Loving My Foreign Exchange Year in Belgium
My experience living as a foreign exchange student in Belgium was unique in many minor and major ways. But one thing that it taught me overall was that no matter where you live or who you are, human kindness is everywhere.
About a month before I traveled to Belgium, the bombing in Brussels occurred and caused major hesitation in my program. Though I was advised to stay back in the US for my own safety, I decided that since there were people living in Europe at that time having to deal with that situation on the frontline of it, I shouldn’t hold back the opportunity I had to learn about that culture no matter what was a potential threat to my safety.
Complete immersion into another culture can allow students to learn more about themselves and how they interact with others. As a returned exchange student who went to Belgium for a year, I understand many of the struggles that come with living in a new country. I lived with a host family in Belgium and went to school with other Belgian students as if I had lived there my entire life. The necessity of communication made learning the language a significant part of my experience.
I came back to the US after living a year in Belgium with a better understanding of how the rest of the world viewed the US and a newfound acceptance of myself and my identity as a US citizen. I got to learn about Dutch customs while living in Belgium and also shared personal traditions I brought from my home in Arizona. My friends from school in Bruges showed me around the cities of Ghent and Brussels and also introduced me to traditional Belgian foods such as waffles and chocolate – and the rivalries between the surrounding countries. I even learned how to ride a bike as my primary source of transportation.
Learning the Language
Due to my learned proficiency in Dutch throughout that year abroad, I developed intercultural relationships that would have been more challenging had I not spoken the native language. Interacting through a shared form of communication with others can strengthen the bond between you and them and provide a new avenue by which you can learn about their culture and community. Therefore, the less commonly taught language in which I plan to continue my studies is Dutch. I plan to utilize my language proficiency in a career in journalism by providing a way to communicate and discover information hidden from the rest of the world due to the lack of global knowledge of the native language. I believe that my love for learning new languages and ways of communication will carry me far into the field of journalism and strengthen my cross-cultural writing in the future.
My Takeaways
While living in Belgium, I conquered my fears of using incorrect etiquette, lack of inclusion, and the challenge of living in a foreign language. During my first few weeks of the program, I set goals to meet new people, travel as much as I could, and learn the national language. By the end of that year, I had not only accomplished all of my original goals, but I had also learned more about myself and the culture than I could have ever imagined.
I had thrown myself into a completely foreign lifestyle, learned new customs, and lived through entirely new perspectives. I met students from all over the world while on exchange and was hosted by what I now refer to as my Dutch family. I even recently returned to Belgium to reunite with my family and friends. Though people had grown and accumulated their own experiences, the traditional Belgian lifestyle that I had learned years before, had remained comfortably familiar exuding the warm feeling of home.
Now I get to have this personal connection with a family in a country on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. A place I can now watch from afar and still feel as though I could return at any moment and call it home. Though there was a lot of internal struggle that I also faced while I was abroad in Belgium, I believe that I endured it all for a reason. A reason that I may still have yet to discover in the future.
