I have a host family! I finally know where I'm staying! I am living with a mom and her daughter, who is only two years older than me, in a small town called Schwabisch Hall. It's 38,000 people and located in between Stuttgart and Nurnberg.
I had been excited to find out about my host family since the day I got accepted into CBYX. Some of my friends had said that they didn't really want to know they're host families until they got there, which I can understand since communicating with them could be complicated (you don't want to give them a bad impression over email before you've even met them) but I really wanted to know where I was going to live and I really wanted to see the kinds of people I would be living with. I have 3 friends going abroad and they all found out their host families weeks before I found out mine. Being the anxiety ridden person that I am, I got worried that for some reason a family wasn't going to pick me, because I heard that the students that got picked first were the ones hand picked by their host families. This a completely irrational fear though! I am sure that plenty of families decide to not hand pick their students and instead let AFS decide which student they think would be the best match. However, it was frustrating when all of my friends got these amazing host family situations and I had know idea what mine was going to be like. My friend Ellsie got put in a town an hour away from Zurich (my absolute favorite place on Earth) that had tons of bike trails and look out points. My friend Jo got placed on the Dutch border in a town that had a castle with a mote in it! My friend Sicily got put in a beautiful town right on the beach in France. All of their situations sounded so amazing and they all got along great with their host families and I had no idea what my family was like at all. Needless to say, when I found out I was not at all disappointed!
Originally I had really wanted to be placed in a city. I live in a big city, I love city life, and I thought that being in a city for exchange would offer the best experience. I really wanted more than anything to be placed in Berlin for multiple reasons. First of all, Berlin's history is absolutely fascinating to me, and I love how the city tries to combine their old, preserved buildings and monuments while also rebuilding everything that was destroyed. In a way it reminded me of Baltimore, which has beautiful classical styled buildings but also has incredibly modern ones all mixed in together. Also, Berlin is the new vegan capital of the world, and since I'm vegan, I thought I would be most likely to be placed in a vegan household there. Also, my favorite thing ever about European cities is that they have urban parks and how on the weekends everybody is outside having cookouts, biking, sunbathing, or swimming in a lake or river (the Englisch Garten for example) and I thought Berlin would be the perfect place for stuff like this, as well as all of the amazing museums, monuments, and town centers all throughout the history. However, then I went on a vacation to Western Maryland and spent a day driving and biking around Cumberland. Although it is the third most conservative city in Maryland, I absolutely fell in love with it! After just a day there I felt like I could find my way around, and the scenery surrounding the town was absolutely beautiful. I thought that I might want to be placed in a small town, and that I might actually get a better understanding of German culture if I wasn't in such an international city, where most people would also speak English.
Then, the day after getting back from vacation, I was at my friend Kara's house and I was telling her how I had to check my email every couple of hours to see if I had a host family. At that moment, an email showed up in my inbox titles "Information About Your Permanent Host Family." I was so excited! I immediately read the letter, looked at the pictures, and then looked up pictures of the town. It is the absolute most adorable town I have ever seen! I was also so excited because in the letter they said everything can be reached by biking, walking, or taking the bus, which I absolutely love! Here are some pictures of Schwabisch Hall:
Originally I had really wanted to be placed in a city. I live in a big city, I love city life, and I thought that being in a city for exchange would offer the best experience. I really wanted more than anything to be placed in Berlin for multiple reasons. First of all, Berlin's history is absolutely fascinating to me, and I love how the city tries to combine their old, preserved buildings and monuments while also rebuilding everything that was destroyed. In a way it reminded me of Baltimore, which has beautiful classical styled buildings but also has incredibly modern ones all mixed in together. Also, Berlin is the new vegan capital of the world, and since I'm vegan, I thought I would be most likely to be placed in a vegan household there. Also, my favorite thing ever about European cities is that they have urban parks and how on the weekends everybody is outside having cookouts, biking, sunbathing, or swimming in a lake or river (the Englisch Garten for example) and I thought Berlin would be the perfect place for stuff like this, as well as all of the amazing museums, monuments, and town centers all throughout the history. However, then I went on a vacation to Western Maryland and spent a day driving and biking around Cumberland. Although it is the third most conservative city in Maryland, I absolutely fell in love with it! After just a day there I felt like I could find my way around, and the scenery surrounding the town was absolutely beautiful. I thought that I might want to be placed in a small town, and that I might actually get a better understanding of German culture if I wasn't in such an international city, where most people would also speak English.
