Chapter 4
Life In St. Louis
Chapter 4
(photos in the end)
Final Chapter
There are less than two weeks left of my exchange year here. On the 25th of June I'll have spent exactly 11 months living in the US. I have so much to talk about and on this last chapter I'll try to focus on doing a quick summary of my year, talking about these last few months, and just talking about what it's like being an exchange student. I'll also explain why I write this blog and give some tips for future exchange students who might read this.
Why I Write This Blog
Writing this blog has been a lot of fun and it's a great place to look back at my memories. I will always be able to come back here to read this, and remember how lucky I was to experience so much in a year. I want my friends in Finland to read what kind of life I'm living here. This is also a good way for younger people who aren't sure if they want to be an exchange student to make their decision easier. Before I decided to be an exchange student I read many blogs written by exchange students and they helped me understand what life is like living in another country in a new family. People might think that they know my whole year by reading this, but some of the experiences cannot be described by words.
The things I talk about here are mostly about places I've visited and things that I've experienced. Most of them are unique experiences that not many Europeans have a chance to experience, like American school dances and graduation. They're unforgettable experiences. I'll never forget how it felt like to win a state championship in front of the school fans, or how it felt like throwing my cap up in the air as a celebration of graduation. Those are stories I'll remember forever.
The Truth About Being An Exchange Student
The things I talk about here are mostly about places I've visited and things that I've experienced. Most of them are unique experiences that not many Europeans have a chance to experience, like American school dances and graduation. They're unforgettable experiences. I'll never forget how it felt like to win a state championship in front of the school fans, or how it felt like throwing my cap up in the air as a celebration of graduation. Those are stories I'll remember forever.
The Truth About Being An Exchange Student
Before coming here I thought that graduation and prom were the highlight of the year and I would just have to be patient waiting for the last few weeks of school to experience them. The more I spent time here the more I understood how wrong I was. They are the experiences they use to advertise the exchange year but there's something much more valuable than them.
The people that I've met and spent time with here are the most valuable thing. Meeting new people is always a lot of fun, but spending time with your good friends and family is the best. It's crazy how many people I've met here and they're the reason I don't want to leave. At the end of the day those late night talks in a car and dinner with my friends are the best times I've had here. So many people are different once you spend enough time with them and actually get to know them.
Before coming here I was afraid I couldn't make any real friends in a year but I was so wrong. I have so many good friends here to whom I can tell everything to and open up to and those kind of friends are the most important ones. Also I was lucky to get such a great family where in addition to caring parents I got Going through the great experiences like school dances are special when I can experience them with my friends. What I'm trying to say is that I can never thank my friends enough for taking me, a new kid from Finland into their friend group. My year would've been challenging if I didn't have those friends.
It's not always easy being an exchange student. At the start of the year everyone is interested in you because you look different and have an interesting accent. After a few weeks you're not new anymore and people aren't really interested in you. So a tip for future exchange students is that you have to use the first few weeks to make some real friends that you can spend time with. I've told hundreds of people where I'm from and why I'm here but the ones that I actually spend time with and have real talks with are the friendships that matter. So, as an exchange student focus on building good relationships with people and the experiences will come while doing that. At the end of the year you will realize that those small things and little moments with the people you care about are the most memorable moments. Also if you have a chance try to be a senior because there are many experiences that you can only be part of as a senior. Do as much as you can because you never know what you might experience. Talk to people, Americans talk a lot and making friendships is a lot easier if you are open about yourself and communicate.
Last Weeks Of School
These last few months have been unforgettable, we had prom, graduation and other activities at school. I also visited the Arch in downtown St. Louis, the Art museum and went to a Cardinals baseball game with my family. There are three school dances in a year in my school and prom which is near the end of the school year is the biggest one. As an event prom is not that glorious as in the movies, but spending quality time with your friends makes it special. The last week of school we had a special dress code for everyday and did different pranks on the lower grades. Volleyball season was on and going to see our school team advance all to way to the state final was a lot of fun. The championship game was after school had already ended and everyone was done with high school. Still a lot of students showed up and we had one of our biggest fan sections to witness our team win their second state championship in a row.
A few days before the school had an event called Evening of Reflection. It is a more casual event before graduation to reflect on achievements of the senior class. It mainly consist of people giving speeches and I was one of them. Every year my school does a foreign exchange student recognition where we exchange flags with the principal and give a speech. Me and the German exchange student were told to do 2 minute speeches about our school year. I was very nervous because the biggest speech I had given in my life was a Powerpoint presentation in front of my history class. Now I had to do one in front of at least 300 people in another language.
