The Absentee

Okay so I've been absent for a long time, and like always I would try to come up with the best excuse ever but I'll be honest and just say I've been extremely lazy. I promise a post detailing how I spent my Diwali will be coming soon!

Anyways, after my delayed orientation I returned to school until everyone began to take their end of the year exams...Form 4 only takes finals while Form 3 and Form 5 take the PMR and SPM, respectively. Anyways, since Form 3 took their exams earlier than everyone that meant I had a two-week self proclaimed holiday. Then I returned to school, and now my class is done with their classes and now Form 5's are taking exams sooo everyone basically started holiday from Oct. 28 and so forth. Officially, school is over on November 16th, so our school gave us holidays although there are about four days we are supposed to be in school. It is alternated between forms and streams so not everyone goes at the same time.

School is a bit weird, well the timing is. We arrived in July which for them is the middle of the school year. Then we didn't start school until mid/late August because of problems with a certified letter and paperwork. Which mean that the rest of August and September would be study months...then October came around which meant more testing month. I hope school goes better in January, then the year starts anew. For one classes will be easier to follow, I will already know the kids in my form, and well I won't be the sad and lost exchange student who doesn't know their left from right.

Anyways, October has been a rather uneventful month. Besides the delayed orientation and marking the end of my school year in Malaysia nothing significantly WOW has happened. Here are a few highlights:

• Delayed Orientation
• School is over for the year
• Sari/Punjabi suit shopping
• Made Mexican food a lot...
• Cooked Mexican food with one of the AFS volunteers who was a past YES Alumni
• Spent time with my fellow exchange students (and I got to see a few of them after three months! The last time I had seen them was after the handing over ceremony in July...)

AFS Delayed Orientation

This weekend I had my AFS delayed orientation somewhere in Pahang. It was a resort in the middle of the wilderness/jungle and it was honestly one of my best weekends thus far in Malaysia. Not only was the view spectacular and beautiful but the people I spent it with made it worth so much more. It was a weekend full of fun, bonding, learning, and sharing about our experiences in the two and a half months we have been in Malaysia. We all talked about our experiences with our host families, host schools, host communities and how we've dealt with the hurdles we have crossed.

I honestly feel at home in Malaysia now. It is really crazy fast time goes. I have two new families- my host family and my fellow exchange students. Both of them provide different types of support and fun. Both of them are awesome, and I cannot imagine not knowing them. Both of them provide different types of support- but in the end support is support.

And the most important thing I learned this weekend? Do not compare your experiences with anyone else. It does not help anyone, it just leaves you feeling like you are not doing enough. But always remember that different people have different lives. Enjoy your year as you, not as someone else.

Italy, France, USA, Malaysia

AFS Klang Chapter 2013-2014

Whoa

I could spend every weekend here

Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK)

My host school 

A majority of the conversations I have had start with the same  questions "What are you doing here? How old are you? How do you like Malaysia? Where are you from?" This happens so often that I always find myself giving the same standard answers "Exchange program/studying abroad/cultural exchange, I am 18 and I really really like it here, it's awesome. I love it. Oh and I'm from the US." After giving my mini-introduction the next thing they ask me, or at least most of the adults I have come in contact with is, "What are you studying?" They assume that since I am 18, I am studying in a university here. I calmly explain that although I have graduated from high school already, I am attending a local high school, with students two years younger than me. Most of them are surprised I would be willing to take a year off from my studies, and I think they seem more reassured of my future once I tell that I already know where I am going afterwards.  Yet they tend to loose hope in me when I tell them I do not know what to study yet (well maybe not loose hope but you know what I mean).

This brings me to the main topic, school. Sekolah Menangah Kebgansaan or SMK as it is known in Malaysia is Secondary school, or high school. It is standard for all National schools to be thought in Malay, although there are some schools where the medium is Chinese or Tamil. There are five forms, or grades if you will, some schools even offer an extra form, Form 6. The forms are divided into two groups lower secondary (Form 1, 2, 3) and upper secondary (Form 4,5, and 6). (Ages are 13 to 17/18) School here is also divided into Science and Arts stream. In science stream you take, well science, and in arts you take accounting, economics, art and the like. In Form 3 students take a major exam, PMR, and then in Form 5 the students once again take another major exam, SPM. It goes without saying then, that the schools curriculum and way of teaching is geared into preparing its students for the exams. 

