Swappung Workds

You might be a Dane if…

You might be a Dane if…You are obsessed with “How I Met Your Mother” and ask every American you run in to if they watch it too and then are visibly shocked if they say no.

I hate this show personally. No one has heard of Modern Family. What the heck?

You might be a Dane if…You actually obey the rules and remain dead silent (coughing not allowed) in the Silent Car on the train.

As painful as it is, even the littlest of Danes don’t talk in the Silent Car

You might be a Dane if…. You use four smiley faces in one text ; ) and then contemplate adding another one :D A text could always benefit from additional smileys, right? : ) LOLZ

No joke: If there is no smiley face in a text from a Dane, you should be worried. Very worried.

You might be a Dane if… You look like this (see attractive people below)

Tall, mostly blonde, skinny and in the words of Derek Zoolander, “Ridiculously good looking.”

You might be a Dane if… You wait for the crosswalk light to turn green even if there is no car in sight, it’s raining and it’s 4 AM.  (The Danes are my kind of people.  Rule followers!)

He’ll wait all day if necessary.

You might be a Dane if... You smoke.  For how much the Danes care about being “green” and also being healthy (ex: a recent fat tax put on all food with fat in it), I’m surprised by how many smokers there are.  For all you Danish gentlemen out there, smoking is not attractive. Yuck.

Only the most intellectual will get this one.

You might be a Dane if… You complain about driving anywhere over 20 miles away but will happily bike for an hour to get to a destination…in the rain.

You might be a Dane if… Your everyday outfit consists of the “top-knot” (hair directly on top of your head in a bun) and a scarf that eats your face.  And by everyday, I mean summer too. (I’m so confused. Do Danes get colder easier? Seriously this question is bugging me. Somebody fill me in please.)

She’s committing social suicide. Where’s her scarf!?

Look Ma, I’m a Dane!! (Technically, I am an eighth Danish.)

You might be a Dane if… You think sheets are lame and pointless. Duvet covers are the only way to go!

Even Danish cats love duvets! And so do I…my sheets are coming off my bed in the States as soon as I get home.

You might be a Dane if… You put candy bars and butter on bread and call it a meal.

This is seriously what I eat. Daily. Sometimes twice daily.

You might be a Dane if… You drink more beer than water.  You drink on all forms of public transportation.  You drink beer while biking.  You drink beer while walking.  You take shots at breakfast (with the chocolate bread of course). BUT are never noticeably drunk nor out of control (let’s play the “who’s the American college student and who’s the Dane in the bar?” game).

All the different types of Danish beer that my host family bought for a little beer tasting lunch

You might be a Dane if… You push your baby around in a giant old fashioned buggy.  You might also be a Dane if… You leave this giant (and probably expensive) buggy AND your baby outside of all stores and restaurants even in the winter.  Babies don’t need to shop or eat, so what’s the point of bringing them inside? And besides, this is Denmark…crime is rarer than a girl not wearing a scarf (and that’s pretty dang rare).

I’m not exaggerating at all. EVERYONE has this exact buggy. One takes up an entire car on the train.

So I would like to apologize to all the Danes I know. I might be stereotyping a wee bit and lumping some Danes in that don’t deserve to be lumped. But it’s my blog, so I can write whatever I want and call it a day. But truly, my favorite part of Denmark is the people.  The Danes are genuinely nice, warmhearted and funny.  All my conversations with Danes have been the opposite of superficial, even if I only talked to someone for two minutes.  I look forward to meeting new Danes everyday and I wish I could surround myself with Danes 24/7 instead of sitting in a classroom with American students (no offense American students). I want to raise my children as Danes and I myself want to become a Dane. I’m not sure how these two things are going to happen, but I’m a pretty determined person, so they’ll happen. I’m going to miss the Danes when I leave over everything else (even Danish pastries).

