When I walked on the plane I thought “I finally did it!” It was such a relief to have that day finally arrive. There had been so much preparation leading up to this point and finally some actual action was happening! August 14th is a special day for me. Twenty-one years ago, I finally got to get away and take the first step toward something I had been looking forward to for at least a year.
It all started with a letter. It said my teachers recommended me for consideration into a foreign study program. I took it pretty seriously and got really excited about it. The letter said some folks would be coming to the school in a few months to talk more about it. I kept that in mind and even called the number on the letter to check when they would actually be coming!
A bunch of students gathered in the gym to hear about the program. The program would be sponsoring a student to live overseas with families, go to school. Not sure if I got the application that day, but I was excited to get started on it. I had to write about my hobbies and send along photos of my family. I had an interview with some folks from the program, including the Belgian student the program was sponsoring to stay in the United States.
I felt bad after the interview. I felt I didn’t answer one of the questions well and felt embarrassed. Nevertheless, they accepted me into the program! I think I found out in a phone call, actually can’t remember. Maybe I got a letter? I called everyone and let them know what was going on. I was chosen to spend a year in Finland. At that time there was also an exchange student from Russia visiting our school. We became close friends, she even had her mom send an English to Finnish dictionary for me to take on my trip.
This was the beginning of a huge life changing moment that I would get to share with 50 other American students. I would get to meet so many new people and have great experiences.
Me in my student jacket, all students get one. We exchange pins with other students and wear them on the jacket as souvenirs.
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