A Girl Who Dreams

Why is it that every American feels the need to fit the mold of “The American Dream.” Everyone wants the house in the suburbs, the 2.5 children, and a partner. It's reality for many Americans, but there is those select few who fight to break the mold. They have this love for the world that many people do not have. Many of the see them walking down the streets of foreign cities with their whole life on their back. They are the ones who stop to get to know the locals and try new things.

They are backpackers.

Most people think its crazy to travel around the world with everything they own on their back and a general idea where they are going. But, they are what the real “American Dream” should be. Having the power to do what you want, say what you want, and explore all the possibilities life offers. The thirst of life they hold is astounding. Most stay in hostels as they travel, spending little money everyday, but they receive much more from countries than others do. They gain insight of the locals. A appreciation for the little-tucked away restaurants that only local people know.

A majority of them sell everything they own, quit their jobs, and leave their families to travel the world. They leave all the comforts of the society they knew, and embark on an adventure of a lifetime.

Yay! We have a rebound from the Czech Republic. This is Becca from culture shock. I just want to thank her from filling this out for everyone to read. Enjoy!


1. Single most memorable moment while on exchange?

It is incredibly difficult to pick the most memorable moment from my exchange. I had so many different experiences. When I think back to exchange, there are tens of memories that immediately come to mind. The ones I remember best are probably those involving orientations and other exchange students.

2. What is the three things an outbound can not live without on exchange?

1. An open mind
2. Confidence
3. A journal

3. In the country you were in, were people generally warm toward outsiders or cold?

I think people were kind of indifferent. There would always be a couple of people who were interested, but it took a lot of work to keep people interested, especially with the language barrier. A lot of Czechs are scared to speak English, which is a good thing from a language learning perspective, but it does make it harder to make friends. In general I would say that Czechs don’t look outside of their country very much, so having an exchange student isn’t always the most exciting thing. Czechs are very nice people though.
4. Do you think you have changed from exchanging? How?

Exchange has influenced me in almost every way imaginable. I don’t know what my life would have been like had I not gone. My whole life people have been telling me how mature I am, but I look back on my exchange and see how much I grew while I was there, and how much I have grown since then, and I sometimes wonder what people think mature is. I learned how to be independent, how to survive, how to deal with very stressful situations. My exchange was hard; I had a lot of host family problems, but I learned so much from having to deal with it, far more than the students who had “the perfect exchange”.
Having gone on exchange changed how I viewed my country, how I view and understand people, and most importantly, how I view myself. I learned what is important to me, who is important to me and learned about what I want out of life. By no means did I have my life figured out when I got back, but I think it jump started the process that has continued in college.

5. Do you think exchanging at a different age would have changed things for you? (such as college)

I was incredibly young when I went, sometimes too young to fully comprehend everything. But for me, it was the perfect age. I was at a point in school where if I had 4 years to complete high school, one year would have only been college courses. I have always been academically driven, but I think the year I spent abroad was way more important than an extra year of advanced coursework. I could have gone later in high school, my senior year or a gap year, but I found out about the program my sophomore year and wanted to go the year after. I’m not sure I would have been that much wiser, or more prepared had I gone when I was 16 versus when I was 15.
As far as going in college, I am currently abroad working, and the experience is incredibly different. When you go on a high school exchange, you are expected to act like a high schooler. This means going to high school, immersing yourself in the language, living with natives and most importantly, having guidance of some kind from a program. The goal of a high school exchange is very different than that of a college exchange. You are there to be immersed, as opposed to continuing in your classes and career path. It doesn’t matter what you take, or how you do in school, because the goal is to be there. In college, those things do matter, and this can have a detrimental effect on the immersion experience. Also, living with a host family as a teenager means that you are more integrated into the family because you are young, and thus need a family. Even if you live with a family on a college exchange, you are older and will likely thus have more freedoms.
The bottom line is that they are incredibly different experiences and you cannot compare them.
6. Are you more aware now of issues around the world?

I have always been aware of the world. Most of that comes from my parents. I think I am more cognisant that events in the world are affecting people I know though, which is different. Now when I hear about the riots in Bangkok, I wonder if the friends I made are being affected.

Kelley Armstrong has this way of capturing her reader and reeling them in for a long ride. Her series the, Women of the Otherworld keeps readers coming back for more. I have probably read four of her books from the series, but there are many many more. My favorite is probably Bitten.

Bitten tells the tale of Elena Michael's and her journey with her old wolf pack. All Elena ever wanted was a normal life, but life as a werewolf isn't exactly normal, is it? She encounters a old flame named Clayton. But, that is another story.


Overall the Women of the Otherworld is an enthralling series. I hope Kelley keeps up the hard work. Her new YA trilogy is going quite well.


<---Pictured here is the first of the trilogy. The final book was released a few months ago. I have yet to read the third on yet!

Life is a pure flame,
and we live by an invisible sun within us.
-Sir Thomas Brown

The last couple weeks I have seemed not to be able to find inspiration anywhere. ANYWHERE. Yesterday while I was browsing absolutewrite and listening to music I decided,

“Hey, if I write some of the lyrics out maybe I can get a idea for a plot.”

Then, BAM. Sal, Felicity, Damien and Alice were born. A plot of lies, deception, adoption, and some supernatural thrown into the mix began to form in my head. Maybe, I should start listening to Evanescence more often.



I’ll just have to see where this leads me as I write. Mostly likely I’ll get distracted with a shiny new idea and have to start that as well.

I must resist the temptation!

Au revoir for now chickadees!