The speech went very well. I got a lot of praise after the ceremony for the speech even from people I never met before. I was surprised on how many good things people said to me and it felt great. Getting good feedback from people you don't know doesn't happen in Finland so often as they are often scared to congratulate someone they don't know. My speech is at the end of the blog after the pictures for people wanting to know what I said.
Graduating high school is a big thing in the US and you can recognize it from the amount of preparation for graduation. They have a person whose job is specifically organizing the graduation. Preparing for graduation we had a few hour practice, we ordered the red cap and gown, and had to return all of our books and pay the fees to the school store. The graduation was at a sports arena that was for sports and concerts. There was an audience of about 3000 people. The graduation itself lasted for over an hour and consisted of multiple speeches, recognizing students for their achievements and finally giving a diploma to all the about 300 seniors. At the end was the famous cap throw.
11 Months
This whole journey is coming to an end in less than two weeks. I remember thinking of what kind of family and friends I would have. I even started thinking in English to prepare myself for this year. The craziest thing about being an exchange student is that you have no say in where you're going. It's all about what state your application is assigned to and what family picks you. There aren't an infinite amount of host families and to get all the students to the city they want to go to would be impossible and the small cities wouldn't get any students. Being open and ready to going to any place in the country for your exchange year is the key to being an exchange student. That's what makes the year special as you have no idea where you're going. It's a huge commitment and it builds your character.
I feel like this year has changed me more as a person than anything I've ever experienced before. I spoke to a lot of former exchange students before this year and they all said that their exchange year was amazing and it changed their life. Now that I'm almost done with mine I can easily agree with them. I feel like you can only truly understand why almost every exchange student says that their year was amazing if you do it yourself. This year made me learn a lot of things and become more independent. Having another home in the U.S. feels amazing and I never imagined this place could feel like home. I didn't think I could make such good friendships in a year.
Being away from my home country for a year made me appreciate things I have there more as well. There where things, which I used to take for granted and didn't realize how lucky I'm to have them. I also learned to appreciate the great family and friends I have in Finland I realized how important they are to me. I learned that taking on challenges in life is the best way to live. This whole year has been the biggest challenge in my life so far. During the year I did a lot of things I thought I'd never do like give a speech in English in front of a big audience. I have overcome many of my fears this year. The one bad thing about being an exchange student is that you have to go home after a year. This year has been great and it taught me to appreciate the good times in your life more, because I know that in a few years I'll be remembering this year and thinking: "I miss the good old times".
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who reads my blog. Also, a big thank you for my friends and family in America for letting me be part of their lives. They gave me an amazing opportunity and made this year unforgettable. Until next time St. Louis.
Photos
(My graduation speech at the end)
View from the top of the Arch
The people that I've met and spent time with here are the most valuable thing. Meeting new people is always a lot of fun, but spending time with your good friends and family is the best. It's crazy how many people I've met here and they're the reason I don't want to leave. At the end of the day those late night talks in a car and dinner with my friends are the best times I've had here. So many people are different once you spend enough time with them and actually get to know them.
Before coming here I was afraid I couldn't make any real friends in a year but I was so wrong. I have so many good friends here to whom I can tell everything to and open up to and those kind of friends are the most important ones. Also I was lucky to get such a great family where in addition to caring parents I got Going through the great experiences like school dances are special when I can experience them with my friends. What I'm trying to say is that I can never thank my friends enough for taking me, a new kid from Finland into their friend group. My year would've been challenging if I didn't have those friends.
It's not always easy being an exchange student. At the start of the year everyone is interested in you because you look different and have an interesting accent. After a few weeks you're not new anymore and people aren't really interested in you. So a tip for future exchange students is that you have to use the first few weeks to make some real friends that you can spend time with. I've told hundreds of people where I'm from and why I'm here but the ones that I actually spend time with and have real talks with are the friendships that matter. So, as an exchange student focus on building good relationships with people and the experiences will come while doing that. At the end of the year you will realize that those small things and little moments with the people you care about are the most memorable moments. Also if you have a chance try to be a senior because there are many experiences that you can only be part of as a senior. Do as much as you can because you never know what you might experience. Talk to people, Americans talk a lot and making friendships is a lot easier if you are open about yourself and communicate.
Last Weeks Of School
These last few months have been unforgettable, we had prom, graduation and other activities at school. I also visited the Arch in downtown St. Louis, the Art museum and went to a Cardinals baseball game with my family. There are three school dances in a year in my school and prom which is near the end of the school year is the biggest one. As an event prom is not that glorious as in the movies, but spending quality time with your friends makes it special. The last week of school we had a special dress code for everyday and did different pranks on the lower grades. Volleyball season was on and going to see our school team advance all to way to the state final was a lot of fun. The championship game was after school had already ended and everyone was done with high school. Still a lot of students showed up and we had one of our biggest fan sections to witness our team win their second state championship in a row.
