It's Almost Here...!!!

I leave in about two and a half weeks, and I am beyond excited. Going to Germany at this point just feels so right, almost like its completely meant to happen. I have so much to do before I leave: pack, figure out my banking information, say my last goodbyes, and breathe. I also have some exciting things happening before my departure: this weekend, a fellow AFSer to Germany is staying with me, and next weekend, my friends and I are going to Electric Zoo, a huge electronic music festival in New York City. 

I also still have to get my host parents a gift. I'm still not sure what to get, but I'm thinking about painting and firing a hot plate or some coasters for them. Because of how busy I'll be, its possible I won't be writing again until right before or after my departure.

So, 

until then,

Ethan

:)

p.s. here's a picture of the festival I'm going too. I can't wait!

Opera, Belgian Dance, and Too Much Excitement!

I'm literally writing this post because I'm too excited to do anything else...

I've been corresponding a lot with my AMAZING new host family (whom my actual parents also seem to love, which is a plus) and they recently told me that they've bought me tickets to see both the opera Electra and a modern dance performance by a Belgian-Dutch choreographer! What's even cooler is that the dance performance is at the dance studio I hope to take dance classes at in the fall!

I really need to calm down, I don't leave for almost 50 days, but how can I be calm when so much adventure is ahead of me!!!!!!!

xx

p.s. I really need to start doing the Rosetta Stone that AFS Germany sent me, my German has gone from semi-conversational to total scheme ;)...MOTIVATE ME GUYS!

p.p.s Here's some cool pics of Düsseldorf from the world wide inter webs!

HOST FAMILY!!!!!!!!!! (...and some travel information, too!)

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!!!!!???

Tick-tock, tick-tock

So recently I had my pre-departure orientation with AFS, which was actually pretty fun. It mostly consisted of a group of kids sitting in a room talking to older kids who had already gone abroad.  Although everyone knew a lot of the information they were sharing, it was still very informative and entertaining.

I still haven't heard from AFS about a host family, but, like they say, good things come to those who wait! In other news, I've quit running and taken up...taekwondo! I hope I'm able to practice it next year...I love it!

Here are some pictures of how I've been spending my free time as of recent, while I patiently countdown the days until my mid-August packing frenzy begins!

And in other news, I won this award, which is cool!

Yeah, sorry about it being upside down, but just turn your heads. ;)

Peace and love,

Ethan

Just an Update!

Now that the realization of what I'm about to encounter has finally hit me, my head is full of questions. I find myself awake at night, trying to picture myself next year, and kinda freaking out about all I have to do to prepare. AFS has a rule that you can only bring one carry-on and one 44 lb. suitcase -- I can already see this is going to be a huge problem! I have a lot of clothes, and I love all of them so much, its gonna be hard to decide which to take and which to leave. Last night in bed, I mentally mapped out what I'll bring in my carry-on, and I think I have a pretty good list --

-Laptop w/ charger
-Harmonica
-German/English Dictionary

-iPhone w/ charger

-Camera w/ charger

-Sketchbook/notebook

-Small gifts for my new family (!!!!)

-Book or magazine for the plane

...and that's it. It's amazing to think that when you truly have to boil down your possessions to only what you'll need for a year, you start to realize how much 'stuff' you have, that you don't really need. For instance, right now my room is completely filled from floor to ceiling with random things, but I just proved to myself I only need 5 of these dozens of things to actually live for a year.

I've recently joined a few different Facebook groups pertaining to my year abroad: one for all the AFS kids going all over the world in 2013-2014, one for just the kids going to Germany, and one that's a general AFS group. Meeting all these kids online is amazing so far. It is so awesome to talk to kids who will be experiencing many of the same excitements and challenges as me in the next year! Most of them are really nice, too! 

So, I guess all I can say is that right I'm really excited for my year, but also really nervous!

Welcome to my blog!

Hi everyone! This is my first blog post so I guess I'll begin by explaining who I am and what this blog is for. First of all, my name is Ethan. Here is a picture of me. I got lucky here, and don't actually look this nice in real life:

So very recently, today actually, I was accepted by AFS Germany to be an exchange student in Germany for the 2013-2014 school year. AFS Intercultural Programs is an international, volunteer-based organizations that sends hundreds of kids on semester and year-long exchanges all over the world. I was already accepted by AFS USA about a month ago (which means they agreed to sponsor my exchange), but now that I have been accepted by AFS in my first choice country, I am guaranteed to be leaving for Germany come September. I am too excited to express it in words, but I think the most accurate phrase would be kjsdfnlkjbndg,vdsbnxv,mbnKJDNFN!!!!!!!1111 

I have a very busy summer ahead of me before I leave. I need to complete an internship during the month of June for my school, attend AFS orientations, mentally prepare for leaving, take German classes twice a week in NYC, work for my mom at her new office, babysit, possibly get another summer job, and somehow fit a social life and seeing my friends into all of that. On top of all that, I also have two goals I have been working on accomplishing before I leave. The first, more important one, sounds like a joke: I'm learning, just now, how to ride a bike. Yes, I know it's embarrassing. When I was little, I was too scared to learn, and that was that. Now that I'm heading to a country where biking is as common as breathing and eating, it's pretty important that I learn how. So far, I can balance on the bike and ride straight perfectly fine, but I need to figure out how to steer in traffic, and also get up hills. The second goal I have is getting into running. Although I've never been into sports, I really like to be active, and love hiking and taking walks. So, I figure I'd get into jogging. I'm really liking it so far, even though I can only jog about a mile right now :p. I'm pretty sure the 2 1/2 years of smoking and no sports didn't help...(if you're reading this, mom or dad, it was in the past, I quit!). But I have a nice new pair of running shoes, and I'm slowly improving, so maybe I'll pass the mile mark pretty soon.

So this blog will be where you can read my thoughts and rants, and see pictures, from my year abroad, as well as the hectic summer of planning and packing leading up to it. 

Bis bald,

Ethan

p.s. I was asked this a few times already -- I have no idea where in Germany I'll be going...most AFSers don't get their host family/city/school placement until shortly before they leave. Sometimes, AFSers leave for Germany without having a host family yet, and stay with a temporary one until a permanent best match can be found. I don't find this annoying, I find it nice because I know that AFS doesn't just match you up randomly, they really spend time and effort trying to find families that are compatible with your personality and interests. Considering I'm outgoing, and interested in everything from cooking to backpacking to painting, I don't think it should be too hard to find me a match!