False Appearances

Have you gone to a new place that you have not seen pictures of it? Obviously that you have. I have being an exchange student in Minnesota, North Carolina and New Jersey. An exchange student is a student from one country that flies to another country to learn about the culture of the other country, but the student needs to go to school and try to get good grades. You might have the question, how many times I have being an exchange student. This year is my sixth time because each year since 2006 I started traveling with exchange programs.

Every single year since 2006, I have thought how the host family is going to be with me and how the house looks like. I will tell you my first experience. It was in 2006 and I went to Hastings, Minnesota. When the exchange program (FAW) gave me the file of my host family, I got to know some things about my host family. My host family was a mother about thirty eight years old (Annette), the father about forty years old (Terry), the son of twelve years old (Justin), the middle daughter of eight year old (Shelby) and the youngest daughter of six years old (Kelsey). Annette was about 1.70 meters of height, 160 pounds of weight, her hair is brown and curly hair, housekeeper, she did not work; Terry was about 1.80 meters of height, 175 pounds of weight, his hair is brown and straight, hard worker and he is an engineer; Justin was about 1.40 meters of height, 130 pounds of weight, skinny, blonde and curly hair and smart; Shelby was about 1.20 meters of height, 98 pounds of weight, blonde and straight hair and Kelsey was about 1.10 meters of height, 80 pounds of weight and blonde and curly hair. They lived outside the town and they had two horses and one pony.

My first impression by reading the file was that they might live like in the houses of the old west and the experience with them was going to be working in a barn. I thought my host family was not going to like me or we were not going to have a good friendship after three months sharing. I also thought why I should go there if the experience sounded like going to my farm in Santa Rosa but add going to school. I felt bad of saying no to go with this family so I said to myself: Let´s give it a try.

When I finally met my host family in the airport of St. Paul, MN, they look like the picture in the file but they were nice with me. I got to start knowing they better by the time past and I had a great time. Justin had a paint ball gun so he taught me many things of paint ball. Terry was very nice with me and he work in the barn after work. I helped Terry when I could. Terry built a garage for the tractors so Justin and I helped him. Terry made a sip line for Justin, Shelby, Kelsey and me to play.

Some afternoons, he told me to go get the eggs from the coops. My impressions about Terry were wrong because he is a great father, friendly and helped me with many things. Justin did not like too much to play with me because he was used to play alone but after the first month, we learn to play and work together. One day, Terry said to everyone else that we could eat ice cream from the freezer and he brought vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Justin was serving the vanilla ice cream and I was serving the chocolate ice cream. Terry said that Justin and I worked together. My impression of Justin working alone was wrong because he learn to work with someone else.

Do not describe someone by his or her appearance because the appearance might lie. The house was not like the houses of the old west instead it was big, made of wood like the American houses, painted blue, located in the middle of green area and had two floors and a basement. My first exchange experience taught me that everyone might have a different impression about something but we should describe someone or something after knowing about him, her or it.

I lose a Math test and contest but not the skills

I am a scientific person because I have many skills with numbers. I understand faster than my classmates the math, Physics and computer class. Since I was in eight grade I have great skills for the scientific classes and my classmates asked me to explain them some physics or mathematical operations. The teachers have seen my skills for the scientific classes and they had given my exonerations for the exams of the fourth bimester. In my physics and math exams, I usually get ninety or higher but sometimes I get an eighty or eighty five on the exam or assignment.

In eight grade, I participate on the Cultural Week of the school and won the first place at Math. I was so happy that I got a diploma and a medal.  My math teacher saw that I had skills and great abilities for math.  She asked me and some friends if we could stay after school for math classes to have math lessons for a contest in USAC (Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala) and a math contest in Capouilliez School and most of us accepted.  We started staying after school.

In the contest of USAC, none of us won but in the math contest of Capouilliez School, I won the third place. I left the Capouilliez School after the competition so I was not there when the judges of the contest gave the diplomas and medals to the winners. Ariela told me in the afternoon that I won but I did not believe her because I did not stay for the awards. The next day, Miss Ingrid called me to give me my diploma and medal of the math competition and she told me that she was going to take a photo of the students that won any place at any area of the Capouilliez   School´ competitions. She took the photos of us.

I was so happy that in my first year of competing in math in another school, I won the third place. It was a new experience for me. I am the only one that went to the USAC and to the Capouilliez competitions. My friends did not like that I was the only one that went to both competitions because Miss Alejandra said at the first lesson after school that each one of us could just got to one of the two competitions. I got extras points at math by going to the competitions but the points did not help me because my final grade was a hundred.

