1 Week!

2007-07-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

Here I am. This year has gone so fast, its incredible. One week from this minute, I will be on Northwest Airlines, flight 52 from Detroit to Frankfurt. I know that it has hit me, the realization that I am leaving. Its been hitting me for about a week for two now. I can tell because, along with the feeling of excitment, I now am starting to feel nervous haha. But I suppose that is normal. Also, I have a good reason to be nervous. I found out that my school starts on August 6th!! I leave August 2nd, and I get there on the 3rd. BUT my Rotary Guarantee form states that I start the 9th, so perhaps they meant that, but probably not haha. But oh well, I will survive. I started packing a day or two ago. I have already stuffed a suitcase full of clothes, but I still have another, and I still have to get gifts, and clothes and other supplies I will need. So I will recap about my year I am about to spend abroad:
Where - Paderborn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland (About 144,000 people)
But, my first host family lives in a village called Schwaney, just a few miles outside
of Paderborn. But a lot of what I do will be in Paderborn.
My Rotary district in Germany is 1900.

When - I leave August 2nd, and I will probably return sometime in late July, the latest I
can return is August 1st, and we are allowed to choose the range of dates for our
return. The way Im thinking is, If I return rather early, then I will hate myself,
because I will know that I could have still been in Europe. haha

Why - I want to learn another language, make new friends, experience another culture
firsthand, hopefully do some traveling, stuff like that.

So yeah, there isnt too much to add to that haha. But its so incredible that I will be in Europe just a week from now!! haha I cant wait to get pictures!! :D

Germany

2007-07-03T22:20:00.001-07:00

As it says in my profile, I will be spending my 07/08 school year in Germany. Everything is set up. Here is what I know:
My area administrator emailed me back in early April, and told me specifics. All I had to do was go to the Germanys Rotary Youth Exchange Page, and message them. I told them who I was, and that I wanted to know my specifics. They emailed me back a few days later and told me that I would be in Paderborn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. That is Rotary District 1900. I was just a little bit excited haha. He said that I would know my first hostfamily soon after. The advantage to knowing which state I am going to tells me when I will leave. School dates in Germany depend on which state you are in, therefore, the departure date also depends on that. I had the earilest departure period for all of Germany, and Im sure most of europe: July 29-August 2. That made me even more excited!!!
My host sister emailed me just a few days after that. She said that I also have 2 host brothers, and the youngest will be doing exchange in Mexico a few weeks after I arrive. I knew all of the details about my family, and they sounded very nice. They said I could call them whenever I wanted. So I told them that I would on a certain day, and I tried, but it didnt work!! There would either be a busy tone, or it would tell me I couldnt make that call. I tried a million different ways but it didnt work. My host sister as also mad about it, but she also didnt understand what could have been happening with it. Then a last week I signed onto MSN, and she was on there, and we started talking, first in english, then german. I was excited. She asked if she could call then, and she did. When they called, it was the younger hostbrother, and I thought he was my friend from Germany, who was supposed to be calling at the same time hahaha, it was funny and confusing. Then I talked to him for a while, in German, and some English. Then I talked to my host sister, all in English, for a longer time. They were both very very nice. I really look forward to meeting them.
I have had all of my travel arrangements in writing for a while. This is rare for exchange students, but it is because I am not required to get an actual German Visa. They get things called Residency Applications. Basically its the same thing, but I dont have to apply for it until I am there. I leave August 2nd and, in all, it will take me 18 hours to get to Paderborn, Germany.
Fortunatly for me, I have no passport stories hahaha. I had to get mine last year, for a school trip to Spain, that I went on almost a year ago exactly.
But back to Germany....I am VERY excited!! But now, I have to to the hardest part....Wait.
Just 28 more days!!! Nur noch 28 Tage!!!