Exchange student experiences first Christmas away from home
Exactly 4,099 miles away from Southmoreland High School sits the city of Norrköping in Sweden, and somewhere on some street sits a red wooden house with a family without their daughter. A school is absent a student, a bedroom is desolate of any presence of a person, and a mother, father, and brother all stand looking at pictures of their loved ones smiling with tears in their eyes.
It’s almost been four months since Jennifer Wåhlin left her friends and family behind for the United States for new scenery as an exchange student. As of December, there were only a few more weeks left before the most celebrated holiday in the world would arrive, Christmas, along with it’s companion, New Year’s Eve, and this would be the first time she’s been away from home for the holidays.
It was Aug. 10 when Jennifer arrived in the United States and the August air was tinged with a sense of newfound freedom.
“It was…exhilarating to see, hear, and smell new things. The air here is different from my country; it almost feels like an alien planet,” said Jennifer Wåhlin.
Her experience was soon a novelty feeling as the urge to shout to her mom to look at the things that sparked her interest rose up within her, like her family was there with her to share her experience.
But they weren’t.
Now, four months later, she walks the halls of her new school with a knot in her stomach knowing that the holidays were upon her, and as she stood in the soil of a different country so do her parents; each aching to see one another face to face and to share a hug or two.
“I miss my family so much,” Jennifer Wåhlin said “Every Christmas we have been together, and now that we are apart I feel lost. I look around at all these kids smiling with their families and talking about Christmas, and I resent the fact that I can’t talk like that because my family is not with me. It’s a feeling that I would not wish upon anyone.”
Jennifer Wåhlin is not the only one to feel the heartbreak.
“I cannot say that I am used to her being gone, but I accept the fact that there will only be three at the table for dinner. There are things all over the house that remind me of her,” said Mrs. Ann Sofie Wåhlin, Jennifer’s mother. “In the laundry room there are still some clothes left from before she left and some of her perfumes still reside on her shelves. Whenever I do go into her room, I can almost picture her. Almost.”
The little girl who once ran around in the halls of her home and jumped onto her father’s lap each Christmas to open presents was far away; too far for a father’s liking, she said.
“The part that is hardest is the distance. I cannot connect with her on a physical level but it’s not all bad, with the help of social media and Skype we can communicate as we please,” Mr. Ronny Wåhlin said. “It may not be the same as before but, you can tell a lot from a person’s posture and their eyes.”
“But there are times where it is hard like when her favorite program comes on the television or when some of the music she loves so much happens to play.” said Mr. Ronny Wåhlin, “Our dog, though, hasn’t adjusted to this; after Jennifer left, Nova laid in her bed for a few days and moped around the house. There was almost a silent understanding that everyone in the household missed Jennifer, but we did not talk about it.”
It is tough love that ultimately keeps the parents at bay and Jennifer smiling.
“I want to be near her in those moments when she is having a hard time, but at the same time I know that it is the setbacks and difficult situations that strengthens her,” said Mrs. Ann Sofie Wåhlin. “I miss her every day, but I know that she will come back to us soon and we can be together again. I want her to make the most of her experience in America. It’s just hard; I miss my baby so much.”
Homesick. It is a word we all know well, maybe a trip here or there with a friend for a couple of weeks in the mountains or city. But to be away from everything you know and love for 10 months is a new level of homesick. Ten months in a different country, school, friends, family, language, and a brand new world.
“I miss them so much. I miss everything about my home, city, and country,” Jennifer Wåhlin said. “It really is all so surreal. I want to make my experience here in Scottdale a memorable one, and I plan on doing just that. But sometimes the little things will bring a tear to my eye or make me miss them.”
Sarah Garvin
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Excellent article! This was truly eye-opening and very detailed. I commend Jen for taking on this difficult but amazing opportunity, and now I understand her so much more.
I enjoyed this article. I esp. liked that she got 1st person comments from Jennifer’s parents. Good job, Sarah.