Strange little thing called culture shock
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- Published on Saturday, April 1, 2017
By Agi Nagy
Exchange student
My name is Agi Nagy, an exchange student from Slovakia. I came here with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, which is one of the most popular student exchange programs in the world. They help students to travel all around the world, for example to Thailand, Japan, Colombia, Brazil and to many other exotic countries.
I’ve been a Rotary exchange student for more than seven months now. My home/sponsor country is Slovakia, but since it’s such a small country (16 times smaller than Manitoba), our district is together with the Czech Republic.
I’ve always wanted to explore the world, meet new people, learn new languages, so when I heard about this program, I knew I had to take the chance. It wasn’t an easy choice, I knew I’d have to leave my life I’ve been trying to build for almost 17 years, just to build another one an ocean away. Fortunately, my family and my friends supported me and wanted me to live my dreams.
Being an exchange student is one of the hardest and best things you can do. You have to deal with being homesick, lonely and having culture shock, but in my opinion, these are all worth the amazing experience.
I came here in August and since then I’ve been all around Canada. I’ve visited Vancouver and Victoria, I’ve seen polar bears and whales in Churchill, “enjoyed” the 16 hour-long train ride back to Thompson and I’ve seen one of the 7 wonders of the world, the Niagara Falls. Rotary has also taken me and the other 20 exchange students in Manitoba/Saskatchewan/Northwestern Ontario to different towns/conferences all around the district. They have also taken us to Melfort, Saskatchewan for a Winter Sports weekend, and only three of us got into the hospital because they thought they knew how to ski. One of the many good parts of exchange program is that you meet many new people, from many different backgrounds, and even though most of the exchange students are from Europe, we are still really different.
During my exchange year, I’ve had to deal with a strange little thing called culture shock. It’s an weird feeling, you are amazed by how different Canadians really are and you are fascinated by all the small things they do differently.
For example, they are the nicest people I’ve ever met and it’s really not just a stereotype. Also, poutine is the best food ever created by man. Then, there are the things that are not the same at all.
For example the winter in Canada, the biggest “shock” I’ve had to deal with so far. Usually at home, it gets at around -5/-10 C and we stay home, watch TV while hiding under the blankets and wait until the “cold” goes away. So it was a huge shock for me, when my friends were walking around town in hoodies in -25 with a wind chill. To be honest, I started wearing my winter jacket when it wasn’t even below 0. Apart from the cold, I love the calmness of Neepawa and I love how easy going and open everyone is here. I love the fact that people open their doors for strangers at Halloween, so that they could give them candies, and not vice versa.
Rotary is an amazing organization for exchange, not only because you get to spend an awesome year abroad with their help, but because Rotarians are everywhere and they are always happy to help out. If you want to go on a road trip in Europe, there’s an exchange student in almost every single town who’s happy to share their house with you for a few days, or join you in your journey. Rotary opens up a whole new world for teenagers and I’ll be grateful to them forever.
