I have been emailing Marine, my host sister, and she told me that we will hang out. It also turns out I will also have two horses along with the cat and bird. I get my own room and we are going to be taking trips maybe to other countries. This is so exciting. I will keep in touch with her and post more later!

~Tara

Last night I emailed my host sister, Marine. I told her I was going to be living with her as an exchange student and I asked her about how I will get to school and stuff. She wrote be back at 9:05am today, which is about 3-4 in the afternoon in France. She told me I might be taking the bus to school and that there is no uniform. She also told me that we might be going skiing in February. This is so exciting! I emailed her back and when I get a reply, I will post the details.

~Tara

I am doing a speech in my Speech and Public Speaking class and it is going to be an informative speech about being an exchange student. I picked this topic because I will know what is is like to be an exchange student. I will talk about what to do to apply and maybe a little of what I did. I think by doing this speech, I will learn more about life as an exchange student.
I think by doing this subject, I will be more informed and able to inform the rest of my class.

~Tara

I’m off for now. I will start writing again when some more news comes up. So far nothing new has come up. Now, I just need to email/call my host family and ask questions and tell them a little about me. I am really happy I get a host sister and I really hope we get along. I know it will be challenging at first not to speak English, but I know after some time I will get the hang of it. I am so happy I got in and I know this will be great. I know homesickness will come and go a few times, and I will be prepared to deal with it. I will be gone for a school year and then back with my parents for my senior year of high school. (which I am happy for as well)

So, until more news flows in, by for now and thanks for reading!

~Tara

I am getting ready to go! I got a new suitcase for my trip and it has the Eiffel Tower on it. It is so cute and I am so excited to use it!

Since it is going to be a while until I go. This is all I am going to say for now.

~Tara

The only thing left to do now is wait. I am so happy I got in and now I am going to spend all the time I can with my family and friends! I know I will miss them all, but I want to get the most out of it.

My parents are taking me to Boston a few days earlier so we can go sightseeing before the orientation. It will be hard without them, but I am willing to manage and have a great time. More tomorrow.

~Tara

I just got off the phone with Ms Marinne Rubin and it went really well. She asked me questions like why I want to go and why I would be a good candidate.

Now that I am in, I will read the handout. First stop, Boston for the orientation. Then on to Paris, France. (wow) I will then board a train to Rennes where I will meet my host family.

I am so thrilled, this is definitely an experience of a life time!

~Tara

Tomorrow is my interview and I am ready! I have my questions prepared and I will be ready to write down the answers. I have told many people about this wonderful adventure and they are so excited for me. I know this will be great and help me with independence.

My parents are very proud of me since I did this process on my own. I wanted to go to France because I’ve always wanted to learn french and France seems like the best place to learn. I looked up programs until I found the best one. I kept asking my parents if I could go and each time they said, “Yeah sure.” Not in the excited way, more in the whatever way. I kept asking, and finally they said yes in a positive way. My dad help me look up programs and he called them and found that CIEE was the best one. I emailed back and forth with a lady and told her I was really interested in doing this. Now that the application is in and I have been accepted, I am so happy I didn’t stop asking.

~Tara

Monday is my phone call interview and last night my dad and I came up with some questions to ask the CIEE lady. Some of them are what do I take of my own things? Do I bring the family gifts? Do I help pay for food? These questions will be good to ask so I know what to do when I arrive. I also want to know what I call my host parents and if there is anything I need to know about them, the pets, or their house.

I am getting a lot more excited for this adventure. After I get fully accepted, there is a meeting in Boston and then from there, I go on to France. Another question would be do I travel alone or do my parents come with me? I have never traveled to another country by myself, but there is a first time for everything.

~Tara

Last night when I received the acceptance email, I looked at the attachments. One was about my host family. They have one daughter who is still living at home and she is twenty-years old. They also have a cat and a bird. (I am so excited I get pets!) I will live in Brittany, near Rennes. The house is about an hour from the ocean and about two hours by speed train from Paris. The area of Brittany is covered with forests and rivers. the weather during summer hot and sunny and the winters are mild and humid. The school is not set yet but I am sure it will be great.

I have a phone call appointment on Monday at 3:30 Hawaii time to talk to one of the ladies at CIEE. That will be important. She really wants to help me get all the way in.

~Tara