24 hours!

          Tomorrow is a very special day. It might be simply June 14th to you guys, but tomorrow means A LOT more than that to me. My mind is spinning 100mph and I thought the best way to help that would be to write it out. So... Tomorrow I will be reunited with my family (mother, father, and brother) after 10 long months! I never imagined I would to see them for the first time in such a long time, here, in Salta. I kind of always imaged I would see them when I got back to the airport in Hartford. But, I am so thankful I get this chance. I get the chance that all AFS students dream of, and most don't get this opportunity. My closest family is coming to visit me in Argentina. (CRAZY right? In a good way!) They would not have been able to visit if it wasn't for my host family. When I left Hartford, this was never the plan. But then, I got here and I fell in love with a family, another one, and it was this family that said to me, "Cuando vienen mi otra familia?", which means, "When is my other family coming to visit?'. In that moment, I knew my family and Argentinean family needed to be united. So, with that, comes this moment. It's finally here! In the next 24 hours I will see my family again, and they will see the rest of mine.
          After my mom, dad, and brother arrive, I am bracing myself for the start of the AFS "emotional roller coaster". At the AFS (American Field Service) orientation, they explain what our "emotional roller coaster" might look like. The AFS experience is extremely hard and far from perfect. There are high highs and low lows, there times that are normal and times you have no idea what your feeling, but they say the last month of your experience it the hardest and I can completely contest to that! Seeing my family for the first the time in A LONG time will be very emotional but full of joy. I know that the next two weeks will probably be the best two weeks of my life, and with that, reality starts to set in that very soon I will have to leave this place. Although I am really exited and anxious about going home, I know I am going to miss SOO many things here. This experience has changed me for a life time and made me a stronger and better person. I will miss my friends and the challenge, but most of all I will miss my host family. Saying goodbye to them will be the second hardest thing I've ever had to do, the first being saying goodbye to my family and friends in Hartford. Now, I will have to say goodbye to my friends and family here. But, I will be saying goodbye to something that will never be the same again. There are even people I know I might not see ever again, and thats a hard reality to face. It will be heart breaking yet bitter sweet... and then I get home, where I will be overwhelmed by yet another wave of emotions, seeing people I have missed for so long. But my guess is, about a month later, I will begin to miss what I have here and that will stay with me forever. (It's called an "emotional roller coaster" for a reason).
          With all of that being said, I am glad my family is coming to visit me now. I feel this is the moment I need them the most. I need them to see why I love this place and these people so much, so that they understand why I will miss them later. Words can't describe how exited and anxious I am right now. Counting down the hours and seconds, playing the image of them walking of the plane in my head a million times, and reminding myself that I get this chance, a once in a lifetime experience. I am sure my heart will start beating out of my chest with anticipation tomorrow at the airport, but right now, it still seams completely surreal, just like it was when I left home 10 months ago.

As always Gracias,
I hope I gave you a look at the other side of this experience.
I have 29 days left until I leave Argentina, 31 days till I arrive at the airport in Hartford, CT, and less then 24 hours until I see my family again. When you have a month left, one of the things you can't help but do, is count down.

3... 2... 1... I'm ready to live it to the fullest.

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