Going to a foreign country, in another continent, thousands of miles away from home...if that doesn't sound terrifying enough, imagine counting on people that are at the time just names at the end of emails or on documents, to be waiting at the airport when you land. They were there when I landed holding a placard that read "Welcome Ivy!" They were there throughout the year. They became my other family and Georgia, my other home.

Attending college, going on outings with other GRSP students, and travelling with my host parents were the most exciting things to do during the year. Going to school gave me the opportunity to make friends for a lifetime and learn about the American culture from a local's perspective. It was fun celebrating Halloween and eating so much pumpkin pie, turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving day, picking out a Christmas tree, decorating it and opening presents on Christmas day, watching the oyster drop in Biloxi a few seconds before the new year and the fireworks that follow, and finding the baby in my piece of King Cake. I also discovered that my absolute favorite water activity was tubing and I learned the hard way that one needed to be physically fit before taking on the water skis. The best part of it all was having friends, host families and exchange students to share each laughter and every moment with.

As I got to know all the other GRSP students coming from all over the world, I gained knowledge about their cultures and I became proud, and more appreciative of my own culture and theirs. I expanded my global horizons.

It is a very difficult task to sum up a year into a few paragraphs because there's so many experiences - home sickness, culture shocks, awkward moments and adventures. GRSP is a life in one year. I now have four families in counting, nine siblings, four dogs and one cat whom I love and I am absolutely grateful for. This year has been one of the best years of my life!