Meine erste Gastfamilie

Alrighty, so I have made contact with my first host family. I will be staying with them for one month while I am improving my language skills and getting used to the new culture through intense language and culture courses. They are the Clausens from Bordelum, a small town of about 2,000 that is only 10 minutes away from the North Sea. My mom is Birthe, dad is Oluf, and my siblings are Imke, 17, Marten, 15, and Max, 6. I really do not know much about them right now except that they have never hosted an exchange student before. So I really hope that I am going to be a good influence in them hosting in the future! They have a really pretty house and I will be sure to put up pictures of it and them as quickly as I can once I arrive. They appear to be very very nice people and I cannot wait to be a part of their family, even though it will only be for one month. Also, I was the one to initiation contact after receiving their information in the mail. I emailed them a short message in English and they responded.....in German. So it looks like I will have to work on my German skills before I even leave!!

Das Datum

Well, I just found out today the date that I will be leaving....ish. I have been told, from a very reliable source, that the scholarship recipients will need to be in Washington D.C. by July 20th!!!! I cannot believe how soon that is!!! And I am pretty sure that we will be leaving the states on the 23rd! It is kind of sinking in that I am actually not going to be here next year and, now that school is out, I know that the days leading up to my departure will fly by. I guess I better make the most of them!

Der Anfang

My name Brantley Scott. I am 16 years old and currently a junior. However, I will be spending my senior year abroad. In Germany, to be exact. I am a recipient of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship, CBYX, and will, therefore, be getting an, for the most part, all expenses paid year abroad through the exchange program Youth for Understanding, or YFU. Now for a little back story.

It all started when I talked my parents into hosting a foreign exchange student. They were a little wary at first, but finally I convinced them. I talked to my tennis coach, who has hosted students in the past, about the different programs and she sent me an email from AFS about students needing families in our area. So my family started the application process and, as the time went on, one by one, the students were getting placed and we didn't even know if we would be allowed to host or not! Finally, we got the all clear and were told to make our decision. Long story short, it came down to two people, one from Austria and the other, my new German brother, Immo.

Anyway, while I was looking at the AFS website I came across a blog of an American who went overseas. He was a recipient of the CBYX scholarship. So I looked into it. I found out that it paid for the flight there and full tuition!! I was very excited and, after much thought, decided to apply. After an interview and quite a few months of waiting, I learned that I was a scholarship recipient!!! I do not know when I will leave or where I will live in Germany. All I know is that I am uber excited to be going and will be updating this blog as often as I can, with pictures and videos also, so that you guys can keep updated on my German adventure!