Then, the day after getting back from vacation, I was at my friend Kara's house and I was telling her how I had to check my email every couple of hours to see if I had a host family. At that moment, an email showed up in my inbox titles "Information About Your Permanent Host Family." I was so excited! I immediately read the letter, looked at the pictures, and then looked up pictures of the town. It is the absolute most adorable town I have ever seen! I was also so excited because in the letter they said everything can be reached by biking, walking, or taking the bus, which I absolutely love! Here are some pictures of Schwabisch Hall:
Not only do I absolutely love the town, the family seems so incredibly sweet! It is just a mom and a daughter and the daughter is a little over a year older than me. They say that they both kind of do their own thing, which I think is a perfect arrangement. In my family here in Baltimore, my parents don't hold me back from doing a lot of stuff. As long as I stay on top of my work and my plans, I'm free to hang out with friends as often and as long as I want to. I was worried that I was going to get a family with a very strict curfew that didn't want me being away from the family for that long, just because that would be hard for me to adjust to, but this family seems like a great fit! Also, the mom tango dances, which is absolutely awesome since I tango dance with my mom here in Baltimore! They both love outdoor activities being spontaneous and traveling and other things that I also love to do! Also, they are the sweetest people ever! I've been emailing back and forth with both of them and they both are incredibly nice! I'm kind of worried I don't sound as sweet in my emails (I tend to communicate better face to face) but I'm also trying to worry a little less about everything exchange related.
My first email to them took way longer than it should have, but I have a hard time communicating through writing. I don't want to come off as passive aggressive or insincere so I really have to try and think through the wording of everything that I write. I don't want to sound too formal, but also not too casual. Should I use smiley faces? Am I using too many exclamation points? Am I asking too many questions or am I talking about myself too much? I really struggled and obviously overthought it way too much, but all in all I was happy with my first email. As soon as the mom emailed back I realized I had nothing to stress out about! She was so sweet and I decided to try and write back in German, which added a whole other level of complexity to an already delicate situation, but I was also kind of proud of my German writing after working through it. The mom responded in German, and the daughter emailed me back that day and asked to skype! We skyped (even though it was super late in Germany) and it was so natural! She was so sweet and we both seem very talkative so there weren't really any awkward moments. She had spent a year in America and her English was very good so we just talked in English because trying to talk in German would have been a disaster. Of course, when I get there I will do my best to speak German the entire time, but I think it is good to have this initial communication in English before being immersed in the German just so that they could get to know me and I could get to know them a little better.
I really do enjoy emailing them and they have already set up a spot for me at the school as well as gotten me violin lessons and German lessons! Sadly though, I am about to spend a month in the woods where they take away my phone so I won't be able to communicate with them at all during that month. That also means that I only have two weeks when I get back to get everything prepared for Germany (AHHH!!!). I have absolutely no clothes and although they recommend just buying clothes there I would like to get some nice pairs of jeans before I leave, so that I don't have to walk around in raggedy pants for the first month.
Having a host family has gotten rid of a lot of anxiety I had about leaving. Not knowing anything about what my life was going to be like was making me a lot more worried and stressed about leaving. Now that I have my host family, packing is the next thing on my list for me to focus on. I have set up a list of everything that I need and am slowly starting to cross things off of that list. However, I'm sure that my last two weeks in Baltimore will be hectic and filled with lots of shopping.
