Sometimes, even if someone has only your best interest at heart, they don't have a great way of showing it.
Take for example, the brother of my exchange partner. He's really nice, and my age because the two are twins. He's like a brother to me... meaning that he also has the small habits that drive siblings crazy. One in particular.
To me, it feels like he thinks I can't do anything. Even if I'm doing something simple like making toast, he tells me how I should be doing it. At first this drove me insane. I thought to myself "Ok yeah I don't speak french that well, but some things are universal through all languages. I mean, I know how to sweep." I would sit there and stew for hours because he kept pointing out my faults. It didn't even occur to me to look at it from his perspective until we sat down and had a talk. Well sortof a talk. First I yelled at him a little, and he laughed at me a lot. Whether thats because I never yell, or because I looked awfully disheveled, I have no clue.
After that discussion, he explained his point of view. He didn't think I was incappable of doing things myself. The exact opposite, infact. He felt like I would need help with simple tasks because of the stress learning a new language so quickly put on me. He knew how tired I was, so he was always trying to give me advice to do thinks more quickly, giving myself more time to unwind.
I realize now that just because you take things one way does not mean they were meant that way. So this is my advice to you. Before breaking down and getting angry (Because this does you no good WHATSOEVER) try to look at something from the others perspective. And if you still can't understand, ask them to explain it. It's a lot easier to learn when you aren't constantly frustrated
XOXO
Meghan
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