Amy
Renes of Sioux Center is spending the school year as and exchange
student in the Netherlands, where she will share her experiences
with N'West Iowans through writings and photos.
When it comes to the Midwest, the Netherlands is on the opposite end of the world. Now so am I. I have lived in Sioux Center for over half my 17-year life and not given much thought to the small country. For a long time, if someone would tell me they are Danish or German, without hesitation, I would announce my Dutch blood. Other times, the Netherlands might be hazily brought up while chatting about our family’s Dutch relatives, mostly ones I never knew. This might give an idea of how numbered my ties are to the Netherlands. This year, however, the Netherlands hits a lot closer to home. In fact, it is my home. I am spending my junior year of high school living with a Dutch family in Doetinchem, a city hovering the German border. If that seems strange, there is no comparison to how much stranger it still sounds to me. All I can do is go over the events that brought me here.
Amy
Renes of Sioux Center is spending the school year as and exchange
student in the Netherlands, where she will share her experiences
with N'West Iowans through writings and photos.
One of the reasons is deeply rooted in me by past travels. My family has lived in various Latin American countries for missionary work. When I think about those years, I remember really great memories and experiences, with some bumps along the way, kindly named “adjustments.” It was always so exhilarating to move to a new place and find out everything about it. Once you fit yourself into that culture, you can see the country as a whole. You can discover their language, manners, and how they treat Americans. There are millions of tiny details to be discovered, too. You can figure out where to find the best peanut soup, the worst bathrooms, or the most convenient bus route. During our year in Bolivia, our family could always rely on our local street vendor to shout his selection of fruits for several hours every Saturday morning, when sleep is most essential. The details can be overwhelming, but after a while, everything fits. At that point, you are presented with the complete cultural package, not found in your local Wal-Mart. This cultural understanding makes the foreign exchange experience well worth the consideration.
Early on, I decided that it was important to me to learn a new language during my trip. Language is such a huge part of the world, with a major impact on people who cross borders in it. It is intimidating just to hear the incredible number of languages. During my younger years, I picked up a lot of Spanish. With the prospect of a foreign exchange, there was no way I could pass on the invaluable asset of gaining another language. It is a great idea to study languages while staying in the U.S., but that can take a considerably long time. I decided that when it came to absorbing a new language, I wanted to cannonball jump into the pool, instead of lean over the sink.
To finish off my reasons for spending a year abroad, independence and maturity come in. I see my year abroad as a lot of fun, but also chocked full of coping, learning, and adjusting. Sometimes unpleasant and uncomfortable, but an excellent way to grow. I keep this in mind for college, too. I find college the ultimate step of independence. You actually leave your family to do something that concerns only you. Terrifying. With some or possibly no common sense, I decided becoming a foreign exchange student would be like a sample year. A glance at the life of total detachment. I realize now that total detachment might be a better word for my year in the Netherlands, but it is still just a theory.
After all analyzing had come to an end, it was time for some action to be taken. I had heard of Youth for Understanding (YFU) from my mom, who had used the same organization to go to Japan years earlier. We found information on the internet that showed YFU was not only widespread and well-regarded, but also offered discounts to family members of former YFU students. The next task was not as easy; it seemed to me almost insurmountable. I had to choose one country. There was no way I could casually make a decision about the place where I would be spending such a long time. There were so many factors, and I took a good month and a half considering all of them. Finally, I decided I wanted to spend my year in the country of Italy. I was attracted to the romance of Italy, the language similarities with Spanish, and the distinctly European culture. The notable cuisine had a little to do with it as well. After the fairly complicated application process and my subsequent acceptance into the YFU program, I spent six months planning, dreaming, practicing Italian, and dreaming in my practiced Italian.
Wait a second. Hold the phone. Not Dutch, but Italian? I found out this summer that life often reveals itself as shamelessly wishy-washy. A few weeks before my September 9 departure for Italy, I listened to my dad taking an important call. I did not know who was talking, but I heard alarming clues leading to a complete one-eighty in my plans. This huge change was my destination. YFU had been working very hard on the visa process for YFU-Italy students. Unfortunately, the visa system was not working as efficiently, and the students were forced to make some difficult decisions. There was no way I could obtain an Italian visa before my trip. I had to decide whether I wanted to wait until January to leave for Italy, whether for a semester or full year, or choose an entirely different country. I have to admit, I abandoned the idea of Italy without much difficulty. I was ready to get going, and the idea of leaving after an extended five months was disheartening. Of course, I had been extremely anxious to go to Italy, but the hope of being able to see another country was enticing. Harder decisions came; I had to return to picking several countries for possible destinations. This was simplified, though, because only a few countries could take extra students at the last minute. During all this, my family and I were guided by YFU. YFU was completely willing to help me and eventually made it possible for me to get into a different program so late in the year. That program turned out to be the Netherlands.
Now, I am in the Netherlands and plan on continuing to write about all my undertakings for the coming year. So far, the sequence of events bringing me here has been covered, and I will have to keep looking ahead to the next part of the path. I am sure there will be more bumps and surprise endings, but that is why I am an exchange student. To find myself on the other side of the world, finding myself.