Also, the fact that I'm leaving for the woods for a month means that this week is the last time I will see many of my friends for a whole year! Ellsie, Sicily, and Lucy are all leaving while I am gone and so I won't see them again and I also won't be able to go to any of their going away parties, and on top of that, since I won't have my phone I won't be able to send any of them goodbye texts or have them tell me what its like in their new homes!! Its a pretty sad week but I am also very excited for Washington. Its been a long time since I've been in the woods and I've really missed it. I never feel more at home than when I'm out in the backcountry with a backpack. I'm hiking with my cousin at the Gothic Basin before I start the service work and then I'm meeting up with my violin teacher and her sister in Seattle for a night. I am so excited but it is also kind of bittersweet, and I just wished it had been earlier in the summer because I feel like once I get back I will have hardly any time left to prepare for Germany. I feel like it's all crept up on me. How are there only 52 days left?!
Anyways, I am more than happy with my host family so far! Not to say that I don't understand that there could still be plenty of issues down the line, since I'm not even there yet, but I am pretty hopeful and so far, it seems like a wonderful match. :)
My first email to them took way longer than it should have, but I have a hard time communicating through writing. I don't want to come off as passive aggressive or insincere so I really have to try and think through the wording of everything that I write. I don't want to sound too formal, but also not too casual. Should I use smiley faces? Am I using too many exclamation points? Am I asking too many questions or am I talking about myself too much? I really struggled and obviously overthought it way too much, but all in all I was happy with my first email. As soon as the mom emailed back I realized I had nothing to stress out about! She was so sweet and I decided to try and write back in German, which added a whole other level of complexity to an already delicate situation, but I was also kind of proud of my German writing after working through it. The mom responded in German, and the daughter emailed me back that day and asked to skype! We skyped (even though it was super late in Germany) and it was so natural! She was so sweet and we both seem very talkative so there weren't really any awkward moments. She had spent a year in America and her English was very good so we just talked in English because trying to talk in German would have been a disaster. Of course, when I get there I will do my best to speak German the entire time, but I think it is good to have this initial communication in English before being immersed in the German just so that they could get to know me and I could get to know them a little better.
I really do enjoy emailing them and they have already set up a spot for me at the school as well as gotten me violin lessons and German lessons! Sadly though, I am about to spend a month in the woods where they take away my phone so I won't be able to communicate with them at all during that month. That also means that I only have two weeks when I get back to get everything prepared for Germany (AHHH!!!). I have absolutely no clothes and although they recommend just buying clothes there I would like to get some nice pairs of jeans before I leave, so that I don't have to walk around in raggedy pants for the first month.
Having a host family has gotten rid of a lot of anxiety I had about leaving. Not knowing anything about what my life was going to be like was making me a lot more worried and stressed about leaving. Now that I have my host family, packing is the next thing on my list for me to focus on. I have set up a list of everything that I need and am slowly starting to cross things off of that list. However, I'm sure that my last two weeks in Baltimore will be hectic and filled with lots of shopping.
Also, the fact that I'm leaving for the woods for a month means that this week is the last time I will see many of my friends for a whole year! Ellsie, Sicily, and Lucy are all leaving while I am gone and so I won't see them again and I also won't be able to go to any of their going away parties, and on top of that, since I won't have my phone I won't be able to send any of them goodbye texts or have them tell me what its like in their new homes!! Its a pretty sad week but I am also very excited for Washington. Its been a long time since I've been in the woods and I've really missed it. I never feel more at home than when I'm out in the backcountry with a backpack. I'm hiking with my cousin at the Gothic Basin before I start the service work and then I'm meeting up with my violin teacher and her sister in Seattle for a night. I am so excited but it is also kind of bittersweet, and I just wished it had been earlier in the summer because I feel like once I get back I will have hardly any time left to prepare for Germany. I feel like it's all crept up on me. How are there only 52 days left?!
Anyways, I am more than happy with my host family so far! Not to say that I don't understand that there could still be plenty of issues down the line, since I'm not even there yet, but I am pretty hopeful and so far, it seems like a wonderful match. :)