It's Happening:
Okay, so. It's actually to the point where I am leaving in less than two weeks. Wow. It's happening. It's actually happening. August 7th at 9:05 AM, your favorite blogger will be boarding a plane to fly to... Atlanta. That's right, I'm not going to Germany just yet. After I leave Denver, I'm flying to Atlanta. Next, I will be heading to Amsterdam. Then, I will be flying 50 minutes to Bremen where I will FINALLY get to meet my first host family. And oh man, they sound wonderful. I haven't even met them yet but I am so happy to have gotten placed with them. From talking to their younger daughter, I found out that her older sister is staying at home for the year. So I will not be an only child, but a younger sister. I also found out that Zoe, the girl who is leaving, will still be at home after I get there and she offered to introduce me to all of her friends. This was actually a big help to me because now I won't have to worry so much about making friends. And ironically, after moving so much, I'm still worried about it.
Rotary:
In preparation for my trip, I attended one last Rotary meeting. These people are some of the most friendly and caring people in the world. Every person I talked to wished me luck (sometimes even multiple times) and made me feel so much better about this upcoming adventure. I am so happy to have found this organization because anyone could tell that the people involved will do everything they can to help.
I attended this meeting with another outbound (someone who is leaving the U.S.) exchange student. Her name is Holly and she's going to Brazil. If you're interested in her blog, here it is hollysbrazilexchange.blogspot.com She actually gave me more courage for this trip because she made me realize that I should not be as scared and anxious as I am. I should be over-the-top excited for this experience because I was so lucky to be chosen for it.
Something else amazing happened too! I was chosen by Rotary for a scholarship. I applied to get this scholarship a few months ago and very recently I got an email from the district exchange leader. She told me that I had been chosen and will now receive money to help my parents and me pay for this exchange. There are no words to describe how amazing that felt and how lucky I am to have been granted that.
Preparation:
So to be honest, I'm probably not as ready as I should be. I started learning the language a little late, I'm not packed, and I still need to get some stuff together. But it'll be easier to do that in a couple days when I'm done with work. I put in my two week notice at work and I will be done on Wednesday, July 31st. Exactly one week before I leave (it also happens to be the end of the pay period because I plan well). Side note: putting in my two week notice felt so good. In order to help me adjust once I get to Germany, my mother brought home FOUR (4) boxes of fig bars from the grocery store. So I now have enough of a stash to wean myself off of them once I get there.
One of the hardest parts of the preparation is saying goodbye. I've very slowly been coming to terms with this. This summer has a been a little difficult because I haven't gotten to see the 3 people that I went into this summer really wanting to see. I've seen them each a couple times but still, it's been sad. I made them each a bracelet with a morse code message. One of the hardest parts about leaving is not wanting to talk about it with people that I love. Talking to my family gives me anxiety about leaving and everything that I still need to do, and reminds me of how I don't get to see them for many many months. And even though it shouldn't bother me, talking to my friends is really hard. I don't want to leave them. Whenever I mention something, a tiny part of me feels really bad because it's just a reminder that I'm leaving. The good thing is that I have this blog for them to read about my travels, a phone to text them every once in a while, all of senior year to have fun, and hopefully one more day with each of them before I leave.