Hej Hej,

So you want to look like a Dane? I don’t blame you. Danes are hot, so I’m going to tell you how to look just like them. I’ve taken The Meaning of Style for the last four months taught by a stylish Dane who I quote “feels uncomfortable” if he wears the same pair of shoes more than once in a month.  Thus, I am qualified.  Listen, learn, look Danish.

Step 1: Take your head and dip it in a bucket of peroxide. Go ahead, throw caution to the wind.  If you accidentally dye your eyebrows, it’s a plus! You can’t look like a Dane unless your scalp burns from too much bleach.  All Danes are blonde, by birth or by bottle, it doesn’t matter.  

  This guy’s got it!

Step 2: If you are a girl, you must only wear your newly dyed hair in one of two ways. Lazy or lazier.

Lazy- Put your hair on the top of your head in the highest bun possible.  You want people to stop on the street and ask, “Is it even gravitationally possible for her bun to be that high?” The key to this bun is to never look in the mirror after doing it.  If there is bumps or chunks falling out, no sweat. You want to look like you spent all your time dying your hair and none of your time doing your hair.

I Googled “danish bun” and this wasn’t quite what I was looking for, but correct and delicious nonetheless.

The perfect height, the perfect messiness and even in black and white, the perfect bottle blonde. Bun Master!

Lazier- Do absolutely nothing with your hair. Wake up and go.  At the most, part it down the middle. Your hair will look the right amount of messy and the right amount of awesome. Danes have truly magic hair.

This Dane woke up three minutes ago.

What I look like in the morning. Rough. Or should I say, meow. LOLZ ;) :D :) (remember if you are dressing like a Dane, you must also use emoticons like a Dane)

Now, hair for the men. If you want to look like a Danish man, you need to ignore everything I just said about the girls.  You must make your hair look as if you spend a minimum of five hours doing it.  Hair product is your best friend.  Your hairstyle MUST convince onlookers that you skipped school in order to properly gel. The more unnatural swoops, swirls and spikes, the better.

 Nick Carter circa 1995 is a good starting point. You can’t go all out Dane the first day. You probably don’t even have that much gel in stock.

Oh yes. That height ain’t natural.

Now that you have your hair all big and rock hard to the touch, you can do one of two things: leave it the way it is or buzz the sides.  The gelled hair MUST be gelled back in a very gentlemen like swoop, a very large swoop.  Then you must take an electric razor and buzz short everything else on your head that is not considered part of the swoop. I searched and searched the internet and no pictures could do this ‘I can tell what country you come from even if I was only allowed to see you from the eyes up" hairstyle any justice. This Danish man is half-assing the hairstyle. Imagine more hair on top and much less hair on the sides.

And you call yourself a Dane?

Step 3: Put down the bag of chips that is currently in your hands as you are reading my blog in bed. Danes have Viking blood, for gosh sakes, and thus are naturally tall and ripped. You’ll need all the help you can get to fit into Danish skinny jeans.

But, if you ever do come to Denmark, disregard this rule and eat these chips. Imagine the best qualities of all your favorite chips combined in to one chip.

Step 4: Go to your closet, put everything that is not black into a bag and burn it. If you truly want to look like a Dane, you can never wear color again. Ever.  When people look in your closet, you want them to be confused. Are you really a (insert profession here) or are you really, in fact, a ninja?

Is that a ninja? Nah, it’s just a Dane.

Step 5: This is definitely the hardest rule of all.  You can never look like you are coming or going from the gym again.  In layman’s terms: stop looking like a slob.  There is not even a word for slob in Danish because it would never be used.  No more ratty grey sweatpants.  No more oversized gym clothes with stains in the armpits.  And worst of all, no more UGG boots.  (I didn’t just look at my outfit now and describe it or anything…)  If you want to look like a Dane AND you want to go to the gym to get that hot Danish bod, your gym clothes better look nicer than a non-Dane’s every day clothes.  Top of the line matching Nike or Hummel only, please.

Just a Dane (who did not follow step number one ) rocking out in head to toe Hummel.

