I Can Almost Taste It

     Summer is almost here. One more final, my Spanish final. I'm ready for summer to get here. In exactly five weeks I will be boarding the plane to D.C and two days afterwards I will be on my way to Oman.
    Earlier this week I got to have a conference call with Amideast, and found out some new things about the trip. My first three weeks in Oman will be spent with the other students (there are fifteen in total, all girls) and then afterward we will be put with host families. Chances are I won't find out about my host family placement until I get to Oman. Weekdays will be spent going to classes for four hours and we will spend the rest of the day adventuring or doing homework. I also found out that we will get to take a trip to Salalah, and from mid June to August the Salalah Karif festival is held, so hopefully I will get to take part of that action.
    Everyday I become more and more mentally prepared for my trip, but my adventure will be coming soon enough.
   
   

Homesick at Home with Good News on the Side

    With  mothers day in the United States on Sunday and mothers day in Paraguay on Tuesday I couldn't help but to be reminded of all the things I did with my host family. I was very fortunate with my host family placement. I got along with them well, and I will never forget playing ping-pong with my host dad every day. My host mom was an amazing cook, and treated me to all the typical Paraguayan foods. In the six weeks that I was there I was able to form a strong relationship with them, and I know that I will definitely be visiting them next summer. Once you get back from an exchange trip you're glad to be home, but every so often pangs of 'homesickness' will hit you. Lately I've been realizing that I miss Paraguay more and more every day. I can't help but thinking of how much exchange trips open you to the world, and realizing that this summer I will find one more place to call home.
    Today signified a key point in my junior year, the last day of AP exams! I finished off with the AP English Language and Composition Exam, and I am now happy to say that I am done with AP for the year, allowing me to fully focus on Oman and learning Arabic. I'm looking forward to a conference call on Monday, and will hopefully be receiving mammoth amounts of information over the program.
    Six weeks and three days until departure!

New Program Dates

    I recently got an e-mail and fortunately my summer program has been extended! Originally the trip was from July 5th to August 15th, but it is now July 1st to August 17th, giving me 6 extra days (every extra day makes a difference)!
    Once I finish with AP tests I will be able to imagine all the possible extra things I will do in those 6 additional days, but right now I have gotten to the point where I'm even having dreams where I watch myself take AP tests. I am just waiting for the next two weeks to end and then my mind will be in full Oman mode, and this will definitely be a pleasant change from AP mode.