HomeRodney was approaching his junior year in his high school and he had a serious decision to make. He had an opportunity to go abroad and take part in a foreign exchange program that would allow him to spend an entire year in Lugano, Switzerland. He was apprehensive about the switch because he had never spent more than a few weeks away from home and a year was a long time, but it could also be a once in a lifetime experience for him.
Rodney had taken Latin for a language class while he was in the middle school and then switched to Italian in high school. The Latin classes had proven to be quite beneficial for Rodney learning Italian and he had excelled to the top of his class. This language skill would really help him in the semester abroad and decided that he would take the challenge set before him. He accepted the offer for the program and started preparing to head to Switzerland for his Junior high school year. He was fortunate that the program took care of everything including his visa and essential paperwork. His parents were nervous about him setting out, but they wanted him to have a great experience at the same time.
That August he set off for the south of Switzerland and was amazed at the beautiful mountain range of the Alps that he could see when he was flying into the airport. He was even more amazed by the cleanliness and orderliness of the country that was immediately apparent. Lugano was a great and amazingly beautiful place to spend a year. He travelled all around Europe and made many friends in the process. He was very upset to leave when the year was over, especially because he was forced to leave behind his girlfriend, whom he had grown very fond of.
She promised to come and visit him the following year and hoped to continue their relationship, but for the moment they would need to rely on the internet and television to stay in contact. It would be very hard at first, but they were confident they could manage. However, it turned out things wouldn't be so easy on Rodney's side of the Atlantic because when he got home he discovered that the internet wouldn't allow him to keep a chatting program open for more than five minutes. There was no way for him to have a video or voice chat, and the only way to communicate was by calling card, which started adding up quickly.
He begged his parents to help him out and upgrade their internet to satellite internet so he could see his girlfriend in the video chat, or at least open a picture sent to his email. He also missed many of his friends and the best way to communicate with everyone overseas was using his MSN messenger or Skype and they would only work with a dependable internet, and satellite internet was the best and only option for them. After seeing how upset their son was, they talked it over and decided to make the switch. Rodney was so thankful and he was able to talk to his girlfriend daily. She held true to her promise and came to the United States later that summer.
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