Back "home"

Dear rebound:

You are back to the place you used to call home. But now it's different; if you had a good time, now you have two places that mean home to you. 

Going back can be different for everyone, but I'll talk about my own experience: it was the most frustrating, horrible, incredible and saddest thing ever. It's already september, so probably you've experienced this already. If not, get ready. Or maybe it won't happen, so don't worry!

You have changed. Your way of seeing the world has changed. You realize that everything is just the same, yet you see things differently because the change is inside of you. You realize that missing everything and all those tears ware just a waste of time because now you're back. You are back, and time went way too fast; now the tears really come, you miss the place that you are calling home now and you can't wait to go back. But don't worry, you will. 

You learned so much, you met awesome people, awesome places; you fell, you fail, you cried, you laughed; you faced a whole new world and only you know how that feels. You and all the awesome exchangers from all over the world. 

You want to share everything (well, maybe not everything) you lived in your host country, but you don't know were to start, how to "make it short" and maybe, eventually, people will get tired of hearing everything about the awesome place you went, they'll stop paying attention and maybe they'll forget that you weren't there for over a year. But if you are lucky enough, you'll find that one person that will be willing to hear you and will save you.  

It's okay to cry. It's okay to be angry or sad all the time. It's okay if you are not. 

I used to be locked in my room, I felt lonely even though I wasn't. I thought no one really knew what was I feeling. Everything  and everyone irritated me, even the stupidest things, even the ones that I loved the most. 

It really sucked. 

But let me tell you something: you are not alone. You might think you are (or not), but be patient. Things will get better. Go out. Meet your friends. Try to explain to them how you feel, maybe they won't know how it actually feels but they'll try to understand. 

Talk to other exchangers. Rotex, rebounds. We are all willing to help because we've been there.
Don't give up. 

I hope you didn't feel the way I did, but if you did, I'll be glad to help! 

Now, be happy! You had one of the best years of your life and no one can take that from you! 

Feel free to share your experience.

And remember: once an exchange student, always an exchange student!!

-Rotex 4100. 

Orientation camp.

Hi! This is the very first post and I'll be telling you about our orientation camp.

It was quite an adventure, haha. 

We met the exchangers at the bus station, waited for all of them to arrive, packed everything and left.

There were two buses, luckily I belonged to Bus #2, because bus #1 had some mechanical problems and they had to wait for another bus to come pick them up. It was pretty hot and they didn't have AC so you can imagine how comfortable that was!

First activity: Visit and play with little kids. We visited an orphanage; we gave them food and small presents. The exchangers talked to them (just a little bit, because most of them didn't speak spanish yet) and played with them. The children seemed very happy and the exchangers too. Some of them, didn't want to leave the place.

When we were about to leave, it started to rain and the adventure really started.

Second stop: Rancho Santa Verónica. 

To make it short, it was a pretty complicated and fun orientation camp. 

On the first day, we had a talk about the district rules Rotex-Exchangers. That help them to open up more to talk and clarify their doubts.

On the second day we had a rally with different kind of games. 

The one in the picture was about having their ankles tied up together and then crossing the line faster than the other teams. It was very funny.

The first prize was a mexican hat for each member.

At the end of the activity we gave them all the papers they needed to sign and checked if the required documentation was complete.

After all the games, they had free time. After lunch, we were supposed to have more activities, including the "Cultural shock presentation" but suddenly it started to rain. It was pouring rain! 

At first we didn't know what to do, because everybody was at different places, but at the end we sent everybody to the restaurant. But it was raining so hard (and we weren't prepared) that we even had to use the shower curtain as an umbrella to get to our destiny. 

At the end, we improvised with some other activities and had the presentation, but it was quite complicated at first. 

The good thing is that our team stayed strong and helpful and by the end of the day, everybody's was laughing about it. 

It was a very different and funny camp.
We hope our exchangers had a good time because team ROTEX 4100 wants the best for our students!