In Just a Few Days

I'm leaving to Washington, D.C. for my pre-departure orientation in FIVE DAYS! It hit me so fast. I remember anxiously waiting for more information from American Councils and NSLI-Y about the program a few months ago, and now I'm finally preparing to leave...time flies! My flight departs early Wednesday morning to D.C., so I'll have to wake up at 5 or 6 AM. Also, everyone leaving to Hangzhou after the pre-departure orientation will have to wake up at 2 AM to get ready and travel from the hotel to the airport. It's going to be pretty tiring, but it's all worth it! This is basically my itinerary--

June:  LA - DC 

          DC - Chicago

          Chicago - Shanghai (approx. 15 hours & no transit flights)

August:   Shanghai - Chicago 

              Chicago - LA

I also received information about my host family, and I'll be living with the Fang Family! My parents' works relate to business, and my host sister will be attending the same high school as I do. Along with them, I'll be living with a grandmother and grandfather. 

          

I've done absolutely no packing so far, and I really should start. I have everything I need (including all the gifts for my host family), and I also created a list, but packing is tiresome to me. It's exciting to know that everything I'm placing into my luggages will be what I'll be taking to Hangzhou, but I wish everything could magically pack by itself. Speaking of what I'll be bringing to Hangzhou, I created a video for my host family! I was initially going to create a scrapbook or album about my life in LA, but my brother suggested making a video. I compiled one on iMovies after gathering some past photos and videos and also taking some recently. It was actually quite fun...more enjoyable than I first thought! I uploaded my video to youtube and burned it onto a DVD, and here's the link to it (I marked it as unlisted so that people only with the link have access to it).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqLaYlsZGT8&feature=youtu.be

 I better start packing, so I'll probably post more when I'm at or on my way to DC!

BTW sorry if the video makes you a bit dizzy.