Almost There!

Well here it is, my first blog post. I guess I'm a little behind seeing as my plane departs in less than 12 hours, but it happens. To start off, I am participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange program and will be attending school and living with host families in Pune, India for a year in order to understand another culture and gain a more worldly perspective. Being the first exchange student to leave from Northfield puts a little added pressure on me to pave the way for the rest of you following me so I hope I can provide some help before you have to leave. I want to dive in and try to explain the crazy mix of emotions I'm feeling right now but first I have to catch you up on the roller coaster I have already experienced in preparing for the next 12 months.


After finding out in December that I would be spending my exchange in India, I got just as excited as all the other exchange students around me, and the orientation sessions did nothing except increase my enthusiasm. I was all prepared to leave until a month ago when I had an allergic reaction to an Indian dessert. It was a rather severe problem and so my family and I quickly began research. We found out that nuts are quite common in India (especially desserts, so I may avoid the usual Rotary weight gain) and that it could cause a problem for my exchange. This caused Rotary to look into an alternative exchange. There was a vacancy in Spain which threw me into a three week limbo of waiting to know what country I would be living in for the next year. During this time India became, in my mind, a much safer place. I found out that my host father in Pune is a pharmacist and is well aware of the dangers of my allergy. Around me, a community of people rose up to make sure that my year would be a successful one. This made all the difference and now I feel perfectly comfortable with my original host country.


This last Monday (only four days ago) I awoke to a call from my dad with confirmation that I was going to India and a tentative flight plan-to depart on Friday July 27th, four days away. After three weeks of almost no information, this was a lot to take in. However, my parents and I agreed it was the right choice. Not only would I be traveling with another exchange student the entire way, but after pushing my departure back over a month, I was ready to start my adventure. Four goodbye-and-packing-filled days later, I'm ready as I will ever be.

I cannot believe the day is finally here! It is strange how I have prepared for this moment since last September and it all leads up to this moment. Yet, somehow I can't wrap my head around the fact that I won't be coming back for a whole year. Goodbyes with friends were sad but seemed more like a 'See you later!' than anything else. It is so surreal and I can't help but look around me and think that I will see it all again in a week or two. However, I know that all that separates me from India and a life-changing exchange is a good night's sleep and 28 hours of travel! I am incredibly excited to begin my journey and experience all of the amazing adventures in store for me. I'll keep you posted!