When you are going to the EIP for the first time, you feel like "oh my Nutella, what am I going to do? Will people really speak ONLY English with me? Is their English better than mine? Will they laugh of my face when a make some mistake? AND THE FOOD?". But, when you start thinking about it, you don't think about the other. You don't think that the other's feelings is the same as yours, with the same fears and other things. 
And we have another problem when you start this compilation of feelings. When you spend a week speaking English with each other, you "change" your personality a little. Because you can't explain everything that you want because you are using another language. In a certain time, you feel a little lost with words. It's not your language. You don't understand the feelings behind that word in other language. And this is part of a cultural knowledge that you do not have completely. 
So, the best part is come to the EIP and see that everything that you were thinking with a negative perspective was wrong. People are amazing and are totally just like you (and you end up finding a lot of soul mates on the program. And i'm talking about friends, please!), the English becomes easy for you, and you don't know why, but you "just go". AND THE FOOD IS AMAZING OH MY GOODNESS I WANT THIS KIND OF FOOD EVERYDAY BUT IF I EAT THIS THINGS EVERYDAY I WILL BECOME A BALL!!!
By the way, let me finish this thing. EIP is an amazing experience to meet people, to meet places, to laugh, to eat a lot and more than this things, improve your English with people like you. So please, comment here about your experience with programs like EIP or maybe the same program, my dears. See ya! 

Gabriela Couto - Manaus/AM