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August 17th, 2001, 6:20am – I finally made it.

But was this really the right decision?

I was sitting on an air plane heading to Little Rock, Arkansas.

For months I had not been doing anything but planning this trip. I was part of the Rotary Exchange Programme and I was about to find out where I was going to spend the next 12 months.

I was 16 at the time and this was definitely the most exciting thing you can possibly do when you are that age.

Sitting on the air plane all kinds of thoughts came to my mind.

Was it right to leave everybody at home, my parents, my two sisters, grandparents, friends? Going somewhere strange, living with a strange family, going to a different country with a different culture and a foreign language?

I could not wait to get off the air plane.

I was so curious and excited. Then there it was. Little Rock.

After I had picked up my luggage I finally met them: my “new parents”. From that moment on I enjoyed a wonderful time being an Exchange Student in the US.

It took me about 6 weeks to adjust to everything, their way of life, school, and language.

The first few days I thought, that I would never ever understand a word what they were saying in their really strong “southern drawl”. But I did learn and by the end of November I'd even had my first dream in English.