When I say “New Zealand,” sheep, rugby and “Lord of the Rings” are what probably come to mind, but for me, its home. A home I have left for six months to experience life as an American.  Being an exchange student in a country halfway around the world is exhilarating, more than a little nerve-wracking and not entirely what I expected.

I’m still receiving e-mails from friends back home asking if the cheerleaders only date the quarterback and if everyone sits at the tables in the cafeteria in the cliques from “Mean Girls.”  Though things seem to be the opposite here, I’ve discovered my short introduction to the American lifestyle to be better than in any clichéd movie.

At school back home, the student body consists of uniform-clad girls, our school assemblies are an hour long and “Glee club” only exists on the television show. “Candy” is “sweets” and “color” is “colour” and wherever you are in the country you are never more than a thirty minute drive from the beach.  There are no curfews, we drive on the left side of the road, but we usually either walk or take public transport everywhere.  Long story short, it’s a big change.

So far the weirdest (and best) experience has been NCS’s Homecoming Week.  Never could I imagine my entire school in New Zealand milling through the corridors in sweatpants on Pajama Day or in full-length velvet gowns and plastic daggers on Cliché Day.  I was excited to see the Homecoming game too.  The last school sports game people other than dedicated parents attended to back home, was when the boys’ school came to play my girls’ school in our national sport—netball—dressed in our school sport uniforms, complete with tank tops and pleated skirts.

If going overseas for a year or six months sounds like fun (and it totally is) then you should check out this website: http://www.ef.com.  If you want to improve a second language, meet new people or just have an adventure, then being an exchange student might be for you.  It certainly was for me.