OK, so you know that feeling when you have to leave for somewhere in twenty minutes but you are ready to leave and are bored because there is nothing for you do to because you just want to go? I have reached that point. Except I don't leave for a week. Joy.
So basically life has been pretty boring these last few weeks. I have basically just watched TV and stuff like that. It has been pretty booooooring. Right now I am sitting in the library of my old school typing a blog post. Today is the first day of school for them so I came to school to say hi. It was pretty great to walk in in jeans (there is a uniform (its a private school)) and then go to a spanish class and then just hang out. It is kinda boring, and the rest of the week will be really boring because i am not going to go to school again this week and i am going to sit at home and review all of the documents and maybe start packing. Maybe. Yesterday i got space bags, which are little bags that you can vaccuum the air out of, so that it is easier for me to pack my stuff. But my life will pretty much be watching a lot of TV this week.
I think i might go to lunch today, and i am going to go to lunch next week... It is really weird not being in school when all of my friends are. I might go hang out with my public school friends... who knows.
Anyway, life is pretty boring. Cant we just leave now?
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
1 Month!!! (Actually 30 days but...)
Wow.
Yesterday marked the one month until my departure to New York. In exactly thirty days I will be in New York at the Orientation and in exactly one month I will be getting ready to go to the airport to check in for my flight to Zurich and then to Spain.
And I still can't believe it.
So much has happened since I submitted my pre-application in December. I have braved the hurdle of International Relations, survived my visa appointment, and made a blog (which might sound easy but it took forever; see post "The Beginning.") But here I am a mere 4 weeks from my departure and realising how unprepared I am. I have to...
...Pack:
This might seem easy but involves going shopping and buying clothes. Also, I have to make sure that I have everything that I will need from America for the whole year. And I have to do this all in one week because I am going next week and the week before my departure school starts (not for me, but for Bear Creek) so my mom has to go to work.
...LEARN MORE SPANISH:
Ha. I say that like I am going to know so much Spanish when I get there. Yeah right. I will know some but not nearly enough to be able to communicate well. The first few months of school will probably consist of me sitting in class catching every tenth word the teacher says and failing every class except math and English, a class I am really excited to take because I am a native speaker. :)
...and learn about Spanish History, Politics, and Economics.:
Because I know practically nothing about Spanish History, Politics and Economics.
And I also need to prepare mentally for what I am about to do. I am pretty much flipping the world I know upside-down, and leaving everything I know behind. It is like skydiving: terrifying, but exciting at the same time.
So, here is what has happened since I last posted:
1. Documents: I received all of the required documents for my visa. I got all the ones from AFS the week before my visa Appointment.
2. Applying: My mom, my brother and I all drove to San Francisco so I could apply for my visa. The appointment went well, even if it was a little nerve-wracking. There was a girl about my age who was called in before I was. She was in there for about 15 minutes before she comes out bawling. She heads straight for the door and everyone in the room is silent. Her dad gets up and follows her out. All of us still there look around at each other, all of us thinking, "I hope my appointment goes better than that." But mine went fine. The guy was really nice and I was out in 15 minutes.
3. VISA!!!!!!!: So, today I went to get the mail. I get the mail and am walking back down the street looking through it when I see this large envelope at the back of the pile. I flip to it and stop. "Holy Cow!" is the first thing that pops into my head. I stare at the envelope for a couple more seconds and let the reality sink in. MY VISA JUST CAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took a little more than a week and a half and IT CAME!!!!!!! I was (and still am) totally surprised, I wasn't expecting it until about a week or two before I left. But IT CAME!! I do have to get it extended during my first month in Spain, but it doesn't seem that hard. On the visa it says that it was issued one week and one day after my appointment. I am sooo amazed.
This is a brief summary of my July. I can not believe that in one month I will be (hopefully) in the airport checking in for my flight to Zurich. All you AFSer's going to Spain I am SO excited to meet you! Less than a month! I still can't believe it (and I know this is so cliche but it is so true) and I don't think it will fully sink in until my flight to New York leaves.
Adios!!
Yesterday marked the one month until my departure to New York. In exactly thirty days I will be in New York at the Orientation and in exactly one month I will be getting ready to go to the airport to check in for my flight to Zurich and then to Spain.
And I still can't believe it.
So much has happened since I submitted my pre-application in December. I have braved the hurdle of International Relations, survived my visa appointment, and made a blog (which might sound easy but it took forever; see post "The Beginning.") But here I am a mere 4 weeks from my departure and realising how unprepared I am. I have to...
