justice to how my stay here and the people around me have changed who I am.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Exchange students. What exactly enters your mind when that phrase is brought up?

Whether you may think that being an exchange student is an exciting adventure or just a waste of time and money, I guess the only way to find out is to become one. It’s been five months since I left the comforts of my home and half a year since I made a pivotal choice in my life. As clichéd as it may seem, I couldn’t care less to say that exchange students always stood out among the list of things that intrigued me. But what I couldn’t foresee was that as I sit here penning this down, I am living that dream. So, allow me to share with you…my story.

I will never forget looking out my airplane window and my friend’s comment ringing in my head, “Andrea, there’s nothing here.”

My name is Andrea Wong and I am hosted in a small town called Charlo, Montana. Having to wake up to endless rows of snow-capped mountains and amazingly blue skies every day is just a blessing. The start of the semester was packed with surprises as I discovered the graduating class of the high school I was attending consisted of 32 seniors. Back home, I am an only child but here, I have three incredibly energetic siblings and one baby brother on the way!

These six months can be best compared to a roller coaster. If you even blinked, the ride would already be close to over. In a small school like Charlo, everyone knew me before I knew them and I was touched by their hospitality and sincerity. I am taking US History, Calculus, Spanish, Speech, English, Choir, and Art ranging from Sophomore to Senior classes. Mr. G, my English teacher would be the most extraordinary teacher I’ve ever met serving pizza every week and jokingly mistaking my country for Japan. My greatest achievement would be acquiring a 99% grade in my Calculus class and continuing to show them what Malaysians are capable of! Prom proved to be memorable as I was asked by a Brazilian exchange student who went on to win Prom King.

Joining Track and Field was intense because of how athletic almost all of the kids are but I have learnt so much from it. I may be tracking behind them but my friends never put me down but helped me up with words of encouragement which when I come to think of it, was probably why I stayed in the sport. New experiences were inevitable as I sang in Malay for my high school play as well as acted in a Missoula Children’s Theatre play. Apart from volunteering at church and concession stands, it was such an adventure when my family drove for 10 hours to the Oregon Coast for vacation and going to the Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho twice!

Above all, I think what all experiences can never beat are the lifelong relationships forged along the way. Words cannot express how the littlest moments spent with my host family has made me grow and mature even more than any book or class could ever teach me. After five months of this life-changing experience, I can tell you that I have lost opportunities – days when I miss family and home, scholarship interviews I was unable to attend, and events at home I couldn’t attend. Nevertheless, in regard to those who might have had doubts in taking my path, for everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else. Throughout this short time period, I have learnt so much more about myself, I have fallen and have gotten back up, I have found the moments of happiness many of us are just too busy to notice, I learnt how to find the sun on a rainy day, I have gotten a baby brother that is coming in October, and ultimately, I have discovered that people from another part of the world are not so different and a little unity is not as hard to attain after all.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.