Step 6: Now that you know the color scheme and the no sweat pants rule, what do you actually wear?  Girls first.  The goal is to make your legs look as long and skinny as possible.  On the top wear a bulky sweater or a structured jacket and on the bottom wear tight black skinny jeans.  Your legs will look like little matchsticks.

Boys next.  Your goal is to look like Waldo from Where’s Waldo but instead of red, everything needs to be black. You need tight pants (your girlfriend’s skinny jeans will work), a striped shirt, hipster thick rimmed-glasses (whether you need a prescription or not) and a beanie for when you run of out gel.

I have to admit that I heard this Waldo thing from someone else, but it was such a perfect description that I couldn’t pass it up. Waldo is just missing a little five-o'clock shadow on his face and his trusty bike.

Step 7: SCARF. For boys and girls both, do not dare leave your house without a large and in charge scarf.  Start wearing your scarf mid-August. Stop wearing your scarf mid-June.  Go to scarf withdrawal therapy in July.

A little on the small side and not black, but overall pretty Danish.

Step 8: Shoe time.  As a Dane, you have three options of footwear.  Three and only three.

Black Converse or Black Nike Frees or Black Wedge Booties (If you are male and want to wear the wedges, Denmark is about as liberal as it gets…so go for it)

Step 9: I’m bending the rules a bit.  You are allowed to wear one colored item and that item must be your backpack.  Your Fjällräven backpack, to be exact.  Go into a store and ask if they have Fjällräven.  You’ll pronounce some word that is nowhere near correct and three Danes behind the counter will laugh for five minutes while they keep asking you to repeat the word just so they can hear it pronounced incorrectly over and over again.  Not that it has ever happened to me, but just to be safe, maybe you should just order it online?

The more obnoxious the color the better because this is the only color you may see all day in Copenhagen.

Step 10: This is it guys, the last step to looking like a true Dane.  Wipe that smile off your face and put on an ice cold stare.  If you are a Dane, you need to look unapproachable and intimidating.  Avoid eye contact at all times, whether in the train or on the street.  And NEVER say hi or nod at anybody that walks by, as we do in Minnesota.

The look

Step 10 b: Once you have mastered the “Ice Queen” look, prepare to completely wipe it off your face once someone starts talking to you.  Danes may not look approachable, but if you get the nerve to ask for directions or to just start a conversation, they are the freaking best.  Danes are the nicest, funniest and happiest people I have ever met.  (For real.  Denmark is ranked the Happiest country in the world right now.  The US is 26th.)  So wear that death stare, but you better be all love underneath you if want to truly look (and act) like a Dane.

Hej Hej,

A list of helpful tips for exchange students, based on what I did or wish I had done…

Talk. To everyone. Everyone ever.

Read. Start small. Childrens’ books are your friends. Especially the ones with pictures.

Forgive yourself for having terrible pronunciation and vocabulary.

Laugh about your terrible pronunciation and vocabulary.

Accept the fact that things WILL be awkward.

Establish the house rules as soon as you enter the house.

FOLLOW THE HOUSE RULES.

When you go to school, say hello to everyone on the first day. And the second. And every day after that.

Ask questions. About everything.

Do not stop asking questions.

Even if your classmates laugh. Or tease you.

Help out in the house, without being asked.

Join something and meet people! A weekly gym class. An art class. Music classes. Volunteer work. Tutoring. A choir. Anything, really.

Try the food!

Take lots of pictures of things, people, food, yourself!

Doing nothing because you’re shy is not an option.

Write down important things! Passwords for Internet, your new address, phone numbers, etc.

Apologize for making mistakes, and learn from them.

Don’t take things too seriously. You’re not here to be perfect. You’re here to make mistakes and learn things.

Remember that learning things requires you to suck at them at first.

Don’t worry about your schoolwork too much. Try to get good grades, but take a day off every once in a while to hang out or see your new environment.

You WILL get lost. Accept this fact.

