Something I really didn't expect to come, but eventually came, was moving day. The day where I had to switch host families.
In my Rotary club, there's just me and one other exchange student. We have the smallest club as far as exchange students go. We knew that for changing families, we would just be switching families with each other. But, we also thought for a long while that during the family change, we would be able to get out of it, and simply believed that we didn't have to change families. It seemed that way.
Well one Saturday morning, as I was eating breakfast with my family, I was abruptly informed otherwise. They told me I would have to move the following Thursday... yikes.
From December 26 to January 2, all of the other exchange students in Lima were changing families. There's about 30 of us in total. Being rebels (more so that it was last minute news), we didn't change until January 3.
It was only for 10 days I would live with my next family. Because what is happening, is we are having our 2nd trip from January 13 - January 25, and then January 26, I am moving to a different city: Arequipa! And of course I will be living with another family in Arequipa. I will return to Lima on March 12 after being away for 2 months. When I return, I will be moving back in with my original host family.
So everything will go as it was before.
Eventually, very quickly, moving day came. I slept in until noon that day because I couldn't sleep the night before knowing that it was my last night for a while. And I was getting sick. The few times I've been sick during exchange have always been during the most inconvenient times...
As normal I eventually got up, ate some breakfast, and then waited until the last minute to start packing. Paola, my next host mom, and Lukas, the other exchange student, came over to our house to switch around 2 pm. Which means I started packing around 2 pm...
It was hard, because I wasn't packing all of my things. I left all of my winter clothes and other things I wouldn't need there, bringing with me only my summer clothes and some other things. Lukas did the same.
My whole family was there during that time to send me off and help me out some. My host mom was crying a lot of the time. Which means I started crying. Packing, crying, it was fun. My host dad had to come in to calm us down with a reminder that it's only for 2 months that I wouldn't be there.
After about 2 hours I finally finished packing and ate some lunch. And then I left.
The car ride with Paola to her house was nice. We talked the whole time there. I feel bad for her having to deal with my Spanish only because Lukas already is fluently speaking Spanish it seems. But we were able to talk. Or she was. I'm definitely more of a listener than a talker.
Ii got myself settled in my next home quickly and have adjusted well. I think it also helped a lot because I knew the family well before moving in with them and had been to the house a few times. We've clicked well. Now it seems strange that it will only be 10 days of living with them compared to the almost 6 months I had with my first family. But it's great this way!
All of my things packed up in my room and a photo with some family.
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