I had never spent so long

in the middle of nowhere. I grew up in the suburbs of NYC, where everything is accessible all the time, and so I panicked when I got my family assignment and googled their town and it barely seemed to exist. There were no pictures on Google Images! But small places are the best place to do your exchange - there, you get to be special. People pay attention to you or, in my case, all know your name. So I got lucky!