Be honest. Be excruciatingly honest. To the point of extreme awkwardness and possible emotional breakdown.

Always knock on the door before coming in. This is really important.

Spend time with your host siblings! Try to teach them English, even if they hate it. Just follow them around speaking English and take away their iPads when they ignore you.

A P P S

All the apps listed here are available to download on iTunes (iOS). Bolded = not free.

Duolingo

Learn Danish

Danish by Nemo

Mango Languages

Danish Flashcards

Learn Danish (different from 1st one, in-app purchase)

Babbel (one free lesson)

Study Danish Words

WordUP Danish

Learn Danish - Wordpower

Woorden

Gus on the Go: Danish for kids

LearnOasis

W E B S I T E S

Danish Class 101 

Speakdanish.dk

Copenhagen Language Center

101 Languages

Ielanguages

Grammar explorer

Loecsen

Learn with Oliver

Polymath

BBC

Unilang

Transparent Language

Basby

D A N I S H  N E W S / R A D I O / T V

DR

TV2

Berlingske

BT

Billedbladet

Politiken

Jyllands Posten

C O N J U G A T I O N / V E R B S

Verb conjugator

Verbix conjugator

Verb list

Wikibooks verb list

Vores fællesprog

A simplified grammar of the Danish language

500 Most common verbs in Danish

T E X T B O O K S

Perfect and periphrastic passive constructions in Danish

Danish: An Essential Grammar

Colloquial Danish (this one is life-saving!)

D I C T I O N A R I E S

Freedict

Dicts

E B O O K S

Saxo

Familieforlaget

Children’s books forever

Det forkerte barn (pdf)

Logos Library

E X T R A S

Vocabulary Trainer

Danish Class 101 Podcast

The following point shows the role and importance of insurance:

Insurance has evolved as a process of safeguarding the interest of people from loss and uncertainty. It may be described as a social device to reduce or eliminate risk of loss to life and property.

Insurance contributes a lot to the general economic growth of the society by provides stability to the functioning of process. The insurance industries develop financial institutions and reduce uncertainties by improving financial resources.

1. Provide safety and security:

Insurance provide financial support and reduce uncertainties in business and human life. It provides safety and security against particular event. There is always a fear of sudden loss. Insurance provides a cover against any sudden loss. For example, in case of life insurance financial assistance is provided to the family of the insured on his death. In case of other insurance security is provided against the loss due to fire, marine, accidents etc.

2. Generates financial resources:

Insurance generate funds by collecting premium. These funds are invested in government securities and stock. These funds are gainfully employed in industrial development of a country for generating more funds and utilised for the economic development of the country. Employment opportunities are increased by big investments leading to capital formation.

3. Life insurance encourages savings:

Insurance does not only protect against risks and uncertainties, but also provides an investment channel too. Life insurance enables systematic savings due to payment of regular premium. Life insurance provides a mode of investment. It develops a habit of saving money by paying premium. The insured get the lump sum amount at the maturity of the contract. Thus life insurance encourages savings.

4. Promotes economic growth:

Insurance generates significant impact on the economy by mobilizing domestic savings. Insurance turn accumulated capital into productive investments. Insurance enables to mitigate loss, financial stability and promotes trade and commerce activities those results into economic growth and development. Thus, insurance plays a crucial role in sustainable growth of an economy.

5. Medical support:

A medical insurance considered essential in managing risk in health. Anyone can be a victim of critical illness unexpectedly. And rising medical expense is of great concern. Medical Insurance is one of the insurance policies that cater for different type of health risks. The insured gets a medical support in case of medical insurance policy.

6. Spreading of risk:

Insurance facilitates spreading of risk from the insured to the insurer. The basic principle of insurance is to spread risk among a large number of people. A large number of persons get insurance policies and pay premium to the insurer. Whenever a loss occurs, it is compensated out of funds of the insurer.

7. Source of collecting funds.

You build a life for 10 months and leave it forever.

