Tick-Tock Time is Ticking
Agustinus Allan Porajow (INA YES to USA YP 19–20)
Hi everyone! Hola! My name is Agustinus Allan Porajow, or you can call me Allan just like everybody else, because it’s easier to pronounce. I’m currently staying in a small city in Iowa, United States.
It has been three months since the first time I stepped my foot in this land of the free, and the home of the brave, United States of America. What a unique place to live, so many opportunities, and anything can happen here. So far I’ve experienced 2 seasons, Summer, and Fall. Also, I’ve seen and touched snow for the first time in my life, and it was cold but fun! Snow always come early here in Iowa, but it’s not Winter yet. But I can assure you, Winter is coming, and it will be super extreme cold!
Anyway, my life here has been really fun, and constructive for myself. And the sad part, time is getting shorter everyday. I really enjoyed being here, but sadly I have to go in 6 months. Yes, I know what you think, 6 months is still far away, and I’m just being super-dramatic about this, but NO! Time flies really fast, and exchange year in high school is a once in a lifetime chance, so time is really valuable.
AUGUST 2019
First month was awesome! I went to the Iowa State Fair (August 8–18, 2019), one of the biggest fairs in the United States, alongside my host family and also my Double Placement brother from Azerbaijan. It was on Summer, and it felt just like home, really hot, and humid, but it was awesome. People crowding in the center of the fair, looking for food, like classic hotdogs, corn dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, or cold drinks like pop, lemonade, tea, milkshake, and many more. Dozens of choice to eat, drink, and enjoy.
Beside the State Fair, I also went to one of the amusement parks in Iowa, Adventureland. Gigantic, huge, noisy, and also fun! I’ve never been to an amusement park before because I’m really afraid of rollercoasters and heights. But at that moment, I dared myself to try at least one of the attractions in the park. I stepped my foot into the attraction, and when it started, AHHHHHHHH! I screamed really loud, it was horrifying, really scary. When it ended, I was really happy. But no, I wanted to try more, the adrenaline was pumping through my veins. I tried several more until the day ended.
September-October 2019
My school started at the end of August, but there wasn’t any important things to do at the beginning of the year, so most of the activities were starting in September. At first, it was really overwhelming for me, I was scared to talk or socialize, there’s only one person who knew me before, because we talked through Instagram, a month before I came to the US. But yes, I was really nervous to meet people. Then I decided to join Cross Country team, it’s a long-distance running sport, they usually run 3 miles or 5 km every competition. I’ve never been involved in this kind of sport before, I ran but only on weekends, and I’m not very good at running. Nevertheless, I still tried. We practiced everyday after school, different kind of practice everyday, and yes, it was really tiring. Everytime I went home, my feet hurt, and I always have a thought to give up. But no, I didn’t do that. I practiced, pushed myself hard! Run, run, and run! I ran 5–6 times this season from September-October.
I ran in heat, warm and even cold temperatures, and I never believed that I can do it until now. Cross country changed my life, and also helped me to make more friends. Cross country is not just about running, it’s about teamwork, and supporting your friends. Your team is your support system. I love it so much, and I will miss the season.
October-November 2019
After the Cross Country season ended, it’s time for the School Play. Begin with a casting, and I got my own role, my self. Yes, I played as Allan in the play, really fun. We practiced every night after school for 2–3 hours. It was really tiring too, but I really enjoyed it. Making friends is so much easier now, because everyone from different clubs gather together in the School Play. We did so much fun every practice, but still did our job seriously. And after 1 month practicing, we performed at November 15–17, 3 times on the weekend. Learned so many new things, and I had the chance to attend Simpson Theatre Festival, which is one of the theatre festivals in Central Iowa arranged by Simpson College. I attended 2 workshops there, which is Stage Combat, where we learn how to perform fake combat, and Musical Theatre, where we sing and dance. So much fun!
November-December 2019
School play has ended, the next season is Speech! It’s not just ‘speech’ in general, but there are more categories for Speech. There’s improvisation, mime, poetry/prose, acting, musical theatre, choral reading, readers theatre, etc. Not just that, Speech divided into Large groups and Individuals, so you can do it with your friends and yourself. It hasn’t been started yet, BUT I’ll probably join Improvisation and also Mime. I don’t know yet how is it work, but I’m open for challenges. Also I really believe that it will be really fun!
Hopefully for 6 months to come, there will be more awesome stuff for me. More experiences, good or bad. So far so good, I’m really enjoying my exchange year, I really wish I could spend the rest of my time here wisely. Tick-tock-tick-tock, time is ticking.
Sincerely,
Agustinus A. Porajow