“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true!" -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am finally living my dream! My name is Sarah Edgar, and ever since I was 6 years old all I ever wanted to do was be an exchange student, but as I grew older I thought I would never be able to be a high school exchange student. Here I am today, a junior in high school, who is currently studying abroad in Bosnia i Herzegovina, in the lovely city of Sarajevo!!

If you had asked me at the beginning of sophomore year would I go and study abroad, my junior year in high school, I would have replied,'
“1. No, there is NO way my parents are letting me out of this state, all by myself, at age 15, never mind the country.
2. I will not let myself miss the most important year in my high school career.
3. my parents aren't going to pull, $15,000 out of their pockets, and hand it to me saying, “Go study abroad in country that you know nothing about.""

Well, through YES Abroad, which is funded by the State Department, my parents are saying goodbye to their "little girl" and I am allowing myself to give up my junior year "Dream" of taking AP and Dual Credit classes to study abroad and have a cultural exchange. At least my parents didn't have to dish out $15,000!! :)

God has given me such an amazing opportunity, He has opened so many doors for me, and it is INCREDIBLE!!! I can't wait to see where this journey takes me!! I would love for you to follow my journey through this blog, which I will be keeping updated every few weeks! Hope you enjoy!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

“How did it get so late so soon?” - Dr. Suess


I feel as though it was only a few weeks ago that school ended! This has been the fastest summer of my life, but definitely the best as well! So much has changed since my last post in May! Sorry, I haven't posted at all this summer, but it seems as though I have haven't been home or even had the time do it! From the 1st week of summer break till the second week in July I was gone nearly every week to a camp, conference, or a family vacation!!! But I guess everyone only wants to hear about my updates rather than what I did this summer! haha

Well, Its exactly two weeks till I leave! I will be getting my itinerary on Friday, but I received my host family info last Tuesday!!! Let me just say, I am sooooooooo excited to meet my family! I will have two younger sisters who are around 7 and 4 years old! My parents can speak English which is such a relief for me! They seem beyond perfect, actually they sound a lot like my family, which is great!!!! I sent my first email to them today, and can't wait for the reply!

During the month of June I went to PDO ( which was Pre-departure Orientation in D.C.), we were taught about how to handle ourselves in our specific cultures, history about our host country, and just the basic info on studying abroad! My three roommates were amazing, we had Indonesia, Ghana, India, and Bosnia represented in one room!! It was so great to be with people who share a common interest in culture ect.! I cannot wait to hear their stories from their cultural exchanges!!

Other than that nothing else has changed!! I am spending my last two weeks going to school and getting read to leave! I cannot believe how close it is!! Hopefully I will make a quick post before I leave, but I definitely will post the 1st week I am there! Can't wait to start my new adventure!! :)

Until the next adventure,
Sarah Edgar
 
Flying over Atlanta to D.C. 
Bosnia group with the Bosnian Ambassador 

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