I am in Form 4, which means my classmates are 16. It can be compered to a mix of Sophomore and Junior year. I'm also in the science stream which means that I take physics, chemistry, biology, additional maths, modern maths, sejarah (history), English, Bahasa Melayu, moral , sivik (civics), and PJ (PE). All my science and maths classes are in English and the rest are in BM. I have 9 periods, each are 35 minutes long and I have a different timetable for each day. There is also a 20 minute recess period. Unlike the United States, I stay in one class all day and the teachers rotate classes. This also means that I am in the same class with 40 something students all day. Oh, that is another difference, classes here are huge! Since classes are so short, there are double periods. It is quite different than my past high school, I was so used to moving around all day and being able to pick my classes. 

We also have to wear uniforms! Guys wear some dark green pants, with a white shirt, white shoes, and a tie. Girls can wear a blue pinafore over a white shirt or a baju kurung (which all Malay girls must wear) and white shoes.Google has some nifty pictures showing the uniform since I haven't really taken a picture in mine yet...oops

Girl wearing the baju kurung 

The girl is wearing the pinafore (usually you will have your school badge and name sewn into the front)

I'm going to be honest and say that yes, sometimes school is slightly boring but it is not that bad. Even though I have learned most of the topics covered already, it is nice to refresh and to see how they use different ways of teachings to teach the same thing. And what better place to make friends than in school? And to practice learning the language?

"I fell in love like you fall asleep; slowly and then it just happened."

I loose track of time, and I forget to update people on my whereabouts. Sorry!

I've been in Malaysia for 58 days now. 58. That is almost two months, yet I feel like I have already lived here for more than that. Anyways, here are 10 things I like/find interesting/funny/are different.

1. My host family are the nicest people ever, and funny too.
2. I have to wear a school uniform
3. Why aren't there proper sidewalks?
4. The Wanted/One Direction- everyone knows them
5. Char Kway Teow 
6. Fruit (Rambutan...mangosteen...I am in fruit heaven) 
7. Food
8. Lots of green everywhere
9. Malls. Large Malls. HUGE Malls.
10. The curiosity, friendliness, and hospitality of Malaysians
11. Okaaaay lah (personal favorite)

Just look how green! 

Genting Highlands 

Hari Raya!

From Tuesday to Sunday of this past week I stayed with a Malay family to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri or as it is more commonly known throughout the world Eid al-Fitr. Hari Raya is the Feast of Breaking of the Fast, celebrating the end of Ramadan. During the ninth month of the Islamic calender Muslims worldwide observe a month of fasting, which is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam, known as Ramadan.

In Malaysia, it is customary for Malays to go back to their hometowns and celebrate with their families, this is known as Balik Kampung- which roughly translates to 'homecoming'. During this time people will ask for forgiveness from their parents, in-laws or other elders. In many kampungs (hometowns/villages) people also decorate the outside of their houses with oil lamps, usually in bamboo ,think tiki torches, and as you drive through the country side and see the houses the sights are beautiful. 

On Tuesday afternoon I met my Malay host family. Well I met Mama, my host sister (Sya) and Abang (host brother) because the rest of the family had already gone back to their hometown. That same evening I broke fast with them and was asked if I wanted to try to fast the next day. Fasting (puasa) was something I wanted to try so I readily said yes! Fasting was from sunup (~5:30AM) to sundown (~7:30PM) so you had to be up earlier than 5:30AM to be able to have a big breakfast and drink as much water as possible! This is known as sahur, or a pre-dawn meal. On Wednesday morning I was woken up around 5AM and had a filling breakfast, I am not used to eating such heavy meals early in the morning but I made my best to finish my plate as Mama recommended and drank glass after glass of water. After my host family finished some last details we all piled up in abang's car and drove up north to Perak. I was very happy to have been able to make it the whole day without eating or drinking water, I can actually say it was one of my proudest moments thus far. 

Since we were still en route to the village, we stopped to buy some snacks to break fast, we had to wait until we reached the village to have our proper meal. After all, it was the last day of fasting. After reaching Aya's (my host dad) village later that night, I met the rest of the family. Two older sisters, a younger sister, and a few younger cousins. 

Waking up the next day (Aug 8th) was special for me. Not only was it Hari Raya but also my 18th birthday, and Aya said "You have a big celebration, think of it this way, all the Muslims around the world are celebrating your birthday too!" which made me laugh. It is customary for Malays to wear traditional clothes for Hari Raya, this means the baju kurung and tudung (long skirt and a head scarf) for women and the baju melayu for the men (silk shirt worn with a sarong), usually families wear a color and we all wore pink, except the men they didn't like the idea of pink. After taking many pictures we all set out to visit relatives! (Pictures are coming soon. I'm kind of horrible at taking them so I have to ask my host sis to send them to me. But I promise they will be up as soon as I get them!) 

