Dear exchange diary,

I’m really excited about you and the place you are. A place I will have to write about, document and share my experiences, feelings and observations all throughout what will be my exchange year in Portugal. Write them to reflect, document them for my future self and share them with the world around. These are the reasons why I decided to create this wee blog with which I shall be privileged to take yous all, esteemed readers, with me during my journey to and around Portugal (perhaps, with a bit of luck, even to my self).

About a year ago, in 2015, I became highly infatuated with the concept of doing an exchange year. Everything was set in motion with me rewatching a documentary about four German high school exchange students in China, which I had once watched years prior. Seeing them struggle and grow through that struggle ignited something in me that would not easily be extinguished. In the beginning, my family frankly didn’t take me seriously. Eventually, after a lot of persistent stating my case, I did manage to get them on board. Having had some time to mull it over and look at all the available programs out there, I initiated contact with AFS for the fact that their host families have no financial incentive (a decision which I nowadays believe to have been the best choice I could’ve made back then).

As for the here and now: I’m still in my home country of Austria but the flight to Portugal is just a few days away. For obvious reasons, I’m one absolute bundle of psyched! Oh, and on a lil’ side note: I’ll write all of my posts in English rather than in German because I think everybody who wants to read these stories should be able to do so, be it my Austrian childhood friends or my Portuguese exchange acquaintances. I can’t wait to start my one-year-lasting adventure and to liven up this place of reflection, documentation and sharing!

Julian

02/09/16

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