Three days ago, I was having tea and cookies in my kitchen at around 8:00 PM, when my Dad comes up from the basement to take the garbage out. He turned to me while he was tying the garbage up and said, "I have a feeling you're gonna hear from AFS about a host family tomorrow. Like a weird premonition..." Obviously, I laughed at him and told him how silly he was.
Fast forward to the next day, and I'm waiting for the bus downtown after getting some books from the library. My phone rang alerting me I had got an email -- and the subject line ("Potential Permanent Host Family Placement") made me start jumping up and down with excitement, but I was too scared to even open the e-mail. When I got home, I opened my computer, read the e-mail and attached application, fainted a hundred times, cried with happiness, and then called everyone in my phone to tell them the news:
I am going to be living with an amazing couplein the city of Düsseldorf, in the Bundesland (err...state?) of Nordrhein-Westfalen (errr...North-Rhine Westphalia?), which is in the very west of Germany, near the awesome area where Germany meets up with her friends France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
So, now I'll tell you a bit about my new host family. They are a gay couple who have been together for a bunch of years, living in Düsseldorf. They used to live in an apartment in the city center, but now live in a beautiful, modern house in the neighborhood surrounding the Benrath castle. We have tons of similar interests: hiking, cooking, traveling, etc... and it truly seems like a match made in heaven. I have e-mailed them a bit back and forth, and they seem extremely sweet, caring, and down to earth. I could not be happier. Although I know which school they requested I be placed in, nothing with the school has been officially arranged, so I'll hold off on details about that. I also found an amazing dance studio in Düsseldorf, where I hope to take a couple classes a week next year.
I am extremely happy with my location. I'll be living in a major city, but in a neighborhood filled with parks and tree-lined streets. Düsseldorf is also in a perfect location in Germany itself; I'll be 20 minutes from Köln (Cologne), and only a few more cities like Dortmund, Bonn, Duisburg, Wuppertal, and Aachen.
A day after that exciting news, more exciting news came! While not quite as jaw-dropping, I got my travel information! Though I thought I was to fly out of New York City, I'll actually be heading to Washington DC on September 5th, staying overnight at my gateway orientation, and then flying to Germany on the 6th.
Both these pieces of news made everything so much more real, and although I've known for a few days, I'm still not thinking coherently. As I write this, I can tell that all my skills with writing and language are being crushed at the keyboard by my excitement and l;akejsd;fkj.nz.mdbf!!!!!
A month and a half to go, and I'll be living in a beautiful German city with my new family!
PS Did I mention my house is walking distance from the Rhein river!!!!!???
