It seems as if time is flying and it was just yesterday that i found out i was going to india! This month has been crazy and hectic and i haven't had a minute to even let it sink in that i will be leaving….FOR A YEAR! So much has happened in this past month between shots, doctors appointments, visa applications, AFS calls and forms, packing and everything i have not been able to sit down and really think about what I'm doing.
Last week i had to speak in front of the whole board of education at the district meeting and talk about what it is that i am doing. I was so nervous i was shaking. But when the words started to flow i soon began to relise that, this is not just a speech i printed out or planned it was from the heart and what my life is now. I am no longer a misplaced teenager. I found my spot in this world and this may be where i excel and where my future begins. I also relized that what i was saying was not just some made up story nor a dream it is truthful reality and I'm starting to understand how big of a deal this is.
Luckily enough when my excitement got mixed with my nerves i got a reassuring message from AFS. MY HOST FAMILY! I found out i have a mom and dad two sisters and a dog. I was so excited that i burst into tears of joy. I Facebook messaged my sister a excited and hopeful message about how i would be her sister for the upcoming year. Her Response was the most amazing response i have ever heard and made me relize that even across the world teenagers can be so similar. Her message was filled with smiley faces and excitement and true care. I knew from that point on that me and "Juwaala" were going to be GREAT friends! Next i got an I.M from her older sister priyanka: "HEY SIS!!! :) <3" is what she wrote to me and than another from her mom and in it she called me dear! i could not have gotten a better family! My sister even sent me the links to all of her friends so that i can talk to them before i come so that i would not be nervous!
And so the cultural learning begins! Now, me and my sister talk every single day about how excited we are to meet and all what we are going to do together once i arrive! They said they will teach me Tamil and how to cook and dance and they'll take me shopping and throw me a birthday party! We also talk about deeper stuff that makes me excited about the culture shock i am about to encounter. Monsoons, arranged marriages, servants, 6 days a week of school, spicy food etc.!!! I can not wait!!!
The one thing i can wait for is the goodbyes…..they are truly going to break my heart. I cry at everything and i don't know how i can say goodbye to my family who have been by my side for the last 15 years of my life, My friends that i am soooo close with, and my teachers who have given me so much guidance throughout the years. It will be the hardest thing i will ever have to do in my life. I will have to be strong though and remember this is the opportunity of a life time and this is where i belong and when i come back they will all be right here for me <3 still, i don't know how i will handle the separation! And who will be like my dad and tell me cheesy puns that only i laugh at. Or be like my sister and laugh with me non-stop, Where will nolan be to force me to do ridiculous things that i hate and teach me to love them? and what about when i need a yummy meal or help with my h.w from dylan?? and who will be as patient as my mom as i sing in the car or forget to take my malaria pills! Ahhhh i must stop thinking about this because its going to make me cry soooo I'm ending the blog post for now :)
From left to right: Juwaala (age 16), My host mother, My host father, Priyanka (age 21)
