How Many Suitcases are You Taking?

One. Forty four pounds. A backpack too, at a maximum of 8 INCHES x 16 INCHES x 21 INCHES and twenty two pounds, but you can't be picky when someone is flying you across the ocean and you are at their mercy. Humor aside, that is plenty of space to fit your life. You are leaving...

Speedwell Scholarship Picnic

How do you properly thank someone who gave you not only $15,800, but the best opportunity and year of your life? What can you say that would encompass your gratitude? Those were the questions I asked myself, my family, and my friends before I went to the 2018 Speedwell Scholar picnic, hosted by Mike and...

Do You Even Speak German?

This question is one that I get the most often from people who I talk to about going to Germany. The short answer is yes, but not fluently. I started learning German when I was twelve because I was inspired. I was introduced to a woman at my Uncle's annual Christmas party whose son was...

3 Week Check In:

Three weeks from today I will be making the decision to leave the life I now know, permanently, in search of an adventure. Once I get on the plane, there is no turning back. I can't come home and I can't look at my best friend's face in person. All our communication will be through...

Pre-Departure Orientation

May is possibly the worst month for students in the U.S., ask any of them. May is a time of studying, testing, anxiety, and spring-fever. My schedule mainly consisting of studying for the AP Chemistry test, the AP European history test, finals for the rest of my classes, and the SAT, I was burned out....

North or South?

Getting the email regarding host family placement is one of the most exciting things in an AFS student’s life. Sitting on my couch on the 17th of July, I had no idea that I was just about to experience that excitement. I had pondered for years over where in Germany I would be placed if...