Walking into the airport is a moment of supreme confusion. You look around thinking “how the hell did I get here?” Because for months you’ve been planing for this exact moment. Your bags are packed, your goodbyes have been said, and you have your passport in hand. You somehow don’t notice that the day is here, the day you leave for your new life. You realize how, as soon as you go through security, life as you know it will be over. You will be a completely different person when you get back: independent, most likely fluent in another language, and travel hungry. The people you have known and loved for your whole life won’t have gone through this journey with you;they won’t know the little victories and sorrows of your trip. They won’t grow with you, but you will grow and change and learn. You will gain a new family, a global one. Remember this will be the most incredible year of your life, so far, and don’t be afraid of the new and strange.

Mostly I’m telling to myself because I need to listen to my own advice, but I’m also telling this to the people who need to hear that it will be ok. It’s ok to scared and lonely and sad, but remember that you’re doing this for a reason and every bad moment will be outnumbered by good.

ehk räägin natukene sellest, mis tegelikult toimub

Järgnev tekst ei ole mõeldud halvaga, ma ei kirjuta seda selleks, et kedagi hirmutada või panna teid arvama, et mul ei ole siin hea. Ma lihtsalt tunnen, et pean sellest rääkima.

Võib-olla on mõned inimesed märganud, et ma ei kirjuta enam blogisse, Facebooki lehele, ega vasta eriti mulle saadetud kirjadele. Need vähesed postitused kannavad endas mingit kurbusenooti, kuigi ma üritan neid kirjutada nii positiivselt, kui vähegi võimalik. Kui sul ei ole midagi ilusat öelda, siis pärem vaiki.

Lugesin täna Kätrini blogist postitust kultuurišoki kohta, ja mõistsin, et see vastab täpselt sellele, mida ma praegu läbi elan.

Mis on kultuurišokk?

YFU Eesti poolt saadud Ellujäämisõpik defineerib kultuurišokki järgmiselt: “Normaalne reaktsioon nendele suurtele muutustele, millega tuleb kohaneda. Tunned ilmselt suurt sisemist konflikti oma uute ja vanade väärtuste vahel. Võid tunda end eemaletõugatuna, agressiivsena või isoleerituna maailmas, mis ei jaga sinu tegemisi, mõtteviisi, käitumist ja isegi ei “mõista” sind. Füüsilised sümptomid (unisus, tahaks palju ja kogu aeg magada; toiduharjumused on muutunud- sööd vähem või rohkem kui vanasti; nutmine; kergelt haigestumine…) ja ka vaimsed sümptomid (tunned end üksikuna; tüdimus; koduigatsus; kodu idealiseerimine; sõltuvuse tunne; ujedus; vaenulikkus; sotsiaalne tagasitõmbumine; suur mure oma tervise ja turvalisuse pärast; reeglite vastu mässamine; stereotüüpide loomine vahetusriigist…) võivad ilmneda. Enesehinnangu langus on ka väga sage. Tugev ebameeldivustunne vastuvõtva maa kultuuri suhtes, eksisteerimise küsimus: kes ma üldse olen ja miks ma olen?”

Ütlen ausalt, et mina olen praegu selles teises kuristikus. Ühtlasi peavad kõik eelpool mainitud “sümptomid” minu puhul paika.

Mis tunded valdavad kultuurišokis olevat inimest?

