Wishing. Wondering. Hoping. I wonder how long it takes for a person to find out who they truly are. I've just had my seventeenth birthday; seventeen years I have been on this earth and it feels like I just got here. There is so much to explore and know and I feel as though I have not done anything yet. I need to get away from the small town I live in; to broaden my perspective and find out where I fit on this earth.
So I'm going to Italy - a logical resolution to my problem, no? Heh. Well, I suppose I could have chosen to do something easier, but I figured if I was going to do something that I might as well do it full force.
It had never occurred to me before last summer that I could be a foreign exchange student. My sisters and I were simply talking and Keturah, my oldest sister, was telling us about a foreign exchange student at Lowville and how it would be such a spectacular experience to go to another country for a year. I agreed and then my sisters kind of looked at me and said "You know Olivia, you could do it".
So here I am, embarking on a journey that will last a lifetime. Going to Italy to live for 10 months with a family I know nothing about. Living in a country with a language that I have no idea how to speak. Immersing myself in a completely new culture with completely new people. Some may say I'm crazy - that I'm so brave to do something so extravagant. But really I'm not. I am so scared that I will not fit in or pick up on the language or make friends. I do not do well in social situations so I guess I am a little crazy to go somewhere where I will have to make myself talk.
I think more than anything I am going to establish at least a small part of who I am. Going somewhere where I need to come out of my shell and make myself known to the world is going to help me grow so much and be able to see what I'm made of. I'm interested to see what I can do, but most of all I'm scared to see what I am not. I need to find the courage to do things that I would not normally do; to be more self-confident. I'm not scared to change... I don't think. I just hope I have enough gumption to make myself change.
My host family has just been picked and I am going to a science school called Instituto Scolastico Righi (Unfortunately I cannot pick the school I go to, otherwise I would definitely not be going to a science school - heh) but they have other courses like art and art history, so those may be interesting. I will be living in Cerignola, Italy which is in Southern Italy. My family consists of Michele and Sabina (the parents), Francesco (17 year old host brother), MariaPia (13 year old host sister), and Rita (11 year old host sister). The parents are both hairdressers and look like they will be a lot of fun. I've been talking with Francesco a little bit because he is the only one that knows English - eek! He's actually in Holland right now with AFS but he will be home at the end of July and he said he will give his family a lesson in English before I get there. But I'm still very eager to learn Italian, which is starting to become stressful - haha.
However, the stress isn't just with the language. There is so much I have had to do and still have to do to make this dream become reality. I had to fill out an extremely lengthy application for AFS (the exchange program I'm going with) which involved doctors notes, lots of forms to sign, letters from school, and so much more. After I finished that and found out that I was accepted, I began fundraising. The program cost $11,750. I had received a total of $4,900 from scholarships so had to raise about $7,000 to cover my tuition. Plus, I need extra money for everyday expenses while I am in Italy (AFS recommends $100 - $300 per month). So, I wanted to raise about $9,000 in 9 months. A remarkable sum, I know. And quite honestly, I didn't know if I could do it. I just knew I was going to be having a lot of bake sales, heh.
Thanks to the devotion of my parents, I made it. I have almost all the money I need, with only about $3,000 left to raise, which I know I can manage.
Now, I'm in the process of applying for my student visa - an endeavor that I can guarantee you will never want to do. There are so many documents I need and so many copies and forms that I can only hope I have the right ones and the right amount of each. To make things even more delightful, I have to travel to New York City to apply for my visa and both of my parents need to be present because I am a minor. Ugh. But it has to be done, so there’s nothing I can do about it. If I’ve made it this far, then I know I can cope with obtaining a visa.
This summer I’m going to summer school at Carthage so that I can gain enough credits to graduate early. It cost $350 which was a little disappointing but I didn’t want to have to worry about credit transfers and everything from Italy, so summer school here I come! I have to take economics, government, and English 12. I start July 6 and end August 15, I think.
So that’s basically the sum of it all. This is the biggest thing I have ever done in my life and I am so nervous and scared and excited at the same time. I can’t wait to board the plane!
No comments:
Post a Comment