Blog: friends

TrĆØs Loin de ma Maison (Very far from Home)

This post was written in en

Image without description

Intro

These last 5 months have been very exciting. I am very happy that I decided to study abroad in France! During the last few months I did not really think of my life or home back in the United States. I feel that I did that intentionally so I would not get so homesick. Iā€™ll admit, I do not call home that often. I probably worry my mom at all hours since I go at least a week or two without calling her. So far life has gone one. The feeling has been starting to lurk and now it is in full effect! Avoidance

All the methods I have used to not get homesick is finally catching up with me. Lately, all I can think about is my family, friends, all the big and little things we do not realize that make such an impact on our lives. Iā€™ve missed some important dates and I am still going to miss important dates coming up this weekend. Missing Loved ones

Iā€™ve been really missing my family lately. The feeling of your family not being around is starting to get to me. It sucks not having your mom, dad or sisters be there when you are feeling down but what can we do? I know the independence will help me down the road. On the contrary, I know family members, when you are around them 24/7, they tend to get annoying. Honestly, I miss the annoying feeling, seems weird. I would do anything to have even just a little bit of that annoyance. Family is important to me. Sure they will be waiting for me at the airport. The emptiness is really tackling along. sisterā€™s graduation

One of the worst things that is really getting me down at the moment: missing important dates. This weekend is a busy one, my youngest sister, Michelle is graduation high school. I feel bummed out that I cannot be present for graduation. Hopefully she can forgive me! I miss her the most! Just know Michelle, Iā€™ll be thinking of you on your big day and I got you a graduation gift that you will like!! Hopefully there is a live feed or something for me to watch! food

Traveling my whole life, I have never been afraid to try new foods. This is no exception living in Europe! Trying the new foods make me happy but at the same time because I know it will be a while until I get to enjoy them again. When I think of food, all I can think about how much I really miss my momā€™s food! It is not your typical American cuisine, but Mexican cuisine. I miss her delicious home cooked Mexican meals. One of her favorite dishes I truly miss, is mole tamales. I canā€™t wait to be able to stuff my mouth again! So much for losing weight šŸ˜› I am fortunate to have a mom that can not only cook Mexican food but American as well! I really miss eating at small restaurants as well as the big chain restaurants! I am honestly excited to eat at Panera once I make an entrance to Nebraska! familiar sights and feelings

Strasbourg has become my home away from home! I consider myself a resident of this town that took me in to become better at my French. I am happy I picked here instead Paris (dirty and too big of a city) to study. I would say I know this town pretty well. Even though I found my home away from home, nothing ever replaces your actual home that you grew up in! I know my bed is calling me to come back as much as I want to be back in it to sleep on! I miss the squeak spots in the floor. I miss waking up on the weekends and my mom would have food ready to eat, especially after a long night. Take that however you want! I miss Hastings, miss UNK and going shopping in Grand Island. I just miss all familiar sights that I was accustomed all my life! Conclusion

Homesickness has really hit me, I knew it was coming but I didnā€™t expect to avoid it for this long! Iā€™m okay with that! Never have I been so far away from home without family. Living on your own is life, it is now or never to experience it! I know when I get back to the United States, reverse shock culture will hit me (thatā€™s another blog post down the road) flat in the face the minute I get back in Nebraska! I do not regret being away from home, traveling in Europe has been one of the best decisions of my life!


Life is great!

This post was written in en

Hello friends and family!! I have not written in a while. It has been a busy month and few weeks. School has been great!

Making new friends has been one of the best experiences so far. I have made even more friends as the days have gone by. I have got to know my suite-mates so much since we landed foot on campus. We do a lot of stuff together. Example such as eating breakfast or going out for a midnight snack. Who doesn't like a late McDonald's run. (Especially me since I get a discount for working there :) )Ā  I have been working out a lot with my suite mate. We go almost everyday. It helps I know I can rely on them for anything, as well as they can rely on me for anything. We've experience ups and down.Ā  If I didn't get the opportunity to live in the dorms, who knows if I would of ever met these great people. I'm glad that I made the right choice

There have been so many events on campus it is hard to remember all of them. One of my favorite was the campus scavenger hunt. The purpose of the scavenger hunt was to familiarize and get to the know campus in a competitive way. Another of my favorite events was riding on a float for my fraternity ATĪ©. The the theme of homecoming / our float was Blue and Gold Rock N Roll. The float had Zed Zeppelin but for his head it had Louie the Loper. It was aĀ  great way to bond with my fraternity brothers.

Then of course, those who know me how involved I was in high school. Well this is no different here being in college. I am a CAN officer for my building. I am involved with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, specifically in Hispanic Student Association (HSA)Ā  and Young Arab Leaders Association (YALA.) One of the most things I enjoy doing is volunteering for the Nebraska Aids Project here in Kearney. I enjoy helping people who are struggling with HIV/AIDS. Spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS has always been something I have enjoyed since high school

So I am forward to this weekend. I am having a reunion with the World Leaders Camp that I attended this summer. I'm excited to see how everyone is doing. Want to know more about my experience?? click here! (Will open new tab or window).

That is all for now. I'll post more often as I can.

Dont forget to sign up for the mailing list or become a user to get all the updates on my blog

 

Take Care!

Pablo Morales"


Saying Goodbye

This post was written in en

So this week the last foreign exchange student left Hastings to go back to his home country. It was sad seeing him leave.

It is fun meeting new people. Not everyday does a person get to meet a lot of foreign people especially here in Small Town, Nebraska. This especially students around our own age. Hastings High had a total of 6 foreign exchange students from many differentĀ nationalities most of which came from Europe and one from South America. Coming here was a new complete experience for all of them.

 

It was fun meeting all the foreign exchange students this year. You guys really helped me become a more open minded person to become more indulged with diversity. I learned a lot about myself. Thanks for all the great experiences. This will be one of the fondest memories of high school that I will be able to look back on.

It was fun meeting all the foreign exchange students this year. I want to to apologize to the ones that I did not say goodbye :( .I wish I could of been there.

Ā To all of you guys of this year and years past. THANK YOU. I will see you guys in the future. Best of luck!