On the final bimester of eight grade, I got more than a hundred in math but my grade sheet has a hundred. In my freshmen year, I won first place on math and physics on the Cultural Week of my school but I was so happy because in those two classes I usually get good grades on the quizzes and tests. In my sophomore year, I also won the first place on math and physics in the Cultural Week of my school and I was happy of winning both first places on the same year. This year which is my junior year, I only got first place on physics and I was surprised of winning it because the test for the contest, I did it without trying to get an excellent grade. I also did my math test but I did it as I was doing a normal test. If I won the math contest, I was going to be surprised.

I got sixty five on my math test for the contest and I got to know my grade because I asked Miss Mary for my grade when she was checking the tests. I felt horrible of getting that grade on my math test because on the test of the bimester I usually get a hundred or higher than ninety. On the day of the awards for all the classes, I was just called for physics and after the awards when my classmates got to the class, Leslie asked me why did not I get an award in math. I told her because I did the test without trying to get an hundred and I did not put all my effort on it. I still get great grades on the tests that Miss Mary gives to all my classmates.  Everything happens for a reason. I will always have skills and abilities for math even though I fail a test and did not get an award on a contest of my school.

What for my first exchange program?

My mother says that whatever great opportunity she gives to my older brother, she will give it to my on the same age that my brother was when he got the opportunity. My brother went on an exchange program when he was in fifth grade so I was going to get my exchange program opportunity when I was in fifth grade. In 2006, I was in fifth grade and finally I got the opportunity of becoming an exchange student. In March, my mother and I went to a big white house in La Reforma Avenue and talked to the directors of the exchange program called FAW (Friends around the World). They said I needed to give them my grades of last year and the ones of the first bimester of school of fifth grade.  My mother filled up a lot of papers about myself and about our family.

 In mid-March, I went to a meeting of FAW in the big white house just to talk with a psychologist (Vikki Soda), I was so nervous and worried because I thought she was going to ask me to do a test which I was going to fail and then I could not go in the exchange program, but she just talk to me about the exchange program rules and my attitudes. Vikki and I become good friends because I was a nice kid and kind. After the meeting with Vikki, my mother and I talk with Evelyn de la Fuente (one of the Guatemalan directors of FAW) about my opportunity of going to Minnesota. She said that I just need to attend to all the meetings and my mother should give her my passport and the papers filled up.  My mother and I went to our house and during the time of getting home, I told my mother that I was so happy of going. In another meeting I filled up a paper about my interests, leisure, my family, my best friend, my favorite class, my address and my future major. 

 While Vikki and another American searched for all the host families in Minnesota, I needed to get good grades on my classes. I studied hard and had a hard time doing my assignments because I got to my house at 4:30 p.m. when I did not go to a meeting or to the doctor, then play Xbox with my brother and at 8 o’clock we did our assignments. In June, FAW gave each participant a file about his or her family. In the parking lot of the big white house, I asked my mother what might my host family will ask me when I meet them and my mother said about your school and family. I started getting in touch with the Baker family but at the same time I was worried about the questions they might ask me. The Baker family is made up Terry (father), Annette (mother), Justin (son about my same age), Shelby (daughter about four years younger than Justin) and Kelsey (daughter about two years younger than Shelby).

I started sending e-mails to them because they did not have my e-mail. I had being doing great at school by getting good grades. In July, I started going with a psychologist once a week to help me with my worries of the exchange program and because she had a baby, I went to her house for the meeting. She helped me a lot and taught me that the Baker family was going to ask me the regular questions that a new friend asks you. On a different day, she talked with my mother about my progress. On our last meeting, she told me to have a great time in Minnesota.

On the third bimester, Miss Mariela told my mother that I might do the fourth bimester finals exams. In August, she told my mother that they will give me different exams on September and my mother said that is ok with us. I was leaving on September 16. On mid-August, Evelyn told my mother that on September 14 I was going to give an English speech to all the family participants. On September, I started packing my cloth for the trip to Minnesota but at the same time I needed to practice my speech and studied for mi final exams that I was going to take them on September 13-15.  On September 14, my family, FAW staff and all the other families of the participants went to church and after church; we all went to eat dinner in the Biltmore Hotel. After we ate dinner, the Evelyn told us about the organization for Saturday and I gave my speech. On Saturday, Evelyn, Evelyn’s daughter, Vikki, another American and forty kids counting me left to Minnesota and we arrived to the airport of Minnesota; I was the first one to meet my host family in person.