photos are of a Swedish bakery I went to in New York to prepare ;)
Getting to be a Rotary Youth Exchange Student is undoubtably a once in a lifetime opportunity that I feel incredibly lucky to have. I can't believe how fast it has come, as I am leaving in just a few weeks! While I'm currently preparing to spend my year abroad, goals, hopes, and dreams are at the very forefront of my mind.
First of all, I am so excited to meet an endless amount of new people while in Stockholm --and I hope to form some great relationships with them. I have always believed in the power that human connection holds, and I am over the moon to be able to experience that social aspect in a foreign country. I hope to make an international best friend as well, as being able to have that immense connection that comes with friendship is always incredible, especially when you have the opportunity to do it somewhere new. I am so excited to meet my host family and hopefully have an amazing relationship with them too! I have been communicating with them over email, and it just makes me even more excited to go and meet new people as they seem so insanely cool! While I will need to put myself out there more than I ever have to make these connections, it is something that I am determined to not shy away from as it will only better my exchange experience and myself.
I also hope to become fluent in the beautiful Swedish language while living in Stockholm. It has always been a huge goal of mine to be able to speak multiple languages, as once again it is another way to connect with people all around the world while still improving my own knowledge and mental capacity. I am a little worried just because everyone in Stockholm can speak English --probably better than me too-- and sometimes will only speak that to you if they can tell you are struggling with Swedish. However, I want to speak Swedish! I hope that my determination to learn the language will help me become fluent, and I hope that I can throw all nerves about the initial language barrier out the window to help me speak it even more.
I could go on and on about what I dream about for my exchange year, but I just really hope that throughout this whole experience I can learn, grow, and have fun! I look forward to all of the ups and downs of my year abroad --even the cycle of emotions haha-- and I can't wait to get started!
Bekah Mortensen
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