To put it simply wherever you are in Malaysia you will eat! Every house we visited, we were offered food and well I simply could not refuse! During those three days we were at the village I must have eaten nonstop. I did try some Malay food which is quite spicy but delicious, I am thankful my taste buds can handle all the spicy! From all the food I ate I can say my favorite was lemang and ketupat! Both are nasi (rice) and that is all you eat here! Nasi for breakfast, nasi for lunch and nasi for dinner! Anyways, lemang is a glutenous rice cooked inside a bamboo which is pretty nifty if you ask me. Usually lemang is served with redang which is a type of spicy meat with lots and lots of spices. After these past few days with my Malay family and the weeks I have spent with my other host family I can say for certain that food is the center of all Malaysian culture, but how could it not be with all the variety and deliciousness?! 

When you greet other Malay's you need to salaam (did I spell this correctly?) them, which is a special greeting where you take a person's right hand and bow low and place their hand to your forehead and then since it was Hari Raya you said 'Selamat Hari Raya' which is roughly 'Happy Hari Raya.' This greeting shows respect to that person.

There is also another tradition known as Duit Raya is where people give money to children and sometimes unmarried people. Oh! And there are the open houses where it literally is an open house, you go to someone's house and eat! You might not know the person and they are also very welcoming of non-Muslims attending. 

These past few days were an experience for me. It was overwhelming at first trying to adjust to a lifestyle that was completely new to me and to have been welcomed to a family who was eager to show their traditions and the importance of Raya with me. Although Malay was all that was spoken the last few days and my Malay is honestly non-existent it was an adventure trying to communicate with the children- although the only person I understood was a 3 year old child.  

During this last week I learned so much about Malay culture simply by living and observing, it was a very different way of life that proved to be rewarding in the end. I am grateful that I was able to experience a few days of Hari Raya with my Malay host family, since the celebration lasts for about a month. A month of fasting and a month of eating as Ayah and Mama rightly said. 

Lemang! 

Noodles or Rice?

Noodles or rice. Rice or noodles, that has been the first question my host family asks me every time we are about to go eat lunch or dinner. And that really answers what type of food you will end up eating- well sort of…most of the time. It has now become a joke of sorts, isn't that awesome? Anyways as of today I have tried- Malay, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese food! And all of them have been incredibly satisfying, new and well delicious!

I think I have surprised my host family as to how much I love spicy food and how easily I can eat it. I keep telling them it is because I’m Mexican and I love cilli’s and spicy stuff,and they said I was making it easier for them to take me out and try new foods since they didn't really have to worry about the spiciness. I LOVE spicy food so I think I have landed in a very accommodating place.

I have also learned how to properly eat using both a spoon and fork and my right hand. Although I can’t use chopsticks yet, it takes so much coordination and I’m sad to say I get hand cramps! But I will make it a goal to learn how to eat with them by maybe the end of next month…hopefully.

My host family finally discovered when I really don’t like something I have tried, I usually say rather bluntly when I love something or it is good but when I don’t I say “It’s different" or “It has a different taste." Now they have associated me saying it’s different to me not liking something- although I still clarify when I mean different in a good way or not.

So my two favorite dishes so far?

Char kway teow and Nasi lemak (although I had this at an organic shoppe and they tell me it isn't as good as normal one)

They also laugh because every time we order something the first thing that comes out of my mouth is "What is that? What is it called?" and the sad thing is I never remember!

Char kway teow

Nasi lemak 

5 Days

Im finally in Malaysia! After a long day of travel we (8 other participants from the US) arrived in Kuala Lumpuron Thursday the 18th. The climate, the smells, and the sights were and continue to be so surprising and overwhelming. Yet they are part of this new country and I hope that it wont be long until I am used to it all. Since we were one of the few groups that arrived early we were given the chance to rest for an hour and shower and go out to the city center for a few hours until everyone else arrived. Walking down the street was a feat on its own, the humidity makes you feel really sticky and gross, they dont lie when they say you will want to shower often! Surprisingly the humidity is very easy to get used to.

Anyways, I feel like I am rambling on...these past four days have been full of orientations. I feel like we have covered almost every corner there is. From our National PDO to conference calls to the gateway to our arrival orientation. At our arrival orientation we met students from all over- Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Iceland, Greenland, Costa Rica, Argentina, BiH, Czech Republic, France, Italy, etc. it was really good to get to know the people we will be sharing this experience with.

Sunday was our last day of orientation and we met our chapter leaders and well the other people going to the same chapter. Then we had the handing over ceremony where we met our host families for the first time. I met my host father and host sister and then we drove to my new home were I met my host mother and host grandfather. It is very hard to explain all the emotions and feelings but I know that anyone who has gone through an exchange or similar experience understands. I know this is not a very helpful post but I just wanted to say I am finally here and well.