Sa tahad hästi palju uusi asju teha, sest sa tunned, nagu sa raiskad oma aega ja sa ei kasuta seda võimalust piisavalt, samas sa ei tee mitte midagi. Sa oled kurb ja sa ei tea miks. Sa tahad nutta. Sa tunned, et mitte keegi ei mõista sind, isegi siis, kui teised vahetusõpilased ütlevad, et nad elavad sama asja läbi. Sa tunned, et sina oled kõiges süüdi. Samas tunned sa, et ka teised on mõningates asjades süüdi. Sa tunned, et sa ei meeldi mitte kellelegi ja et neil oleks ilma sinut lihtsam. Sa tunned, et saaksid üksinda palju paremini hakkama, seega oled oma toas. Sa tahad end tunda vabalt ja tahad olla sina ise, aga sa ei tea enam, kes sa oled. Sa tahad koju, aga sa ei tea, kus kodu on. Sa tunned, et ei saa oma vahetusmaal teha asju, mida sa kodus tegid. Sa tunned, et pead selle aasta ära kannatama, et siis Eestisse tagasi minna ja teha kõike toredat, mida sa enne tegid. Sa tunned, nagu sa üritad täiega ja annad endast kõik, aga olukord ei muutu paremaks. Sulle tundub, et teistel läheb kõik suurepäraselt ja sina oled ainuke, kellel on raskusi. Sa hakkad kahtlema, kas see oli ikka õige otsus. Sa tunned, nagu sa oled maailma kõige halvem vahetusõpilane.

Kuidas erineb kultuurišokk tavalisest koduigatsusest?

Minu isiklik arvamus on, et koduigatsus on otseselt seotud sinu kodumaa ja kodukohaga. Pereliikmete, sõprade ja tuttavatega. Kultuurišokk on aga periood, kus sa ei tea enam, kes sa ise oled ja kus su kodu on. Sa otsid seda ühtekuuluvustunnet, sa tahad tunda end koduselt, sa tahad olla oma vahetusmaa kultuuri ja ühiskonnaga üks. Koduigatsuse puhul tahad sa koju tagasi, sa tahad tagasi tuttavasse keskkonda, kus sa saad olla sina ise. Kultuurišokiga on aga see tunne, et sa tahad olla sina ise, aga sa ei tea enam, kes sa oled. Sa tead, et sa ei ole sama inimene, kes sa olid enne vahetusaastale minekut, aga sa tead ka, et sa ei ole veel 100% uus inimene. Sa ei tunne ennast enam ära, sest sa oled muutunud.

Kuidas kultuurišokiga toime tulla?

Räägi. Lihtsalt räägi hästi palju, räägi oma sõprade ja perega. Kui sa ei tunne, et sa julged oma vahetusperele sellistest asjadest rääkida, siis räägi oma kontaktisikuga, aga püüa ka oma vahetusperega rääkida. Alusta näiteks ainult ühet inimesest, sa ei pea kogu oma perekonda kokku koguma ja siis nende ees mingit kõne pidama hakkama. Mine näiteks oma vahetusõe juurde ja küsi, et kas me saaksime rääkida, mul on hetkel väga raske ja ma tunnen, et ma pean sellest kellelegi rääkima. Jah, ma tean, et igal pool räägitakse, et ära räägi sellistest asjadest oma pärisperele ja sõpradele Eestis, aga minu isiklik arvamus on, et vanematele rääkimine aitab. Muidugi on see kõigi puhul individuaalne, aga minul see aitas.

Samuti kirjuta kõik oma halvad mõtted üles, näiteks päevikusse või lihtsalt kuskile paberile. Pane kuupäev peale ja jäta see sinnapaika. See on möödas ja käes on uus päev. Väga lihtne on halbadesse mõtetesse kinni jääda, aga see ei ole lahendus. Sellisel viisil ei muutu mitte midagi paremaks. 

Ära isoleeri ennast oma vahetusperest ja sõpradest. Minu jaoks oli see kõige tavalisem, sest ma lihtsalt ei tahtnud mitte kellegagi rääkida ja ma tundsin, et ma saan üksinda paremini hakkama. Jah, ma rääkisin teiste vahetusõpilastega, aga ma ei suhelnud taanlastega. Sa ei pea isegi kogu aeg nendega suhtlema, lihtsalt ole nähtaval. Kui su vahetusisa vaatab näiteks igal õhtul uudiseid, siis ole temaga samas ruumis ja loe näiteks raamatut. See näitab, et sa oled ikkagi neist huvitatud ja tahad nendega koos olla.

