On the plane, and I'm going to have to limit myself on how many times I'm allowed to look at the clock. I keep the flight tracker up so I can constantly know how much longer it will be until we land. Then I'll add that to the time, add the nine hour time difference, "is the plane on time?", "how many hours until I see my new family?", "oh, seven, okay, how long until we land again?" and the cycle repeats. My mind is crawling with thoughts about what will be waiting for me in France, and is riddled with thoughts of killing that annoying child who won't stop crying five seats behind me. Sometimes I find my heart racing and my palms getting sweaty, even though I don't think of anything nerve wracking. I guess the months of only excitement are catching up with me. I still am excited to be there, to start a new life, but I'm having the very normal reaction of also being a bit scared of it. I've always been confident in my French skills, and I find myself seriously doubting them now. I say a lot of words, then immediately hone in on the ones I don't know. Awake, asleep, shoelaces, contact lenses, all of those words taunt me and I'm scared for when the day comes that I have to circumlocute and play some charades to get people to understand me. This year isn't me stepping out of my comfort zone, it's me racing out of it in a race car with no brakes. It's me jumping off a cliff without having checked my parachute. It's me diving down to seventy feet without checking my psi. This is so far out of my comfort zone that I don't even know how to describe it. But I know that this is what I want, and that you're supposed to step out of your comfort done every once in a while. I'm just not sure all if my teachers meant for me to take the phrase so drastically.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Final Itinerary
It's official--all I have left to do before I leave is wait. I've gotten my final itinerary, and I just need to be at the airport! No more waiting for documents, no more filling out forms. This is UNREAL. I'll be arriving in Paris at noon on the 28th, then a two and a half hour drive to my new city. I suppose that now would be a good time to start making my pins and getting gifts for my host families, but I'm clueless on what to get them! I think maybe I'll make mason jar soap dispensers--I made one for my aunt and she loved it. I was also thinking hydroflasks... You can tell I have no idea what to get them. I'm sure I'll figure it out. It's been such a long journey from October, when I first filled out my application and Kent Child made me feel like I was constantly turning things in late (I actually turned in my application before they were released to the students at school). And to think my journey hasn't even started yet! Well, I'll keep everyone updated. I got an iPod touch for my birthday, so now I can Skype with everybody! My name is gillian.c.harper and I'm always up for a chat! If any of my teachers want to put me on to skype with a class or some hopeful exchange students, shoot me an email at gillian.c.harper@gmail.com and I'd be more than happy to figure something out. I feel like, when I'm there, I'll want to still be as involved as possible with Summit for my senior year. well, I think that's all I have to update for now... Next time I post France will be even closer! À bientôt!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Got My Visa!
After a lot of trouble and an amazing travel agent, I've finally gotten my visa! It's just a sticker in my passport, but it's my ticket in. My last hurdle has been cleared, and I'm unbelievably excited to be able to be stress-free about my exchange now. My friend Keenan has been talking to me about Denmark, and I just get more and more excited! He arrived in Horsens on the 4th and tells me about how his brother makes weird toast and that the showers are confusing. His blog is danishpov.tumblr.com if anyone wants to hear about his travels! I still have way too long to wait before I leave, I'm dying with anticipation! On a side note, I just thought I would let the whopping fifteen people who will probably read this that today is my birthday!! I'm turning seventeen! One thing that I am really disappointed about for my exchange is that I won't be celebrating my birthday while I'm in France. The eighteenth birthday is a big deal there, and I'm super unhappy that my sucky birthday makes me miss that experience. I've dealt with a lot of annoying things with my birthday, and its resume is pretty impressive now. I always had to watch my friends get their permits and licenses before me since I'm younger than nearly everyone else in my class, my birthday is in the summer so it gets obscenely hot and it's hard to do things outside, I never had my birthday at school, so I never had my locker decorated or anything, and now I don't get to celebrate it while in France. It's a really annoying and unfortunate birthday to have. But it only rolls around once a year, so I'm sure I can manage it :)
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