P.S I dont have many pictures yet because I always forgot to take some. But I will post them soon! Hopefully.

Goodbye Chicago!

Well the time has finally come! I will be departing for my gateway orientation in Los Angeles tomorrow morning and then after two days I will be on my way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! I am excited and terrified and that is okay. Those are normal feelings and it seems they have been balancing each other because right now I am in a relaxed mind set. I cannot begin to list all the things I will miss but my family and my friends are always going to be at the top of that list.

Well, this is a goodbye to Chicago-I'll see you in 10 months!

P.S- I will try to update before my departure Tuesday but I am not promising anything. Also, I hope to have access to WiFi once I am in Malaysia but that is not a guarantee so I have to see how that plays out.

3 Days

Where did my time go? I still haven't fully processed the fact that this was my last week in Chicago. I still feel like it is April and I barely found out about my finalist standing. I apologize for not writing about the PDO which was pretty fun and interesting. I kind of flew back to Chicago and was in a frenzy to tie some loose ends. Lately I have been spending time with my friends, it took me a while to realize how much I do rely on them for the smallest of things- be it going out to eat with one of them to have one of them walk with me to the corner store.

Anyways, I have three days until I fly out to Los Angeles for my gateway orientation! Then we arrive in Kuala Lumpur July 18th! I think, I tend to mix up dates. I received an email from my temporary host mom Wednesday. I will be living with my host parents, host grandparents, and a host sister who is relatively close in age! I am pretty excited, although a bit bummed out that it is only a welcome family. Either way, I will enjoy my experience. Oh, I will be living in Shah Alam with a few other AFS exchange students (not from the US) and that's about 40 minutes from KL.

I still haven't finalized my packing. I don't know how to pack for four days, now imagine me trying to pack for 10 months? I need to figure that out as soon as possible!

3 days until I am on my way to Malaysia. 3 days until I become part of someone else's family. 3 days till my next adventure begins.

When A Door Closes, A Window Opens

These past four years have flown right by. I still remember my first day of high school, being so scared and excited and just having this naive view of my world- well the world in general. If four years fly by I cannot imagine how fast a year will pass by. Last Friday (the 14th) I graduated high school! I am finally done with school for one whole year (and by done I mean I do not have to stress about grades). I don't know how to feel about having graduated...relieved? Happy? Sad? I don't think I have processed the thought that I won't ever see so many of the people who I encountered daily. It is a bit scary but refreshing, that just means I will meet so many more people. It means that a chapter, door, or whatever you will, in my life has closed but a plenty of windows have opened. I am done with high school but I'm just starting to do what I love and what I have always wanted. High school is over but Malaysia is just starting. And when Malaysia ends, college will start. Life keeps on moving, and so far I have been blessed with amazing opportunities.

I will miss seeing my friends every day. I will miss being stupid with them. I will miss seeing some people. I will miss my teachers and staff (Specially everyone who I bothered with recommendations for YES Abroad, CBYX and NSLIY) . But if they were meant to stay in my life, I won't have to miss them for long.

   

So now that I have graduated...that means I have about 28 days left in Chicago! I leave to Los Angeles on July 15th and the following day we the Malaysian crew departs to Malaysia! Like I mentioned before, time flies. Tempo Fugit, as a friend of mine said. I remember thinking I had months left and now I have less than a month left! 

In 9 days all 65 of us will be back in Washington D.C for our National PDO. After receiving a draft of the schedule all I can say is....I will sleep in once I come back to Chicago. It is jam packed with activities and it is going to be interesting to say the least. 

And I'm still waiting for my host family! I think I can manage to wait a few more weeks. 

Details Details

Yesterday night we all received more information about the National PDO and the gateway orientation! So all 65 of us finalists will be flying out to D.C again this coming June from the 26th to the 29th that just leaves me about 27/28 more days until I get to see all my friends again (Shanaya (Oman), Miranda (Thailand), Mallory(Indonesia), Christian (Turkey), and Emily(Indonesia)...I'm talking about you guys). I also need to reschedule some events because they interfere with the conference calls that we have to make- which are really really useful because it answers a lot of the questions that seem to bubble as time passes. We are also staying at the 4H Center again! And now that we actually know how to get around the place it's going to be more fun...

