Hi everyone, my name is Kestral Johnston,
and I am currently a rising junior at Steamboat Springs High School. This fall I
leave for Atibaia, Sao Paulo, Brazil for almost a year! Atibaia is a city of about 120,000 people and
located about one hour north of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo and an hour east of
Campinas. So far, I have begun to learn Portuguese, which is thankfully similar
to Spanish. I’m hoping this will help me through Portuguese. I have also gotten
my first host family and my school, and I am currently emailing my host mom to
learn more about what my life is going to be like.
I’m very excited to be spending my
next year in Brazil because of the amazing culture I have encountered through
the current Brazilian exchange students here in Rotary District 5440. They have
been so helpful with any questions I have, and overall, they are some of the
warmest most welcoming people I have met. When I decided to go to Brazil after
my first country didn’t work out, all of the Brazilian exchange students
immediately swarmed me and began talking about Brazil all at once. It was great
to see their interest in my exchange, as well as the pride of their own
country.
My overall impression of the
orientation weekend was that it was a very helpful and insightful experience.
All of the Youth Exchange Committee members were very upfront with any concerns
we had and didn’t sugar-coat anything, especially the homesickness all the
Outbound students (kids leaving the country) will feel. I learned how
homesickness is a step in the cultural emersion process, and how most kids who
have really bad homesickness in the beginning are the ones who thrive the most
in the end. Personally, it made my exchange all that more real, and all that
more exciting. We also learned about the 6B’s of an exchange, which are Be
First, Be Curious, Be on Purpose, Be Grateful, Be of Service, and Be Here Now.
It made me realize how I have to be proactive in my exchange, and in general, anything
I want to do in life. As a group of 19 students leaving for countries all
around the world, we all had common concerns, fears, anxiety, and excitement.
It was great to find a community and a support group through the orientation
weekend as well.
I hope that my exchange year brings
me a new perspective on the world and connections that will last a lifetime.
The people, both Inbound students and Outbound students, I have met so far on
this journey have been amazing, and I can’t wait to make more connections with people
in Brazil. I also hope to become at least conversational in Portuguese and
closer to fluent than I am in any language.
My exchange year, I know, will not be
the easiest thing in my life. It may even be the hardest thing I ever do. In
the end though, I will know that I can get through anything life throws at me.
I’ve begun my first steps on my journey to see the world, and now I’m so
excited to take off running!
