This is it.

Well I am at Dulles International Airport, literally ten minutes until I and the rest of the CBYXers board. Our "D.C Day" was great, and I will post pictures later. But I want to touch on something profound that happend. The group went to the United States Holocaust Memorial/Muesum. As I wintnessed Man's ability to do evil, I felt sick and was in a very real cold sweat. It makes wonder a ton about good and bad, noble and black.

When we went to the FDR Memorial later that day, I noted mankind still has hope. The contrast was pretty insane.

Okay time to get on my flight.

More later.

The Night Before.

LESS THEN 24 HOURS! Wow, this is amazing. My life is about totally change; the people in it, my environment, everything. I honestly do know what I have coming, but conversely Germany doesn't know what it has coming. I know it will be fun, sad, boring, and exciting all at one point or the other.

So, with me about to step off into a great unknown, I, naturally, have been reflecting a lot about everything, especially my worldview. Through all that I have come to two conclusions.

1) I love this God-made, blue and green piece of rock that spins through the galaxy.
2) There will always be more questions then answers, because if not, we would have nothing to explore.

Sorry for the short posts, once I get all to Germany and things start happening, pictures and stories will follow.

-Sean D

There and Back Again.

Hi, my name is Sean. I am a 17-year-old living in Virginia Beach, VA. I was a junior last year, I am an avid competitive swimmer and surf in my free time. I attended a school that has a magnet program for international studies and foreign languages for the past three years. Since I've entered high school, I have gone on a youth ambassador trip to Israel (I'll get into that later), was a Model United Nations delegate, and won a scholarship from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Needless to say, studying cultures, countries, and people is one of the few things I enjoy academically. That is why I decided to take a huge jump into the dark by applying (and later getting accepted) to the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX), a year long exchange/study abroad program in Germany. In Germany I hope to find friends, fun, and an adventure beyond anything I expected.

I already have a host family, in Hungen, Germany. It is a town of 15,000 (compared to the 500,000 of Virginia Beach). My host family is the Raabs. My host father is an IT consultant and my host mom is a nurse. I have two siblings, a brother is 20 and a sister that is 15. Pictures will follow!

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

Me in Israel, November 2010