A few days before the school had an event called Evening of Reflection. It is a more casual event before graduation to reflect on achievements of the senior class. It mainly consist of people giving speeches and I was one of them. Every year my school does a foreign exchange student recognition where we exchange flags with the principal and give a speech. Me and the German exchange student were told to do 2 minute speeches about our school year. I was very nervous because the biggest speech I had given in my life was a Powerpoint presentation in front of my history class. Now I had to do one in front of at least 300 people in another language.
The speech went very well. I got a lot of praise after the ceremony for the speech even from people I never met before. I was surprised on how many good things people said to me and it felt great. Getting good feedback from people you don't know doesn't happen in Finland so often as they are often scared to congratulate someone they don't know. My speech is at the end of the blog after the pictures for people wanting to know what I said.
Graduating high school is a big thing in the US and you can recognize it from the amount of preparation for graduation. They have a person whose job is specifically organizing the graduation. Preparing for graduation we had a few hour practice, we ordered the red cap and gown, and had to return all of our books and pay the fees to the school store. The graduation was at a sports arena that was for sports and concerts. There was an audience of about 3000 people. The graduation itself lasted for over an hour and consisted of multiple speeches, recognizing students for their achievements and finally giving a diploma to all the about 300 seniors. At the end was the famous cap throw.
11 Months
This whole journey is coming to an end in less than two weeks. I remember thinking of what kind of family and friends I would have. I even started thinking in English to prepare myself for this year. The craziest thing about being an exchange student is that you have no say in where you're going. It's all about what state your application is assigned to and what family picks you. There aren't an infinite amount of host families and to get all the students to the city they want to go to would be impossible and the small cities wouldn't get any students. Being open and ready to going to any place in the country for your exchange year is the key to being an exchange student. That's what makes the year special as you have no idea where you're going. It's a huge commitment and it builds your character.
I feel like this year has changed me more as a person than anything I've ever experienced before. I spoke to a lot of former exchange students before this year and they all said that their exchange year was amazing and it changed their life. Now that I'm almost done with mine I can easily agree with them. I feel like you can only truly understand why almost every exchange student says that their year was amazing if you do it yourself. This year made me learn a lot of things and become more independent. Having another home in the U.S. feels amazing and I never imagined this place could feel like home. I didn't think I could make such good friendships in a year.
Being away from my home country for a year made me appreciate things I have there more as well. There where things, which I used to take for granted and didn't realize how lucky I'm to have them. I also learned to appreciate the great family and friends I have in Finland I realized how important they are to me. I learned that taking on challenges in life is the best way to live. This whole year has been the biggest challenge in my life so far. During the year I did a lot of things I thought I'd never do like give a speech in English in front of a big audience. I have overcome many of my fears this year. The one bad thing about being an exchange student is that you have to go home after a year. This year has been great and it taught me to appreciate the good times in your life more, because I know that in a few years I'll be remembering this year and thinking: "I miss the good old times".
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who reads my blog. Also, a big thank you for my friends and family in America for letting me be part of their lives. They gave me an amazing opportunity and made this year unforgettable. Until next time St. Louis.
Photos
(My graduation speech at the end)
Prom
View from the top of the Arch
Cardinals baseball game
Part of our school's campus
Senior barbecue on the last day of school
Evening of reflection
Me and my host sister
The gap throw
My Graduation Speech
I'm Elias and I'm from Finland, which is in the Northern part of Europe next to Russia. Leaving your home for a year isn't always easy. A lot of my friends thought I was crazy and so did I. There was a moment before leaving Finland that I regretted the decision to study abroad. Now that there's a little over a month left of my year, I know that leaving was the best decision of my life. I have never made so many memories in a year and I could talk about them for hours. The first ones that come to mind are the school dances, soccer season where we were able to win state championship, school activities and sport events. The one thing that all these events have in common is the fact that they were at Parkway Central. That shows how much of an impact high school has on the life of a teenager. I've also been enjoying school here more than in Finland because it's such a different experience. I've had classes that I actually enjoy going to and that are interesting, like Mr. Poole's contemporary issues class. One thing I like about American high schools is that there are so many different options especially for elective classes. Also, I liked having teachers who talked to me as a person not a student and were interested in where I'm from and who I am. One thing I like about Parkway Central specifically is the fact that the students are so diverse, I've learned so much from different people regarding their cultures. I've made so many friends this year and I'll remember them forever. I think it's ironic how I'm graduating here but when I go back to Finland I still have two more years of high school left. I'll be spending a lot of that time talking about the memories I've made here. This year wouldn't be possible without my host family, so I'm forever thankful for them. This year has changed my life and I'm grateful that this school was able to be part of that.
Thank you Parkway Central
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