awesome orientation

My first pre-departure orientation on Sunday was great! We got there a little late (not too late though), but we still learned so much! First, the instructors told us what and what not to pack. I'm only allowed to leave Chicago with one suitcase, and one carry on bag and a purse. The packing part of the orientation went on for about 45 minutes and then they split the students going abroad and the parents up.

In the room, there were about 50 students. Some were going to the same places, like, Japan and Argentina. I met 5 other students going to Italy for the summer like me. They were all as excited as I was! I just forgot to get their #'s. Ooops.

We were told that that there is no right or wrong way in another country...it's just different. The lady also explained how other countries are not big on flashy electronics that Americans bring. They feel offended. Bye bye iPod =(. In the middle of our session, the lady handed us packets from our country filled with quotes and advice previous AFSers have said about their experiences abroad. My Italy packet was five pages long! All the students said it was an experience of a lifetime! They told me to go with an open mind, and I'll never eat so good again in my life. Our instructor touched on a lot of other points when traveling abroad after we read our packets. Students come back more mature, more appreciative for the people and things in their lives, and they are just generally better people. I can't wait for that to be me!

We came back into the main room with our parents, and to our surprise there were so many foreign exchange students here from the countries we were traveling to! We broke off into groups to talk to them; Italy AFSers in one group, Japan AFSers in another, you get my point. There were 3 students from Italy in my group to talk to us. I had so many questions for them! What should I bring? How's the food? What do Italians do for fun? They happily answered all these questions including the ones the other people in my group had. We chatted with them for a long time, and I walked away from the orientation feeling even more excited (if possible) for my departure.
Until next time, arrividerci! :)