I guess most people get contacted by their counselors or through their guarantee form( the sheet that contains all your details from your host country––remember to check the glossary!) but mine was maybe a bit weird. Robert's english is not the best, which is not surprising as Poland was under the soviet influence and thus most people learned Russian as a second language and while it has been some time since the U.S.S.R it still leads to some sort of deficiency of English instructors. I love this though because it just means I can practice more polish. Which also is not that great, but I can read and understand about 50% now which is awesome since I only started learning in the beginning of the year. Here is the book I am using it is a lifesaver--if you are learning polish make sure you get the mary corbridge version I have heard the newer TYL is less reliable; I also recommend that ALL exchange students get a 301 Verbs Book they are super helpful.
Thanks to this book I have been able to write back and forth to Robert in polish except now we speak more in English for his sake, and now I have many more contacts I can use for language learning exploitation. The bittersweet part is that Robert will be an exchange student in Idaho next year and I will probably only meet him for a couple of days; however, I still will live with an awesome little sister name Ola ( short for Aleksandra––poles love diminutives and I love nicknames so we've anglicized her as Lexxie ) and a younger brother Remek who is around 13, and apparently a very good bmx-er. Hopefully, He can teach me some sort of coordination while I am there but I doubt I will pick it up haha. My host parents Mr. and Mrs. Stachowski also seem really nice and I think they are signing me up for guitar lessons; I really hope I can be an awesome exchange student for them.
Lastly, I've talked also to my host aunt Małgorzata who seems super nice and fun. She even suggested maybe going to the seaside when I arrive ( Grudziadz is only an hour and a half from the baltic sea). She also has a little baby girl, and I am excited to spend time with the both of them. I am so excited to live with them, and skyping with your host family really helps ease everything, and I can't possible imagine how people managed without it before. I don't know if I will have more than one host family––I am assuming no but either way I lover them already and my host families generosity never ceases to amaze me. I just know I will have the most amazing year.
Here is a video of Grudziadz, and I next post I will describe my last orientation and preparations processes.
