I Have a Host Family!

Ladies and gentlemen, this girl finally has a host family! I groggily rolled out of bed yesterday, ate a quick breakfast, and being as tired as I was, went right back up to my bed for a nap. When I woke up, I grabbed my phone and started checking Facebook. I saw that Izzy had posted on our page and said, "I have my family and I'll be in Surabaya!" Just as I was about to start feeling sorry for myself that I STILL didn't have a host, my phone vibrated. I went to my email, and saw, "AFS: Your Permanent Host Family Placement with AFS-Indonesia." I got way, way, way too excited and screamed. I then tripped over my dog on the floor, and rushed over to my computer. 

Aren't they the cutest?

So this is my cute family! I have a beautiful mom named Irma, a father named Andriti, an 11 year old sister named Adziqa, and a 5 year old brother named Faiq. My mom is a doctor and my dad works for a telecommunication company. My mom did an exchange to Belgium, so that's great because she has gone through an exchange herself before. My new family loves to go out and do new things on the weekends together. Mom loves to cook. Dad likes to play soccer every week. Adziqa likes to draw and takes piano lessons. And Faiq likes to play soccer and bike! 

Some more family photos

                               

I forgot to mention, I will be in Bandung! I will be there with Breanna. From the beginning we said we would be together because we were roommates at the IPSE, and then we were placed in the same country, and we will now be in the same city! Bandung is the third largest city in Indonesia with a population of 2.4 million people. Bandung is surrounded by volcanoes and a river. So that's pretty neat. Because of the city's elevation, the climate is actually cooler than other places on Java. Hallelujah. The average temperature is 75 degrees. 

More about Bandung later. I am so very thankful for my host family! I have exchanged emails with my mom and I don't think she could be any sweeter. Getting my host family has certainly made my upcoming journey much more real, and I cannot be more excited for my upcoming year. 

38 days,
Mal Pal