By Grace
I’m writing this from the Atlanta airport. My ten hour flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina leaves in two hours, and I’ve heard that my host family is already there and ready to pick me up in the morning. I can’t wait to meet the Pugnaloni’s! They have been incredibly welcoming in all of our conversations, and I’m grateful to have been matched with them.
It took a week to say goodbye to everyone in Hood River. For some reason I felt the need to go around and tell everyone how important they are to me, as if I’ll never see them again. I’ll miss them all while I’m gone for the next few months, and I’ll miss my hometown. Leaving made me realize how much I appreciate it, especially the sunny days spent outdoors with family and friends.
In honor of my one week of summer vacation, here are some photos:
But enough about what I’m leaving behind. I’m going to take this chance in the airport to write down the reasons why I’m going on summer exchange, so I can keep track of them once I get there and things get crazy.
- See a culture from the inside: My experience has always been with traveling through foreign countries, not settling down.
- Get out of my comfort zone: I know I have a lot of challenges ahead of me and that is cool.
- Become fluent in Spanish: Even though the Spanish in Argentina supposedly sounds more like Italian, I shall do my best.
- Gain Independence: This reason has come into affect already. I made it here alive so that’s a good sign.
I’ll end my first blog post of my summer exchange with some advice I received from the guy next to me on the plane to Atlanta. He told me to have fun on my trip and to “Learn as much as you can, and share it with everyone.”
Seems like a pretty good way to live, right?
More updates on the way!
Home Away From Hood 