Wayyyy back in the winter months... when I was waiting and waiting and waiting for any scrap of information about foreign exchange- I would always read the blogs of American outbounds and it would make me feel so much better and get me excited about the future! Most of all, I liked to read about all the stuff going on BEFORE the exchange because it was the stage I was going through at that very moment! Now don't get me wrong, exchanges themselves were very interesting to read about, but I always liked reading about when everyone found out their host family or found out their city/country! Something I really wanted to know about was WHAT goes on in the few weeks prior to the exchange, because most of the blogs I read would have a post in July about getting plane tickets, then the next post would be at the end of August and they would be like, "I'M IN MEXICO!"So this is random, but I've always wondered
...WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT MONTH???
Now I know...
So I have all of my information. I'm not waiting for a VISA, plane ticket, departure date, host family, host rotary club, or guarantee forms. I am now waiting for my departure date itself, August 20th, which is 13 DAYS AWAY!!! Let me tell you... It is so strange to go from looking forward to receiving information for nearly 9 months... then suddenly have all of it and now you look forward to actually leaving the country!
So I talked to my host parent about picking me up from the airport and everything! They're all very excited and want to bring the dog! We also talked about taking care of all the legal issues in the first few days I'll be there... my host mom is so on top of everything which it awesome. As of right now... I'm kind of wondering where the summer went. It went by SO FAST... yet at the same time it was so slllooowww. I remember when I had like 80 days left. Anyways..I'm slowly starting to pack (mostly winter things)... and I finally went downtown a few days ago and bought everyone in my host family a gift :)
There isn't a day that goes by I don't think about exchange. I can't believe at the end of the month I will be starting school in Germany. I will have a new home. new room. new dog. new friends. new family.... thats pretty exciting.
A WORD OF ADVICE TO EXCHANGE STUDENTS: BEWARE of CALENDAR STARING- calendar staring gets very addictive. Once you turn you calendar to the month of your departure... you will stare at it... for a very long time- periodically throught the day. and night.
...WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT MONTH???
Now I know...
So I have all of my information. I'm not waiting for a VISA, plane ticket, departure date, host family, host rotary club, or guarantee forms. I am now waiting for my departure date itself, August 20th, which is 13 DAYS AWAY!!! Let me tell you... It is so strange to go from looking forward to receiving information for nearly 9 months... then suddenly have all of it and now you look forward to actually leaving the country!
So I talked to my host parent about picking me up from the airport and everything! They're all very excited and want to bring the dog! We also talked about taking care of all the legal issues in the first few days I'll be there... my host mom is so on top of everything which it awesome. As of right now... I'm kind of wondering where the summer went. It went by SO FAST... yet at the same time it was so slllooowww. I remember when I had like 80 days left. Anyways..I'm slowly starting to pack (mostly winter things)... and I finally went downtown a few days ago and bought everyone in my host family a gift :)
There isn't a day that goes by I don't think about exchange. I can't believe at the end of the month I will be starting school in Germany. I will have a new home. new room. new dog. new friends. new family.... thats pretty exciting.
A WORD OF ADVICE TO EXCHANGE STUDENTS: BEWARE of CALENDAR STARING- calendar staring gets very addictive. Once you turn you calendar to the month of your departure... you will stare at it... for a very long time- periodically throught the day. and night.
