Yesterday, I received information about AFS about my Gateway Orientation in New York. It is on August 21st, beginning at 4pm, so I have to be in New York by then. My parents originally wanted to drive from Cleveland to New York to save money and so that they could spend lots of "quality time" in the car with me before I left. Personally, I would prefer an hour long flight without the parents, and tried convincing them that it'd be cheaper. After all, they'd probably go shopping in New York and have to stay a a hotel. But most of the flights I found were around $430 just for a one-way ticket, which wasn't really that justifiable. Alas, I ended up looking on travelocity, and by leaving from the Akron airport (which is only like 45 minutes away), I got a direct flight to New York for only $115! My parents couldn't argue with that awesome price, so we booked the ticket today. :)
I never offically received information regarding the flight to Belgium, but I believe that the flight is on the 22nd, and then the arrival orientation in Belgium should be on the 23rd and 24th. So this means that I 54 days until I leave for Belgium! YAY! I have been waiting for the day to come for soooo long. I had been to go abroad with AFS since I was a sophomore in high school, but with the logistics of it all, I realized that the best option would be to do a gap year. In less than two months, I'll be in Belgium!!!
So, on Sunday I had my AFS pre-departure orientation from 10am-4pm. I was expecting the day to drag on, but it really wasn't too bad. I tend to research A TON about exchange orientations and just about everything involving exchange students, so there was not exactly anything new that I learned. But it was cool because two AFS students studying in the US were there to answer all of the questions that we had.
Here are some of the advice that the students gave us:
1. Communication is probably the most important thing! If there is ever a problem with your host family, just try talking to them. A lot of issues arise due to a lack of communication.
2. Don't be afraid to make mistakes! Because most people on exchange are learning a new language and trying to communicate in it, it is inevitable that you are going to make mistakes. People may not understand what you are trying to say, but don't give up! If you don't try, you're never going to get better.
3. Get involved! The exchange student from Tunisia told us that she only watched TV two ties throughout her exchange. She became involved in as many clubs as she could, and that helped her to make a lot of new friends. Plus, by staying busy, you are less likely to be really homesick.
These are the things that I think will be the most helpful for my exchange. I hope that this advice can help you guys out too! :)
To tie in with the theme of communication, here is the song "Talk" by Coldplay (one of my favorite bands). Enjoy!
