Adjusting in the Sunshine State
Hanna (third from right) has the strength to overcome any challenge.

My happy everyday life in the Sunshine State

After my first flight on my own, my host family welcomed me with smiles and beautiful posters. We had four days left until school started, so I was able to meet the friend group of my host sister at the beach, which was a very nice day.

Then, school started and to be honest, the first school day was terrible for me. I hadn't gotten a schedule so I had to wait and miss the first classes. After I received it, I had a lot of trouble finding my classes with the many buildings on the school campus. I also forgot my phone in my locker, which I didn’t know how to open. In summary, I was really lost and was glad to find my host sister, who I sat with at lunch.

For the next few days, I wasn’t excited to go to school, because they changed my schedule a number of times, which led to a lot of confusion.

After I overcame these challenges, I began to get good grades and am proud to be an "Eagle."

I am on the varsity cross country team and the basketball team and am also volunteering in Key Club.

With all of the hobbies and advanced classes I take, it is no surprise that it is demanding. We take a lot of tests, and every day after school, I have cross country practice. A couple of times a week, I have basketball. After I get home, I spend the rest of the day doing homework before going to bed. On the weekends, we usually have a race early on Saturday morning.

I really like what I'm doing here, and because of my sports, I have met a lot of new people. My host brother and sister are also on the cross country team, so we go to races together. Even if we don't get much sleep, we always go to the football games. It's my first time experiencing football, so it is great!

After all these exciting events, I am thankful and happy to spend the evening watching the sunset inside my hammock at the beach or having a family night with all my new friends and host family.

Kind regards and best wishes to all the other exchange students.

—Hanna (Germany), hosted by the Deitz family (FL)