Departure Fever

Ciao Everyone! For those of you who are not familiar with me, I'm Jenna, a Junior in high school who is going abroad with AFS. I currently live in Phoenix, Arizona, but in about two weeks I will be attending Liceo Scientifico Antonio Gramsci in Firenze, Italia. (It is a specialized scientific school that focuses on math and sciences). I have wanted to be an exchange student since Freshman year of High school, and when I watched AFS's presentation at my local high school about 1 year ago, I knew this was the program for me. On my particular program I will be in Italy for 6 months- From January 28- July 10.

Tomorrow I will be departing for New York City, where I will meet with all the other antsy American kids. At the moment I am very nervous, but am trying to make myself calm. I received my Student Visa three days ago, just in the nick of time. When many people hear that I will be abandoning everything I know and love for 6 months to venture into the unknown, they ask me "Why Italy?" What I expect to gain from this experience is a sense of independence and self assurance, not to mention many life-long friendships. By exploring another country (that I have heard is remarkable) I hope to promote international peace by perhaps eliminating stereotypes that other cultures have about Americans that might form into prejudices. By the end of my 6 months as an exchange student, I imagine myself speaking fluent Italian, and leaving Italy with the confidence that I will someday return to my new friends.

Above is a photo that my host mother sent me of Florence in the winter time.