Smile and Wave

I have been in Switzerland for 1 week now, the consensus a) french is hard b) I miss home c) I need internet to function. I departed for my exchange on Saturday February 15 and it has been a roller coaster of emotions. When my parents took me to the airport I was equally nervous and excited (okay maybe more nervous), but in spite of this I was able to say goodbye to my parents and put on ocean between me and my home. When I arrived in Switzerland the French hit my like a brick wall. I knew it was going to be hard but this is a different story. I hear people saying things but it means nothing to me, all I do is smile and say 'oui' when I think its appropriate. Not being able to speack the language and not completing understanding people all the time is giving me a lot of time to think and a lot of time to work myself up. When I'm lost in the conversion all I can think about is how much I miss my home and all the people I had to say goodbye too. On top of all of this I was without internet and phone for about a week and I realized how dependant I am on something such a silly. Although this is proving to be a challenging experience form controlling my emotions to learning a new language, I know in the end I will grow from this and come out a new and better person.

2 Days to Bingo

It's starting to become real. In 2 days I'm leaving behind everything that I have known for my whole 17 years on this earth and replacing it with something completely different and unfamiliar. I’m leaving my home, my friends, my family and basically everything customary to me, and moving across the world for 3 months. Why did I think this was a good idea?! When I began exploring the option of an exchange and then when I signed up and got accepted I knew that I was going to leave everything behind and go on this wild adventure but it never really seemed real and waiting almost a year made it seem that it would never come, but now that I leave in 2 days ways, nothing has ever felt so real and terrifying. This idea of an exchange never used to scare me, it only excited me, but now that it is finally happening I’m starting to freak out! I know that I can do this and that when this is all over and I’m finally coming home, I will have all these amazing experiences and that’s what I’m trying to think about as I pack and prepare for the journey ahead.