Mõtle sellele, kui väga sa seda aastat tahtsid ja kui väga sa selle nimel pingutasid. Mõtle kõikidele inimestele, kes sind siia aitasid ja kes sind toetasid. Mõtle nendele inimestele, keda sa inspireerid. Mulle on kirjutanud paar inimest, kes ütlesid, et nad loevad mu blogi ja tahavad ise ka vahetusaastale minna. See on ausalt ka maailma parim tunne, kui sa saad öelda, et sa oled kedagi inspireerinud. Need väiksed sõnumid teevad mu päeva nii palju kordi paremaks.

Kokkuvõtvad mõtted

Viimased nädalad on olnud rasked, ja ma sain lõpuks aru, miks. Ma arvasin, et minu jaoks on see kulturišokiperiood juba ammu möödas, aga tegelikult olin ma alles selle alguses. Nüüd loodan, et asjad lähevad ainult paremaks, pärast vihma tuleb alati vikerkaar.

Ühtlasi tahan tänada kõiki inimesi, kes mind on siia aidanud ja kes mind endiselt toetavad! Ilma teieta ei oleks see kõik võimalik ja ma olen teile ülimalt tänulik. Ja aitäh ka supertoetavatele Eesti VÕPidele! Üheskoos suudame me kõike.

Me oleme maailmakodanikud

Kadri

                                             //////////////////////////////

The following text is not intended to mean harm, I do not write this to scare anyone or make you think that I am not enjoying my time here. I just feel that I have to talk about this. Some of you might have noticed that I don’t update my blog, Facebook page, or respond to the messages that are sent to me. The few posts that I have made, have a sense of sadness to them, even though I try to write as positively as possible. If you do not have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. I read Kätrin’s blog post about the culture shock today, and I realized that it is exactly  what I am currently going through. What is culture shock? The survival guides that YFU Estonia gave us defines culture shock as follows: “A normal reaction to these major changes, which you must adapt to. Perhaps you feel a great inner conflict between your old and new values. You may feel unloved, aggressive, or isolated from the world, which does not share your thoughts, behavior and does not “understand” you. Physical symptoms (sleepiness, you want to sleep a lot and all the time, food habits are changed- eat more or less than before, crying, getting sick really easily …), as well as mental symptoms (feeling lonely, boredom, homesickness, idealization of your home, coyness, hostility, social withdrawal, a major concern for their health and security, feeling rebellios against the rules, creating stereotypes from your host country …) may occur. Drop in self-esteem is also very common. Strong feeling of discomfort towards the culture of the host country, the question of existence: Who am I and why am I? “

To my Kiwis, Aussies, Brazilians, and Argentinians who have to go back soon …

1) Vodka helps the pain. 

2) DO NOT think too much about having to go home. 

3) Please, for the sake of your future self and the rest of us who are rebounds, make a conscious effort to ENJOY EVERY PARTICLE OF YOUR HOST COUNTRY. Every smell, every sound, every sunset. 

4) If there’s something you’ve been to scared to do all year, do it (just try not to get arrested, it’s super hard to get out of jail in foreign countries). Take chances. It’s not too late. 

5) Be prepared to leave a lot of shit behind … especially shoes since they’re so heavy. 

6) Chocolate and alcohol. You know what to do with them. 

7) Make sure you properly thank your host families … I don’t feel like I thanked them thoroughly enough and it haunts me every day. 

8) Take photos of the little things so you have something to remember everyday life by. The bus stop, the front door of your house, the dinner table, the street lamps. They will serve you well in a few months when you just want to cry your eyes out and feel miserable. 

9) Take a few video clips of your favorite people talking so you don’t forget their voices when thousands of miles separate you. 

10) Do everything you need to do, but for fuck’s sake, don’t think about actually leaving until you walk through the gate at the airport. You will psych yourself out. Do not spend your last months being miserable.