So, today was my 16th birthday! I had a great time with my family and it’s so crazy to think that I’m going to leave them soon. I’m going to miss them SO SO much and I’m so lucky to be blessed with such a loving and generous family. I know that in Germany I’ve been blessed with another incredible family and every day I wonder how I can be this lucky.
I definitely recommend focusing more on spending time with your family and friends the summer before you leave than how many shirts you’re going to pack or what suitcase you’ll take. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t plan ahead, but don’t focus too much on all the preparations and what ifs. Remember to take time to enjoy the present, because soon enough the future will be here and you’ll looking too far ahead to enjoy it(:
Anyways, mushy-ness aside, in terms of preparing for departure I’m still in the “denial stage”. That makes it sound like I don’t want to go to DC for Pre-Departure Orientation, which is not at all the case, but I’m trying not to think about that too much because I really just want to enjoy the time I have with my family and friends. For any future CBYXers I suggest picking out a suitcase soon after you look into luggage rules and to do a couple trial packs (Not that I’ve done that yet. Yeah, I’m actually a terrible procrastinator) just to get a feel for everything. But I wouldn’t suggest packing everything ahead of time and just sitting there staring at your suitcase waiting for the calendar to flip over to your PDO date. I know everybody realizes they’re going to miss their family and friends, but I don’t think it’ll sink in for anyone until they’ve actually left. Also, one last piece of advice for getting everything ready in terms of luggage and clothes, is don’t buy everything you think you’ll need as soon as you find out you’ll be going to Germany. I know it’s exciting and that shopping for it makes it feel more like reality instead of your wildest dream, but trust me, if you buy everything at first you’ll be going through the summer saying wow, I wish I’d bought this jacket instead of that one. Just a reminder, this is my advice, and everyone is different, so do what feels best for you, that’s what I did and what I keep doing(:
I know I haven’t updated this since I found out about my host family. So, an update on them is in order. My host family is INCREDIBLY amazing!!! I’m SO lucky to have been paired with them and I am more than super-duper-extra excited to meet them in person and spend my exchange year with them!!! I’ve been emailing my host mom and she’s so wonderful! My family is so welcoming and Experiment did an incredible job of matching us up. To any future CBYXers, I know it’ll be difficult, but just be patient when it comes to receiving your host family assignment. There’s nothing wrong with you or your application if it’s taking a little longer for you to receive your assignment than everyone else. I told everyone who asked me about how I was enduring the wait that I would rather wait until the absolute last minute to get a compatible host family than receive an early assignment with a host family, that I’m sure would be wonderful, but just not compatible with me.
Lastly, I 100% recommend joining a facebook group or something with other CBYXers if you’re participating in the program. A lot of the questions and concerns you have are shared and most of the time there are alumni in the group who are amazing and answer all your questions. It’s also good to get to know everyone a little bit before PDO and language camp and it’s always fun to have a group of people to talk to when all your friends are tired of hearing about your struggles to find just the right host family gift and what not.
I want to point out that this is only my advice, and that above all I recommend that you do what makes you comfortable because if you’re going for an exchange year you should be having fun not stressing over every little shirt and pair of socks(:
If you want to contact me with questions I’m more than happy to answer them as best I can! Just email me at mariaingermany@gmail.com!
Maria In Germany 