I’m Martina from Italy and on August 8th my life has completely changed. I left the Italian land, my family and my friends to live my American Dream for 9 months. About 2 years ago I’ve found out how to be an exchange student and I immediately thought I wanted to be one. At first my parents were very worried, but after a while I’ve convinced them to let me do this experience and on January I’ve got my scholarship to go to America. The procedures to be an exchange students are very long and stressful, I took a psychology and English test and I’ve been interviewed by a psychologist to know what were my expectations, my thoughts and my motivation to make this important decision. Me and other 60 guys of my organization met several times during the year to do orientations that prepared us for what we would have faced. They helped us to be more self-confident and taught how to solve big and small problems and how to behave to enjoy our exchange year in the best way. The departure day seemed so far until the beginning of the summer. I really enjoyed spending times with my friends and family but I couldn’t wait any longer.

It was so hard to say goodbye to the people you love most, hug them while everyone was crying. But finally I got on the plane to NYC, in 9 hours you have a lot of time to think about your fears but the excitement prevails over everything. In 5 days I’ve been to New York, Philadelphia and Washington, the best way to start this experience.

It has been really hard for me at the beginning, I missed my family and friends and in October I’ve changed my host family and the town, now I live in Lamar. I was afraid to start all over again, a new family, a new school and new friends but everything is fine now. Americans are really nice and I like the school. I love my host family and I’m really thankful for everything they do for me. They welcomed me into their family from one day to the next and they made me feel loved from the first moment. Everyday there is something new, I’m so happy to be here and live this amazing experience.

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