Before moving to Canada, I was an exchange student in the USA. I was there for eleven month. And today I tell you what I've learned while getting ready to leave for the States and about my first two month of experience living there.
I won FLEX scholarship. This program is for high school students from former Soviet Union , http://exchanges.state.gov/non-us/program/future-leaders-exchange
After excitement wore off, I had to do may things to get ready for the departure.
Make sure that you have all of your medical stuff straighten out before leaving your home country. If you need a pair of new glasses, get them while you are still at home. Make sure to renew your prescriptions and take care of any other medical stuff. It will be also helpful to know your medical history etc. Try to fill in your prescription in advance. It's also important to now the name of medications in the new country. It's helpful to bring medical files along.
Do research about the place where you are going. Internet is quite helpful. Make sure that you are aware of custom regulations and rules. Make sure you know what the climate is in the place; what kind of neighbourhood, cultural and traditional makeup of the place. In other words, gather as much information as you can. It's also good to get to know your host family before you'll leave through emails, phone conversations and Skype/facetime.
Resolve all of legal matter. If there is anything of legal matter that needs to be resolved -- do that before leaving. Close your bank accounts or entrust your close family member with the access to it. Resolve all legal matters, because if you wouldn't, it may haunt you. There were cases where people were stopped at the border because of their unresolved legal maters.
By traditional gifts and souvenirs. Try to get something that is pertaining specifically to your region. Don't give out all of them right away, people love to get them during Christmas and other holidays. The best one should go to the host family. Avoid stuff that can be violence.
Learn as much language as possible. Upon arrival to a new country the knowledge of language will help much. I had been in a country where I was not able to communicate because I did not know the language. It was as if I became deaf. Try not to socialize with your compatriots for the first few moth. It will not help your language study. My English almost did not improve for the first months in the USA. It will be easier once you start school in case if your language is not bad.
Grab some cash and put the rest of the money in travel checks. It's always useful to have some cash, but not much. Don't tell anyone how much money you have. You might also have to pay tax if the amount is larger what is supposed to be declared. If you get hungry or thirsty while travelling it's always nice t have some cash. Try not to spend more than $100 on food and drinks while travelling. Upon arrival open the bank account.
After all things had been straighten out, I packed my bags with mum's help and off we went. Mum was flying with me all the way to Moscow. It's 8-hour flight from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (city where I am from). We spent less than a day before flying out to Frankfurt and then to Washington DC. We stayed in a suburban Inn overnight, after we visited American Councils office; where we received instructions on how to travel. Next morning we woke up early and went off to the airport. My mum was crying she said goodbye before I went through security. I was sad and excited at the same time. I was very excited t board the plane, because it was my first time flying abroad. And so the aircraft took off ...
