The Countdown has Begun

Hello All,
My name is Riley Sunday and next year I will be spending my entire senior year of high school in Verviers, Belgium. Leaving State College is something that I had always thought would be really easy. It was never a place that I could see living for my whole life or see why someone would want to. Now I have the opportunity of a lifetime. I will be traveling through Rotary International and they have already impressed me and expanded my view of the world. Things changed for me when I learned about the vastness of the organization and the ease by which its member are able to pass through different countries and see the lasting connections they have made with individuals throughout the world. I have people now that I know from across the globe, and at 17 that feels like an amazing accomplishment.
School has just let out in State College and it is strange to think that I will not be returning to the State College Delta Program and will enter in the fall to Collège Saint-François Xavier. (pictured left)

There is so much that people have been telling me that they have gained from their abroad experience and there are things I would like as well. I hope that I can not only learn to live in another culture, but to also appreciate my own.  A lot of times our own culture is invisible to us, but I think that being somewhere new will help me to see what it really means to be an American.
Now I have the great task ahead or me of completing paperwork for visas, passports, schoolwork, and the airline battles all before I can arrive and start the journey. At the same time it is important for me to not forget about all of the people that are still here and the life that I can continue to live prior to my departure. I can't thank enough all of the people who are helping me through the stress and still helping me to continue to have fun.

The countdown is working hard to begin....if only there was a definite date for departure, it would make things a lot easier. I am sure my other exchange friends can agree to this too! Tentative 45 days until take off. Je l'attends avec impatience. (:

Bisous,
Riley