Pre-Exchange

So, it's one week from when I leave for Spain. There are about 10 million things going through my head. There is so much going on at the moment. I am nervous and incredibly excited to start this incredible experience.

Exchange has sort of been something I have been very interested for a very long time, however it was one of those things that was so unreal that it never really took shape until this past year. It is just crazy for me to think about how in in 8 days when I arrive I will be all the way across the world as an exchange student. I started packing, but not much has gotten done. I bought all the presents for my host family. I have emailed them lots over the past few days, yet despite all of that it still hasn't entirely set in that it is a mere 7 days away. Lots of the previous exchange students I have talked to have talked about that, it doesn't fully sink in until you are there, and sometimes have been there for several days or even weeks.

Looking back on this year it is incredible to see how much something that hasn't even happened has influenced me. At the start of the 2012/13 school year, exchange was still just something I was sort of interested in. It started to become more real when I found Rotarys youth exchange program. Through all the training and camps it influenced almost every aspect of my life. Rotary was everywhere this year. Every friday I would go to Rotary meetings, and I am about to attend my last one before exchange tomorrow. The inbounds to my district quickly became some of my best friends. So much happened and so much changed, and there is no other way to describe it but awesome. I'm very grateful to all the people who have made all of this happen.

Anyways like I said I am a bit nervous about the whole thing. There is so much that I am nervous about, yet most of it excites me too. I'm nervous to meet my host family, nervous to go through customs, to live in a fairly large city, to be speaking a new language all the time! The list goes on and on, yet every single thing that I just listed off is really really exciting to think about. Overall, I would definitely say I am more excited then nervous, and not just by a little bit. I try not to think about the whole gravity of this, because when I do I get so excited that I practically bounce off the walls.

Overall it has been an incredible year, with a even more amazing year to look forward too. My next post will be written and posted from Spain, so goodbye to the USA, and thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.