You know you've been an exchange student if

- before waiting to see if anyone understood what you meant, you start acting it out (still do!)
- you spend a lot of time smiling, nodding, and pretending you understand what's going on (so true)
- you classify "doing your homework" as translating half of it. And that alone took three hours
- you've called every person who says "hi" to you your friend... because you don't really have any yet
- you'll read anything in your native language just to have something to read...even packaging labels
- you sometimes walk around the school during breaks to act like you're doing something, because you don't see anyone you recognize and don't want to stand there awkwardly (triste mais vrai)
- you're better than your teacher in your foreign language class (foreignS language classeS)
- you are a master of pantomime and circumlocution and still can't have a conversation (still am!)
- you've gotten annoyed with said people that automatically answer you in English when you try to speak to them in their language
- after you come back everybody tells you that you have a weird accent (oh oui!)
- your dreams are bilingual (trilingue en fait)
- sometimes it takes you about 5 minutes to remember a word in your native language that you were going to use
- you automatically use words in a foreign language that you cant even translate but they just seem to fit the context
- you watch television shows and movies that you know in your native language, just to understand it for once (vive TV5)
- you've said something like 'oh yes' or 'not thanks' only to have everyone laugh because your answer made no sense compared to the question
- you do something wrong and people look at you weird, your excuse is "That's how we do it in my country" even if it isn't
- you carry a dictionary and a camera in your bag
- you get so used to broken English you finish people's sentences even though no one else can understand them
- you get into arguments with the foreign language teacher over how to pronounce something
- you can get into the strictest clubs with your ID from you host country, because most people get confused and just let you get in (so damn true!)
- peoples stares don't bother you anymore