Pre-Traveling Abroad

Hello everyone!
I just finished my application for my AFS exchange a few weeks ago. I am very excited to (hopefully) be participating on an AFS Italy exchange, starting in Fall 2009 and lasting until June 2010. There is a lot on my mind as I prepare to study abroad. I've had to make time in my busy life to finish the application and also making sure everything is going and getting in smoothly. Also, once my country choice of Italy is finalized I'm intending to take an Italian language class. As for right now, I have some books I got off of amazon.com that are helping to teach me a little Italian. I've also had to talk to my guidance counselor frequently to organize my credits so my exchange doesn't affect my graduation date. I'm nervous about speaking a whole new language 24/7, living with a new family, and making new friends in a new country. However, I'm also extremely excited about all those things too. It will be a whole new adventure and challenge to live abroad in a foreign country. I'm thrilled to meet new people who have a different culture from my own. I find it fascinating to learn about how people in other countries live. I am hoping that by the end of my exchange I will have learned a new language, made some new friends, matured, and to have some great memories. :-) However, in order to become I'm AFSer I have had to make some sacrifices. Since I am missing a year of school I'm probably going to have to double up on some of my classes in order to get enough credits for gradution. Also, I will have no class rank or just a really bad GPA because of the way my school does the weighted GPA. I'm also sad about leaving my family and my friends... but looking forward to making new friends in my host country! I decided to do my exchange in high school instead of college because I get the opportunity to go leave with a family and be fully immersed in the culture with lots of help from AFS. Also, I believe this experience will help me in my college life as well as to help me get into college. After much discussion my family and friends are very helpful and supportive of my decision, though they are sad to see me go. Looking forward to keeping you updated on what's going on with my AFS exchange!! :-)