Hey guys super long time, no see! If you hadn't seen my explanation for this before I will let you know now. I have been currently using a Facebook page called Meghan's Rotary Youth Exchange to update people on Bolivia since I find it a lot easier to update on a regular basis. So for any of you who may not have Facebook or have not heard of the page, here are a bunch of posts labeled by date, going from oldest - newest. Also if you have Facebook and would like to keep updated a lot more regularly, go check out the page at http://www.facebook.com/MeghansBolivianExchange
There are also loads of photos on the page @ www.facebook.com/MeghanRuthAnnaPhotography
November 13, 2013
Hi, and welcome to my new page for exchange! I will post as often as I can, and especially after my upcoming Bolivia trip in December Today I will be updating the page with past pictures, so stay tuned!
November 18, 2013
Figured I would give everybody a quick update today! So the past couple of days have been pretty awesome. Starting Friday, because before that, all I had been doing this summer was laying in bed and then going to Zumba. Friday, early afternoon, I went market shopping with Emily, another exchanger from Alaska, and we went looking for cheap clothes for the Bolivia trip, and just in general, and after not being able to find many clothes, we realized the market was sooo much bigger than it appears and stumbled into a plethora of clothing "stores." Because of the size, we got lost for a short period of time, and that was interesting. But Emily found our way and we walked to the plaza to meet up with Kate & Michael, two other exchangers, to eat and just relax for the day. The next day, I invited Kate to the country side for a birthday party of a family friend. There was music, decent food, and Kate and I talked a lot. Probably my least favorite thing about some of the food, is the way it is served. I could not eat the meat at this party after seeing the completely dead pig laying on a table, head just cut off and everything. But other than my disgust at that, it was good. After the party, Kate came to my house to spend the night, and being typical teenagers, which doesnt change in Bolivia, all we did was talk, use the computer, and watch TV, until it got abruptly changed to Spanish, without subtitles...., and even though I could understand, I was too tired to do so. Then Sunday, we woke up at about 10:30am, and then around 12, we went to my tennis club to eat a less than satisfactory lunch and then enjoyed the pool and sun until about 4. After that we went back to the house and enjoyed a movie until a party that was supposed to begin at 6, began at about 8. This party was to celebrate my host dad's 50th?? (Questions mark included because instead of numbers there were ?? on the cake..). We talked with some family friends for a long time and at about 12 am or 1 am we were given permission for Kate to sleep over again. We talked to about 2 and then crashed. Cake and milk for breakfast, and luckily, we are now back to the nothing of summer.... Yay....
December 1, 2013
So, I will most likely not be on Facebook for the next two weeks, as I will be on my AMAZING trip around Bolivia, but be ready for tons of cool photos, statuses, and blog posts when I return! Good night, and see you tomorrow, and then in two weeks.
December 17, 2013
Hey guys, so I am almost at my 4 month mark in Bolivia! A lot has happened in the past month. On November 24, I experienced a terrifying accident as I was in a bridge collapse and got slightly injured, but everyone has improved, and I am perfectly fine. Shortly after, I got sick, but quickly got over that, and celebrated my 18th birthday here in Bolivia on November 26th. My birthday was well spent with family, close friends, and all of the exchangers. Shortly after my birthday, another exchanger, Kristi, spent a couple days with my family, and we went to Buena Vista for a fun weekend. That Monday, I left for my RYE trip around Bolivia which lasted until December 14th and was AMAZING. I will post photos when I have time, but as of right now I have them all up on my personal page. And last of all, tomorrow is my last day in my current house, and tomorrow evening I will be changing host families. I will put a more detailed post about the trip and other stuff on my other blog soon. Love you guys! Check back soon!
December 18, 2013
In the new house! I now have host siblings, and even though I sadly had to say goodbye to Branco & Terry, I now have a new dog, Luna, and she is beautiful and cuddly! I just received the wifi password, so all is well Just kidding, but now I need to make sure I still know how to work the shower
December 21, 2013
So, I have officially been in Bolivia for 4 months. Its one of the strangest feelings ever, being away in a different country. Calling your exchange house your home, having completely different friends and family, and wondering what will be the same when you return to your host country. And yet as Christmas comes around the corner, I realize I still have 6 months left. Sometimes it feels like I have a century to go, and others it feels like exchange is going so fast. I cant decide how I like or dislike either feeling, but what I can say is that Im excited to spend the time I have left here, especially Christmas and New Years, with my new family and all my amazing friends, but even then Im excited to spend Christmas 2014 with my family in the US, and am excited but also nervous to say that I will finally be done with High School next year. Also for me, I feel like I'm an adult, and legally I am, but Im hoping after this year, I will be able to firmly say "I am an adult and because of exchange I matured more than I ever could have otherwise."
