I can already tell I'm not going to be great at keeping these blog posts on time...... Oh well.
Anyways, the first order of business: the PDO. PDO stands for Pre-Departure Orientation. For most people, myself included, this means about seven hours of talking about rules and how to adjust to your new culture. For some other areas or countries PDOs can last two to three days. We did some interesting activities, like writing with your left hand (to represent the discomfort of starting a new way of doing something), and analyzing pictures on a screen. For part of the day the students and the parents separated and the students went out into the garden area. This was the worst and the best part of the day. We got to talk to the volunteers and some returnees, and we actually got to ask questions. Not general, official questions, like what is the health coverage, or what are the regulations on independent travel. We got to ask questions that we as the students actually cared about, like what to do about host families and situations with them and about school and partying in your host country. That was the best part of the day. The worst part was the fact that it was 97 degrees outside and we were out there for hours. It was pretty stuffy. But even though the heat sucked, it was still my favorite section of the day. Now that the PDO is out of the way, I can look forward the next orientation in New York!
Parte Dos. A Week of Lasts. What I am referring to here is my last week of school. Now, I usually go through the last week thinking things like "this is my last Monday of my freshman year" or "this is my last Health class, ever". But this year, my last week of school meant a little more than just school letting out for three months. I was thinking things along the line of "this is my last Monday of American high school until junior year" and "this is my last American math class for almost two years". I didn't think it would affect me that much, but on the last day of school after I walked out of my geometry class fifteen minutes into summer (stupid finals), I got hit with the realization that the next time I would be going to school, it would be in a different country, in Spain. Obviously I knew this part signing up for the whole thing, but it only started to feel real when I was done with American school. It was a weird feeling, but definitely not a bad one.
Right now I only have seventy something days left and it feels like I'll be leaving next week; but yet I know I still have to wait the entire summer and then some before I leave. (Pro for studying abroad with AFS - extended summer!) I have just been keeping myself busy with volunteering, sports, and working (to make rec money for Spain). The end of summer will be here before I know it. Some days I feel like if I had to leave tomorrow, I could be out of here without a backwards glance. But other days I feel like I am more than happy to wait another two and a half months before I start my other life. I'm not sure how my roller coaster emotions will play out the week I have to leave, but I'm hoping for the best.
Other than that, I don't really have any updates. My visa is trudging along, piece by piece. My host family hasn't even mentioned school to me yet besides to tell me where I'll be going, but I hope we can decide my classes soon. I only converse with my host sister because my host mom doesn't really speak English. I have to start thinking about host family presents and packing soon. And that's the end of updates!
Catch ya next time!
Adios,
Sam
Afternote: Some of my friends really wanted me to give them a shout out, so here it is: Hey guys! Saif, Marissa, Audrey, Neal, Edwin, everyone else! The whole gang + the Core Four. You're on the blog now!
