-I'm from Texas.
(I know you asked for the country, but have you have you ever heard the saying: "Ask a Texan where he's from, he'll say Texas first, United States second"? Some may argue that's Texan pride or whatever. I attribute it more to the fact that Texas doesn't get much in the way of foreigners. We're pretty much cross-culturally-stunted.)

Date (revised):
Summer or around Christmas (Summer would be best). The two big breaks in the school year. I think the summer of 2013 would stand the best of chances for a person like me, way out in the states. I do have the advantage of never having been out of country, so if I begged, I might be able to get the trip as a sort of graduation vacation. That's about as close to a possible scenario that I can think of.