...Pack:
This might seem easy but involves going shopping and buying clothes. Also, I have to make sure that I have everything that I will need from America for the whole year. And I have to do this all in one week because I am going next week and the week before my departure school starts (not for me, but for Bear Creek) so my mom has to go to work.
...LEARN MORE SPANISH:
Ha. I say that like I am going to know so much Spanish when I get there. Yeah right. I will know some but not nearly enough to be able to communicate well. The first few months of school will probably consist of me sitting in class catching every tenth word the teacher says and failing every class except math and English, a class I am really excited to take because I am a native speaker. :)
...and learn about Spanish History, Politics, and Economics.:
Because I know practically nothing about Spanish History, Politics and Economics.
And I also need to prepare mentally for what I am about to do. I am pretty much flipping the world I know upside-down, and leaving everything I know behind. It is like skydiving: terrifying, but exciting at the same time.
So, here is what has happened since I last posted:
1. Documents: I received all of the required documents for my visa. I got all the ones from AFS the week before my visa Appointment.
2. Applying: My mom, my brother and I all drove to San Francisco so I could apply for my visa. The appointment went well, even if it was a little nerve-wracking. There was a girl about my age who was called in before I was. She was in there for about 15 minutes before she comes out bawling. She heads straight for the door and everyone in the room is silent. Her dad gets up and follows her out. All of us still there look around at each other, all of us thinking, "I hope my appointment goes better than that." But mine went fine. The guy was really nice and I was out in 15 minutes.
3. VISA!!!!!!!: So, today I went to get the mail. I get the mail and am walking back down the street looking through it when I see this large envelope at the back of the pile. I flip to it and stop. "Holy Cow!" is the first thing that pops into my head. I stare at the envelope for a couple more seconds and let the reality sink in. MY VISA JUST CAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took a little more than a week and a half and IT CAME!!!!!!! I was (and still am) totally surprised, I wasn't expecting it until about a week or two before I left. But IT CAME!! I do have to get it extended during my first month in Spain, but it doesn't seem that hard. On the visa it says that it was issued one week and one day after my appointment. I am sooo amazed.
This is a brief summary of my July. I can not believe that in one month I will be (hopefully) in the airport checking in for my flight to Zurich. All you AFSer's going to Spain I am SO excited to meet you! Less than a month! I still can't believe it (and I know this is so cliche but it is so true) and I don't think it will fully sink in until my flight to New York leaves.
Adios!!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
2 Months!! :D
In two months from today I will have arrived in New York and will be at the Departure Orientation!!! That is super-duper exciting but also makes me a little nervous because there is so much that still needs to be done! I have to get my visa (which is a process in and of itself), learn more Spanish (haha, yeah right) and do everything that has to be done right before I leave (packing, making long lists of everything I will need, etc.). But I CAN'T WAIT!!!! I am also really excited to fly by myself because I have never done this before. This might seem lame but I am excited. Here are some random things that have occurred since the last post:
1. I got accepted into School!! :) I will be attending IES (that stands for Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria) Jorge Marique in Tres Cantos. It is about a 10 minutes walk from the house and I think that Pablo will be going there, too. I got a student ID card, too:
View AFS Spain Placements in a larger map
Thanks to Amy King for telling me how to put a preview of it up! (If you want to see her blog (she is also going to Spain) here is the link: http://amymargaret.blogspot.com/
So that was a pretty quick summary of what has happened! My summer is going to be super busy until the beginning/middle of August (I go to a wedding, the to Alaska, then to California all within three weeks). But hopefully that will make the summer all that much better!! :) I can't wait!!! There is only 60 days, 16 hours and 48 minutes until my flight to New York leaves! (not like I am counting or anything.)
1. I got accepted into School!! :) I will be attending IES (that stands for Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria) Jorge Marique in Tres Cantos. It is about a 10 minutes walk from the house and I think that Pablo will be going there, too. I got a student ID card, too:
2. There are tons of other people going to Spain from the US and other countries. A girl from the US made this map on Google showing all of the places everyone is going:
View AFS Spain Placements in a larger map
3. I have received the majority of the documents that I need for my Visa!! I am now only waiting for the stuff from AFS and then I am good!! Yay! I am super excited to go to San Francisco for many reasons, some being 1) I have never been to California, 2) I just want to get all of the visa stuff sent off, 3) I will hopefully get to meet another AFSer going to Spain whose visa appointment is right before mine, and 4) I am going to do a bunch of fun stuff (like visit Alcatraz and ride bikes across the golden gate bridge)! (although i am not to excited about driving there... :P).
