A WEEK BEFORE MY EXCHANGE STARTS!!!

The official countdown has started!! … not that I haven’t already been counting down since the 100 day mark;))

I have only one week left in Australia before I take off to the other side of the world, and I am undoubtedly excited! My exchange year is guaranteed to hold some of the best experiences of my life, and I can’t wait to share these memories with my new family and friends. I am most excited about meeting my host family in person and having the chance to share new experiences with them. I can’t wait for them to share their cultures and traditions with me, and I am so grateful they have opened up their doors for me!!!

The past month has been super busy, preparing for exchange taking its toll, with lots of shopping, packing and language learning going on…However as the days left at home draw to a close, I can’t help but feel a little bit nervous about leaving for a WHOLE YEAR. As much as I am still excited I still have some lingering fears about making new friends, whether my new family will like me and my quirks, and the big factor that I don’t know much of the language, which is a huge communication issue!!! Ultimately on exchange I am faced with the challenge of ‘starting all over again’, in school, at making friends, at learning a language and at getting involved in the community, which sometimes makes me a bit nervous.

However I know that exchange has the ability to change people for the better, helping them develop as a person and see the world in a new way. I expect my exchange will be no different, so I know in the back of my mind that at the end of the day I will survive just fine 😉 and I will have to quickly learn how to laugh off the embarrassing situations (the definite language failures), and cope with the difficult situations diligently and effectively!

I can’t say I hold many other expectations for my year abroad, except that I expect some amazing cheese and chocolate;) as well as to meet some amazing people from around the world that will help me grow into a better person.

My exchange year is also filled with many goals, these a set of things I wish to accomplish by the end of the year. My number one goal is the fully embrace and immerse myself in the Swiss culture, by taking aboard new traditions with an open mind, and most importantly saying yes to every opportunity I am presented with. I hold the hope that by the end of my exchange year I will also be fluent in German, and maybe even swiss German:) (I know this is a big one, but I think with some hard work and dedication, this may be possible). I aim to make the most of having the opportunity to meet new people and make friends from around the world. I am positive that I will have many more goals upon arriving in Switzerland, however for the time being I think these are enough :)) When I look back on this blog post in a year I hope that I was successful in achieving all of these goals!

Its crazy to think that this time next week I will be on my way to Switzerland, and even crazier to think that this time in two weeks I will have already spent a week in my new home! I can’t wait to leave now and be on my way to a new, incredible experience…