woah woah woah !
okay, so let me get this straight:
you're leaving the US, you're leaving your family, and you're leaving your friends for a completely foreign land called Ipatinga, Brazil?
you bet I am :D
hello followers (if you're out there)
my name is Ariana &in less than a month, I'm grabbing my pin-covered Rotary blazer, my two gigantic suitcases that someone might try to squeeze into, and somehow say goodbye to the people who matter most to me, without getting emotional (basically impossible.)
so you might be asking yourself: what in the world are you getting yourself into?
I mean seriously, Ari, you're only 17.
well, my story begins in the parking lot of el canelo (hahah) where my mother just so happened to mention a girl from neshannock going to Belgium as an exchange student. she was writing for the new castle news and from what i read, was having an amazing time.
(thank-you, kate mills)
Immediately, I was drawn to the idea of being an exchange student, of finding adventure, of experiencing a different culture and becoming independent. It was all talk between my parents &I but eventually I found out that I could be interviewed and later, qualify for districts.
now that i qualified, i wanted it bad, more than anything before. I remember the day before districts interview, i was a nervous wreck, completely psyching myself out. Once I was at the interview (bless your soul, Rotary) i was asked some tough questions that really threw me for a loop.
but, a week later, with my anticipation growing each day and my patience slowly fading, i got a email from Nancy ( love you, Nancy ) saying that yes, i indeed was in the process of becoming an exchange student.
wow
words cannot even begin to describe how excited i am right now. this opportunity is going to change everything for me; how i view other countries &cultures, how i view my peers and family, and how i view myself.
now, all that is left to do is wait for my visa (please hurry!!) get a plane ticket, practice my Portuguese, &wipe away my tears at the airport and begin this crazy thing called being an exchange student.
:D