4. I had a really fun 4th of July and did a bunch of fireworks at a friends house! It was super fun!!! (Yay for fire! :D)
Monday, June 18, 2012
Visas (AHHHHH!!)
The Definition of Visa:
Visa: (noun) 1. The word that brings confusion (and annoyance) to every person going to Spain for the year. 2. The annoying little stamp (I think its a stamp... Not sure.) that is so hard to get and costs way too much money (the visa does not cost that much but the whole process of going and getting it cost too much).
And if you are going to Spain for the year and you are not confused (or annoyed) about your visa one of two things is occurring:
1. (Most likely) You are lying.
2. You have no brain.
Here is the basic gist of our problem:
First of all you should know that the visa process for Spain is long and complex. There are about 15 required documents you have to have and then once you have all of these papers you have to go to the consulate that "governs" your area. For some people it is like, "Yay! We get to go on a 4 hour drive to Houston!" or something to that effect. But for others (like me) we get to go, "Yay! We get to go on a 12 hour drive to San Francisco!" Super annoying. Or we could fly but it is really expensive (like my ticket to NYC in September was cheaper. Yes it is one-way but still...). And then you have to rent a car and do all of that fun stuff. Anyway, we had to get about a bazillion papers including, but not limited to an FBI background check (now I am in the system. Dangit.) and Application forms and acceptance letters from Spain and proof of Insurance and a medical thingy ( I still need to do that...) and pay the people money. And there is still more I just got tired of listing stuff. Oh, and a bunch of that stuff needs an Apostille, which as far as I know is some sort of authentication thing that says it is real, and you have to get these from your State Government and the US Government (it depends on the paper who you send it to...). And I am not saying it is wrong or overly complex; it is just hard.
Now the problem. We had to get Passport copies and parental consent forms and get those notarized and "apostilled" (i made that word up. :) ) and then send them to AFS. But we didn't know if AFS was sending them back or not and then whether we had to get new ones or if we still had some or what. (And it turns out that the requirements for a Visa might be different depending on the consulate (which is dumb, they should all be the same)) So now we still have papers to get and other stuff to do before I can go to the Consulate.
Oh, and speaking of Consulates:
You have to go in person to a Consulate and you have to have an appointment, bring all of the documents and stuff like that. And then it takes 4 weeks for them to process you visa paperwork and mail you visa to you with you passport (they keep your passport and then mail it to you with the visa in it). And you have to make your visa appointment early because the fill up. So I made my visa appointment for July 26th (which is only in 5 weeks) and I still have stuff I need from Spain but they can't send that to me until I send them stuff from school that I still don't have that still needs to be translated before I can send it to them.
But we'll manage. I hope.
And on a completely unrelated note I have my first spanish lesson tomorrow! Yay! I am excited but I need to go study...
So basically, visas are one of the most annoying things on the planet.
Visa: (noun) 1. The word that brings confusion (and annoyance) to every person going to Spain for the year. 2. The annoying little stamp (I think its a stamp... Not sure.) that is so hard to get and costs way too much money (the visa does not cost that much but the whole process of going and getting it cost too much).
And if you are going to Spain for the year and you are not confused (or annoyed) about your visa one of two things is occurring:
1. (Most likely) You are lying.
2. You have no brain.
Here is the basic gist of our problem:
First of all you should know that the visa process for Spain is long and complex. There are about 15 required documents you have to have and then once you have all of these papers you have to go to the consulate that "governs" your area. For some people it is like, "Yay! We get to go on a 4 hour drive to Houston!" or something to that effect. But for others (like me) we get to go, "Yay! We get to go on a 12 hour drive to San Francisco!" Super annoying. Or we could fly but it is really expensive (like my ticket to NYC in September was cheaper. Yes it is one-way but still...). And then you have to rent a car and do all of that fun stuff. Anyway, we had to get about a bazillion papers including, but not limited to an FBI background check (now I am in the system. Dangit.) and Application forms and acceptance letters from Spain and proof of Insurance and a medical thingy ( I still need to do that...) and pay the people money. And there is still more I just got tired of listing stuff. Oh, and a bunch of that stuff needs an Apostille, which as far as I know is some sort of authentication thing that says it is real, and you have to get these from your State Government and the US Government (it depends on the paper who you send it to...). And I am not saying it is wrong or overly complex; it is just hard.
Now the problem. We had to get Passport copies and parental consent forms and get those notarized and "apostilled" (i made that word up. :) ) and then send them to AFS. But we didn't know if AFS was sending them back or not and then whether we had to get new ones or if we still had some or what. (And it turns out that the requirements for a Visa might be different depending on the consulate (which is dumb, they should all be the same)) So now we still have papers to get and other stuff to do before I can go to the Consulate.
