Summer has begun!

I am officially finished with school! Although I am leaving a week early for a mission trip to Cuba with my dad, I feel that this is a great time to start posting periodically about my feelings of Germany and also to update all of you who are reading throughout the summer.

On March 6, 2007, I found out that I was selected as one of the CB (Congress-Bundestag) scholarship winners and have been awarded a full scholarship to study abroad my senior year at a "Gymnasium" (German high school). As of right now, I still don't know my host family or where I'll be staying in Germany, but that doesn't mean the excitement hasn't started to build up yet. Through a multitude of conference calls and orientations, I have begun to realize that this will truly be a life-changing experience. Although I will be leaving Ashland behind for a year, it still is hard to comprehend that my dream of going to Germany is coming true! I just want to say thank you to all of you (teachers, friends, family, etc.) for your support and encouragement.


Currently, I do have a basic agenda for events that will take place and when I will be departing for Germany:

Late August/early September: CB/AFS orientation in Washington, D.C.
September 5-9: Departure to Germany
September 10-early October: Language Camp in Germany (location still unknown)
October-July: Residence with permanent host family, attendance at a German high school


As of now, this is the majority of information that I have about the trip. But don't worry, I will certainly keep an update of my status and let you know as soon as I find out anything new!

Danny