Hey everyone,
These past few week I have been in contact with my host
family. I have been exchanging emails back in forth and have started to get to
know them better and better. The more I talk to them, the more I can’t wait for
this whole experience to start, as they just seem like an outstanding family. I
will be having my first Skype call tomorrow which is both nerve racking and
exhilarating at the same time. I have no idea what we will be talking about,
nor do I know how good their English really is, so I cannot wait to see what
this session is going to yield, and what the future might hold
for me. If in case we do not speak English for this session, I have been
practicing my German so we can still talk. I am also going to have my white
board and my iPad next to me so I can draw pictures or look up something if I
need.
For the time that I have been working with AFS, which has
been about two and a half months now, they have done an absolutely wonderful
job. They have kept me posted on near and far events, made sure I am keeping up
on everything that I am supposed to do, and helped me with any questions I have
had. When I talk to others about their program, they did not seem to have such
as an easy experience as I have had so far, so thank you AFS!
If you have not gotten your host family yet do not stress.
AFS does a great job to ensure that your host family will work well with you.
They look at your application and compare it to several host families and then
make sure the final family is good for you. When you do get your host family
information, send them an email as soon as you can. I would recommend sending
it in both English and your host country’s language (if you can.) I personally
received an email from my host family before I ever sent one, which might have not
have been the best thing ever, but it has turned out okay.
As school comes closer to an end, I have begun to stress even
more with everything to do. With School (especially the tests and
projects due in the next few weeks), making sure robotics is set to go for next
year, making sure I know what I have to do for anything related to scouts,
figuring out how credits for school will transfer, keeping updated on AFS,
finding time to keep in contact with my host family, finding some way to help
my mom with the cost, and maintaining a healthy personal life, I have had a
struggle to keeping on top of everything at hand. My main goal right now is to
not let anyone down (including myself) as time becomes crucial to me. With that
though I also have a goal to have everything related to graduation figured out
by the end of the school year, so that way I don’t have to stress over the
summer. By the end of summer I am hoping to knock out at least one
of my credits and too be able to have a good conversation in German.
I am also trying to find a club or sport that I can take
while on my exchange. This, I hope, will help me to bond with some new friends
and stay active in the community. With that said, I need to go to bed. I can’t
be late to my first Skype call with my host family!
Again, I will be posting my next blog in two weeks. If you
have any questions, or would like me to talk about something in particular,
just leave your responses in the comments and I will do my best to cover it in
my next blog.
Thanks everyone!
~Michael Steiner
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