Oh, and speaking of Consulates:
You have to go in person to a Consulate and you have to have an appointment, bring all of the documents and stuff like that. And then it takes 4 weeks for them to process you visa paperwork and mail you visa to you with you passport (they keep your passport and then mail it to you with the visa in it). And you have to make your visa appointment early because the fill up. So I made my visa appointment for July 26th (which is only in 5 weeks) and I still have stuff I need from Spain but they can't send that to me until I send them stuff from school that I still don't have that still needs to be translated before I can send it to them.
But we'll manage. I hope.
And on a completely unrelated note I have my first spanish lesson tomorrow! Yay! I am excited but I need to go study...
So basically, visas are one of the most annoying things on the planet.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Summer!
Today was the last day of school!! The next time I will be in school will be in Spain! I can't wait, it is going to be a great year!
But this summer is going to be crazy. I am going to 5 different states (6 if you count Washington...) and I still need paperwork for my visa. I need the paperwork before I can go to San Francisco, so i still don't know when I am going. But I'm going! I have never been to California and i am excited! Also, I three months i will (hopefully) be asleep after my first afternoon is Spain! YAY! (By hopefully I mean that I will hopefully be asleep, not hopefully be in Spain...) But yeah, this summer is going to be BUSY!
But it will be fun! Now only 90 days! :)
But this summer is going to be crazy. I am going to 5 different states (6 if you count Washington...) and I still need paperwork for my visa. I need the paperwork before I can go to San Francisco, so i still don't know when I am going. But I'm going! I have never been to California and i am excited! Also, I three months i will (hopefully) be asleep after my first afternoon is Spain! YAY! (By hopefully I mean that I will hopefully be asleep, not hopefully be in Spain...) But yeah, this summer is going to be BUSY!
But it will be fun! Now only 90 days! :)
Friday, June 1, 2012
Flight Info!!!
So today started out as a normal day. The key word in that sentence was started.
When I was putting on my uniform for school my mom yelled at me. I wasn't really paying attention so i didn't hear what she said. I yelled at her to tell me what she said and it turns out MY FLIGHT INFO HAD COME!!!! and I wasn't expecting that until mid-June early-July ish. So i was REALLY EXCITED!!! :)
I went downstairs and opened my email and looked at the thingy. I get to go to Switzerland!!! :) (even if it is only for 3 hours...) Pretty cool. And I have to be in New York at 4 p.m. on September 5th, although i am still trying to convince my mom that we should go a couple of days early... I have an orientation until the 6th and our flight to Zurich leaves at 8:55. We arrive in Zurich at 10:45 the next day and at 12:25 WE LEAVE FOR MADRID!! :) We arrive in Madrid on the 7th at 2:45 pm and we go to our host families the next day! So yeah! I am now SUPER EXCITED (even more than i was before which i didn't think was possible) except i still don't know when i am going to San Francisco to get my visa. Visas are a pain.
But still, i got my flight info!!! :)
When I was putting on my uniform for school my mom yelled at me. I wasn't really paying attention so i didn't hear what she said. I yelled at her to tell me what she said and it turns out MY FLIGHT INFO HAD COME!!!! and I wasn't expecting that until mid-June early-July ish. So i was REALLY EXCITED!!! :)
I went downstairs and opened my email and looked at the thingy. I get to go to Switzerland!!! :) (even if it is only for 3 hours...) Pretty cool. And I have to be in New York at 4 p.m. on September 5th, although i am still trying to convince my mom that we should go a couple of days early... I have an orientation until the 6th and our flight to Zurich leaves at 8:55. We arrive in Zurich at 10:45 the next day and at 12:25 WE LEAVE FOR MADRID!! :) We arrive in Madrid on the 7th at 2:45 pm and we go to our host families the next day! So yeah! I am now SUPER EXCITED (even more than i was before which i didn't think was possible) except i still don't know when i am going to San Francisco to get my visa. Visas are a pain.
But still, i got my flight info!!! :)
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Host Families...
So last night I got an email from AFS about a departing students fall 2012 group. I then proceeded to join this group and learned of a Spain 2012-2013 group. I then proceeded to join that group (and for all you Bear Creek Freshman out there that was anaphora. :) :) ). And i learned that many people still did not have their host families. Which would stink. I was reading this blog and some girl who was going to Spain didn't know her host family until less than 6 weeks before she left(ish). THAT WOULD STINK!!! I knew mine within 5 days of being accepted. :) But I feel bad for those people that don't know their host family still. :(
Anyway, I then proceeded ( :D ) to waste a bunch of time talking to all of the other people going to Spain and studying for the history final was thrown out the window.
