IV. Little surprises

   Somehow, slowly and painfully, a watched clock does move, and the days of the calendar do change. Now I have only about one month living here at home.

   As of right now, my mom and I are trying to get my Visa. We got the instructions not too long ago, and basically we have to gather lots and lots of papers, fill them out, and send them to the Swiss Consulate in New York. It's not quite as alarming as my original application was, but it's still taking a lot of work, and we barely started. You might say that a lot of AFSers are stressed out right now. At least I don't have to get an FBI check like some of the students going to Spanish-speaking countries do. Every country's visa process is different.

   Last Saturday, all the Speedwell scholarship winners and a few recent returnees went to Refreshing
Mountain. There we climbed around on a scary high-ropes course and flew along some ziplines. When I wasn't terrified of slipping off a tight-rope, I actually had fun and got to know some other kids who are in the same boat I am. It was good to talk to other people and know that I wasn't alone in all this. Most of us are headed to different countries, so it's so exciting to learn where everyone is headed. I found it amazing that there are even a pair of twin brothers who are going to completely different countries.

   Today, however, I was busy grumbling about doing chores when my mom called upstairs and said that I got a package. A package? I didn't order anything. Here was this moderately heavy box wrapped in silver paper with lots of stamps, and it was from my host family! I've been in pretty steady contact with them this summer through email and Facebook, but I was completely surprised and wondered what this was for. 

   Inside I found a cute postcard, a Swiss T-Shirt, and lots and lots of Swiss chocolate (probably enough to make my entire family sick if we ate it all at once). I read the postcard, which was, naturally, in German and learned that this was all for my birthday!

   It's a little weird thinking about my birthday this summer because normally, when it's six days before the big day, I am like super duper excited. And this is my sixteenth birthday, so it should be an even bigger deal. This summer though, the countdown on my personal calendar is not for my birthday but for the day that I leave. I didn't even make a birthday wishlist because there is only so much that I will be able to pack in one suitcase.

   I feel so blessed that my host family knew that my birthday was coming up and bothered to send a gift. Ironically, today is also my host mom's birthday, so I thanked her for the presents and wished her also a happy birthday.

My new Swiss T-Shirt.

The chocolate and postcard that my host family sent me.

Isn't this postcard so cute?

Chocolate and I are best buddies, especially when it is wrapped in little pictures of Switzerland.

   Altogether, my day was totally made, and I just can't wait until I can actually say "thank you" to my host family in person.