Hello everyone,
this will be my first post on this blog and it will be about the journey of planning this exchange year and each steps I had to complete during this process. Let’s just start with how my idea of spending one year abroad grew. Everything started in elementary school when we had to present a city or a country anywhere in the world. As you probably have guessed, I picked a city in the USA. New York. The only city I knew in the USA back then. I thought it was a great idea because I was very interested in the American lifestyle and of course also the sights and activities New York had and has to offer. But back then I wasn’t aware of even more exciting cities and places in the USA. Still fascinated by the country I attended middle school and my English teacher in 6th grade gave us brochures and told us about her exchange year in the past. I couldn’t wait for the school day to end. As the bell rung, I rode my bike as fast as I could to tell my parents about the idea of doing an exchange year. They were very surprised how passioned I was and told them every single detail that I heard that day in school. The next two years I was doing very much research about the USA and of course about the right organization. In the end I decided for AYUSA INTRAX but you can read more about my organization in one of my other texts. When I applied for this exchange year I also applied for a scholarship from my organization. I had to answer a lot of questions about me, write a motivation sheet and I had to hand in a creative entry. Finally I had to spend one day in Cologne with other applicants for workshops and one-to-one conversations. That was a lot of work but in the end it paid out. Next to the scholarship handing in all kind of documents from my doctor, my school, my soccer club, etc. was necessary. Many inoculations and letters of recommendation by some of my teachers and coaches were demanded as well. I received the confirmation from my school in February. I went to Frankfurt just last week to get my visa for the exchange year and now here I am. Only two months away from the biggest adventure of my youth and I can’t wait to sit down in the plane that will bring me to the USA.
Jánek Florack
