In May I had my orientation with the other teens traveling from the Carolinas in 2010. There were a handful of kids just traveling for the summer: one boy that was headed to Finland, and a several people that were going to Japan; Then there were three of us that were going for a year: a boy going to Russia, a girl who is going to Germany, and myself. Despite our differences in country selection and length of exchange, we shared the same types of worries and excitement: we were concerned about the language barriers, impatient to find out about our host families, and excited to get to our countries.
During the orientation we talked a lot about what our exchanges would be like and how to deal with different conflicts. It was pretty amazing for me because it helped me actually begin to realize this was all real and that I was actually going.
Meeting Lauren was pretty great too. She's the girl that will be just over the border in Germany. It was really comforting to know that there will be another Carolina girl dealing with the same conflicts and language barriers as me. We're friends on Facebook now, so I think it is very probable that we will communicate with each other through our exchange years.
Another cool thing that happened recently was getting Rosetta Stone. YFU offered it to year students for only $75, so I've been working my way through the lessons. Its amazing how much it works. I would strongly suggest it to anyone traveling to a foreign country.
Finally, a few weeks ago I received my host family assignment. I will be living in the small town of Lichtenberg, five miles outside the city of Linz. I have two younger host sisters ages 13 and 10 along with a host mom and dad. I will attend school in the city with my sister and ride a bus there in the mornings. I am very excited about them! I think they are a good fit for me and I can't wait to meet them.
This has already been such a great opportunity and I can't wait to see what else it holds for me.
