Realities

Hi friend,

It has been a few weeks since we last spoke. I suppose it is time for a catch-up. I'd like to be able to say "So far, so good." I can't. I have faced a few set backs recently that have made this journey appear insurmountable at times. The first stems from my current schooling arrangement. For any of you that do not know this, I am home schooled. This way of education is loaded with stigma. Many people do not understand this path to graduation and further learning. Due to this, many countries do not allow or accept home schooling. In France, home school is not a common occurrence. Anyway, in the end this means I may or may not be accepted into the program because of my lack of language study and other misunderstandings associated with home school. And this brings me to the second difficulty. I will have to attend a language immersion camp in France shortly before the beginning of my program.

The camp sounds like a great and helpful experience. I am sure to learn a ton in the two or three week stint I will spend there. However, this is an unexpected cost. A big one, in fact. Huge, really. If you are also another hopeful exchanger and you have no means of paying for this experience other than possible scholarships, your hard-earned money, or kindhearted donations then you might understand my dismay. I still have a ways to go to secure the money necessary for this exchange, and an added cost this large is far from a pleasant surprise.

When it came time to finish up my application a few weeks back, I had to schedule a physical. Which isn't a big deal, right? Wrong. Apparently my physician is so packed it took me three weeks to secure an appointment. I have finally gotten it out of the way just to turn around and find out I have to get another one for a different version of the application! AGH.

These troubles will seem small, I hope, when I finally board my plane to another complete set of difficulties. Anyway, I've been me and you've been you. It's been real.

Talk to you soon,
Savannah