January 1, 2014
SO I am off to Brazil until about the 20th starting tomorrow AM. SO I will most likely not be posting for a little while. I hope you all had a great new year and are starting your years off great by following through with your resolutions. Be sure to check out Meghan Ruth Anna Photography to see some of my photography and some photos from exchange. See you later!
Ah, mañana estoy yendo a Brasil hasta el 20 de enero empezando mañana por la mañana. Entonces probablamente no voy a escribir por un rato. Espero que todos tuvieron un buen noche ayer y que empiezan sus años muy bien siguiendo a través de sus resoluciones. Asegúrese de revisar Meghan Ruth Anna Photography para ver algunas de mis fotografías y algunas fotos del intercambio. Nos vemos!
January 30, 2014
So I officially have less than four months of my exchange and so much has changed it is ridiculous. Before I went on exchange I was starting to get bored of my normal life and my town and the US, and now Im living in a 1.5 million population city, more or less, over 4000 miles away. After having never traveled off the east coast of the US, I have now been in 3 different countries (Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil), and I hope to travel to even more. I can almost speak Spanish fluently and am working on learning some Portuguese and possibly French in the future. I have friends from all over the world, and I have seen some of the greatest wonders out there, including Salar de Uyuni and Foz do Iguacu. Instead of having lived in the same town and school my entire life, I have gone to two different high schools with a grand variety of people and in just a few days I will be starting a new school. I have now lived with two different families other than my own for longer than a month (approx 4 months with my first), and can proudly say that my second family is starting to feel like a real family even though like every family there are some things to work out and we do have our off days. After a short period of nothing, what I like to call summer vacations, I am finally spending more time with friends again and getting prepared for what I like to call the third chapter of my exchange, and hopefully the most exciting time. The time when more and more people begin to accept me as a part of this culture and the time when I feel that I really belong and that Im not still some weird outsider who has no clue what they are doing here. I had great great downpoints in my exchange where I felt horrible and had no clue what I was doing here, but right now Im just really looking forward to meeting my new classmates, spending more time with friends, and finishing the rest of my exchange. A little over 100 days left and I am going to make the most of it! (MAKE SURE YOU GUYS SEND IN MORE QUESTIONS AND I WILL TRY TO POST AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK, AND I HAVE ABOUT 16 WEEKS LEFT SO THAT = ABOUT 32 POSTS.)
February 11, 2014
Hey guys! New update!
I have been in my new school for a week now, and however great, I am finding it slightly difficult to adjust. I'm having to try a lot harder to make friends now that it is so much further into the year and they already knew some exchange students before me. When I went to my first school literally everyone would talk to me, sometimes even if I didnt want them to, and I guess now people just arent as excited and only a few people talk to me and normally not for very long and only about certain things. Other than the social boundaries though, it is pretty good. I still have to go in the afternoon sometimes until 5:30 but right now I am trying to plan volunteering around that time instead so I will be helping and doing something I enjoy rather than doing courses I have already completed. The one thing I like about school though is I have a lot more opportunity to see friends and set up plans than during the summer. The only way I could really set things up during the summer was through the internet and it could be quite difficult to connect with the people I wanted to. Im really excited though with this new year and new start. There are new opportunities popping up everywhere. I am currently applying to volunteer at the Oncology Hospital for children and am hoping to get accepted as it shall be great opportunity before I start nursing at college in the fall. Im also hoping to teach English to the younger students in my school during regular classes, and I will probably be going on a trip to Machu Pichu. Im really excited and even though I still really really miss home, Im starting to realize how little time I have left even though it still seems kind of long. I have 103 days or 14 weeks left of my exchange. Wow! I hope you enjoyed this post! Please check back soon and let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for checking in and make sure to check both links if you get a chance.
Also feel free to email Meghan.95.Dushko@gmail.com if you have any questions.