I love exchange. (and I haven't even left yet!)
Anyway, I then proceeded ( :D ) to waste a bunch of time talking to all of the other people going to Spain and studying for the history final was thrown out the window.
I love exchange. (and I haven't even left yet!)
Monday, May 28, 2012
The Beginning.
Google is REALLY annoying. I just spent at least 30 minutes trying to recover my password. It kept on giving me the security question "Name of Company" which is really annoying because 1) I don't work and 2) I never even was asked to give an answer for a security question. hmph. Anyway, the real point of this blog is to share my life next year in Spain. Here is a brief summary of what has happened so far:
I have been on 3 mission trips to Santiago, Chile, and have always felt that it would be cool to live in another country, but I never really thought that I would ever end up doing it. I saw the exchange students and wondered what life was like for them, living in another country. When I heard that Isabelle Shively was going to Italy, I thought more about it and explored the idea. In November, I submitted my Pre-Application to AFS (the American Field Service) and started working on my full application. IN the beginning of January, I submitted my full application and in March, I got the email saying I had been accepted by AFS Spain!!!! :) I received my host-family placement 5 days later in late March (which i heard later is REALLY EARLY, most people don't get their host family placements until May-June... ). I learned that I would be living in Tres Cantos, a planned community north of Madrid, and I was going to have 3 "siblings:" Pablo (14), Luis (11), and Elisa (9). I had gotten the email during school and my mom had texted me during class, so I went over during lunch to see where it was and learn about them. I didn't learn much, though, because it was during school, but after school I learned a bunch more and kinda stalked them in a totally non-creepy way. Now, in the past few months, I have been doing random paper work for my visa, other paperwork for AFS, and I have been counting down the days until I leave (I don't know the exact day but it is sometime around September 4th... only 100 MORE DAYS!!! AHHHH!!!!). The closer I get the more excited I get, but also nervous about the whole thing... But I guess that is to be expected. I still can't believe that I am going and I don't think it will totally sink in until I am on the plane to New York...
My host family is SUPER COOL! The dad, Fernando, is an architect (something I think it would be cool to do) and the mom, Carmen, works for GSK. I am hopefully going to go to the same school Pablo goes to but I don't really know yet... They also have a cat and down the street from their house (yes, i did look it up on Bing maps) there is a pool, a basketball court, some tennis courts, and a playground. I will be living about 15 miles outside of Madrid and I CANT WAIT!!
Also, these blogs posts take forever to write... Holy cow! Anyway, I am SUPER excited and nervous but I know it will be a GREAT year!!! :)
I have been on 3 mission trips to Santiago, Chile, and have always felt that it would be cool to live in another country, but I never really thought that I would ever end up doing it. I saw the exchange students and wondered what life was like for them, living in another country. When I heard that Isabelle Shively was going to Italy, I thought more about it and explored the idea. In November, I submitted my Pre-Application to AFS (the American Field Service) and started working on my full application. IN the beginning of January, I submitted my full application and in March, I got the email saying I had been accepted by AFS Spain!!!! :) I received my host-family placement 5 days later in late March (which i heard later is REALLY EARLY, most people don't get their host family placements until May-June... ). I learned that I would be living in Tres Cantos, a planned community north of Madrid, and I was going to have 3 "siblings:" Pablo (14), Luis (11), and Elisa (9). I had gotten the email during school and my mom had texted me during class, so I went over during lunch to see where it was and learn about them. I didn't learn much, though, because it was during school, but after school I learned a bunch more and kinda stalked them in a totally non-creepy way. Now, in the past few months, I have been doing random paper work for my visa, other paperwork for AFS, and I have been counting down the days until I leave (I don't know the exact day but it is sometime around September 4th... only 100 MORE DAYS!!! AHHHH!!!!). The closer I get the more excited I get, but also nervous about the whole thing... But I guess that is to be expected. I still can't believe that I am going and I don't think it will totally sink in until I am on the plane to New York...
My host family is SUPER COOL! The dad, Fernando, is an architect (something I think it would be cool to do) and the mom, Carmen, works for GSK. I am hopefully going to go to the same school Pablo goes to but I don't really know yet... They also have a cat and down the street from their house (yes, i did look it up on Bing maps) there is a pool, a basketball court, some tennis courts, and a playground. I will be living about 15 miles outside of Madrid and I CANT WAIT!!
Also, these blogs posts take forever to write... Holy cow! Anyway, I am SUPER excited and nervous but I know it will be a GREAT year!!! :)
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