In Home Orientation

Hey guys!
Over the last week and a half I have been in serious anticipation of my in home orientation. Last Thursday I finally had my in home orientation and it went over very smoothly. I hadn't been getting much sleep though so I was a little on the tired side. My orientation was three hours long but honestly it felt like three days! I got so much information and I have so much more to learn. I want to fill the full potential of this exchange so I have to know as much as I can.
My passport came in the mail last week. I had a bit of an aha moment when it got here. I had kind of just been floating along, and going with the flow of how this exchange was going to work, but when my passport got here it all became so much more real. All my friends have been telling me how much they are going to miss me and that we can't lose touch. I just tell them I'm trying not to think about how much I'm going to miss people.
I now have a big binder full of stuff I have to read and know before our training in January and honestly it's a little bit intimidating. All of the names and positions on the board in rotary that I have to know. Its overwhelming for sure. I'm sure that in time I will be able to get a real grasp on what is going on and I will be able to know all I need to know.
I think my next step is to get in touch with the outbounds (exchange students that are in a country right now) in the countries I am interested in and talk to them about how they like it. I am planning on going to Portland with Veera, the inbound from Finland, and Mariah the other outbound candidate that goes to my school. This should give us lots of time to talk about our concerns and just grow closer as friends. I am hoping that Veera will have some advice for us as well. I am going to my first Rotary lunch with my club on Wednesday and I am very nervous but also relieved about not having to speak this time.
I am so excited to see what happens on this wild ride to my exchange and back. I can't wait to see what is in store for me. I can not stress enough how helpful it has been having Mariah there to talk to who is going through the same things as me at around the same time. She has been a big help at keeping me in check on due dates and things like that. This opportunity is unbelievable and sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. The school work is definitely catching up with me seeing as I am going to have 9 classes next semester and I'm doing online summer school to make sure I have enough credits to graduate on time when I come back. As a challenge I am working on controlling my stress better as I tend to overreact when my plate gets too full. It helps to have friends to talk to, to calm me down when I start to freak out a little. This is definitely going to help me be more responsible which will for sure help me later on in life. I hope this exchange is all I think it will be and I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity.
Thanks for reading,
Ally