Malaysia is the second group to head out. India and Thailand are leaving right after the PDO, they stay in D.C for their orientation and then leave on July 1st. Then comes us. We fly out to Los Angeles and then our international departure is on July 17th. Which is about 48 days from now. But like I said...who is counting right? (Plus we are the cool ones- LA > NYC ; for now of course)

Local PDO

Having the alarm clock ring at about 6:00am a Saturday morning is not a pleasant experience- for anyone. But with great reluctance I got up, showered, changed, ate some breakfast and then headed to the AFS PDO. It was a nice interesting drive there and quicker than I expected. Anyways, once I arrived a few minutes later Emily (going to Indonesia) arrived so together with her parents we walked in, registered got nifty name tags (name and country) and a nice blue AFS Greater Chicago Area t-shirt. I feel like the t-shirt just made everything more real and legit.

I recognized some kids from my school- all of them doing summer programs, which was kind of amazing. I never realized how many kids from my school were actually interested in programs like these. So after a few introductions we all broke up into different groups (year and semester participants were in our own group). During our sessions we talked about the countries were we would all go: Malaysia, Indonesia, Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Denmark, Japan, Portugal and Spain. And then we had some discussion on our expectations and our concerns. It was nice knowing that many of us thought along the same lines and that in fact our concerns were pretty normal, if not expected. There was also a girl from Germany who was there to provide a fresh perspective of the concerns. Language, communication, weather, school, food, and getting along with our host family were the biggest ideas thrown around.

Afterwards we had a lunch break soon followed by a panel of current exchange students in the area (a guy who goes to my school was even there, it was nice seeing a familiar face) and we talked for a bit before the official panel. He told me he made most of his friends at orientations and although half the stuff is boring and kind of obvious, it helps. After the participant panel there was another group secession this time with parents.  This time it focused on knowing and getting comfortable with the country before actually arriving. What does that entail exactly? Well it is familiarizing with the music, with the politics, the government, the geography, the culture, the customs, you get the idea. Then we went in and compared our family lives with fellow participants and we talked about how even in the same country day to day life varies among families. Lastly we had a few situation questions that involved us being in awkward or difficult situations. For example, my host mom goes through my journal, or my host parents don't approve of my friends. We had to answer them and then discuss why we chose to act that way. What we all learned from this was that communication and asking questions are the best things to do- you have to communicate with everyone when there is a misunderstanding. And asking questions is good- you and the person both get answers and clarification.

Over all what did I learn during the PDO?

That is is going to be hard, but you have to go in with the idea that things aren't going to go like you want them to go. You are going to mess up, you will get frustrated, you will do things wrong but you have to just laugh at yourself and keep trying. That there will be bad situations but most likely you'll have as many if not more great memories.

Local PDO Info

After spending more time waiting and a slight misunderstanding I received information about the local AFS Greater Chicago Area Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO). It is tomorrow (8:30AM to 4:00PM) and I'm excited to see the other YESer girls from Chicago! And we get to meet more kids from our area going abroad for the summer or next year so that is also pretty cool. I will probably write more about it sometime this weekend after the event or maybe next week. Only 47 more days for the YES Abroad PDO in D.C! It's not like I'm counting of anything...

While I receive more information about home interviews, and PDOs, and just travel information everything started to become more real. I'm beginning to realize that I'll be gone for the whole of next year and it is just astonishing. So I have decided the top three things to do while still home in Chicago. 

Top 3 Things to do while still home:

1) Spend time with my mom and brothers

2) Spend time with my friends 

3) Begin a photo book for bother my family and my future host family

*4) Get a job (I don't really want to do this one but my mom is making me...)

*I also need to make sure I watch the Great Gatsby....*

I have also found out that I have to most likely apply for the Italian visa while in Malaysia for my freshman year in Florence with NYU. I guess I have to start familiarizing myself with the process so I can make it easier on myself. (With Malaysia all I have to do is photocopy my passport, get some nice passport picture and mail them to AFS people...why can't NYU be like that?) 

Oh, I almost forgot I think I have my home interview for AFS today in the evening. It's just  a formality to find you a matching host family- I'm kind of excited for it. If it's anything similar to the CBYX sending interview then it shouldn't be too bad. 

Timeline

So I have been thinking for the past two weeks of how much of a horrible blogger I am. I’m sorry, I honestly keep forgetting I am going to Malaysia this summer for a whole year. Let’s do a quick timeline of what got me to this point:

April 2012- Rejected from NSLI-Y Russia Summer. On the email I learned about YES Abroad and CBYX

May 2012-  Creep on the finalist for the 2012-2013 because I honestly had nothing better to do…studying for APs didn’t count.

June 2012- I took a break from obsessing over those two programs. I began to study for ACTs and start to finalize my college list. I think this is where I began to write all my college essays.

July 2012- CBYX app was out so I began to fill that out along with all my other college crap.

August 2012- I met some pretty amazing people on a CBYX group and made some fantastic people who I still talk to today. I began to really convince my mom that these applications were worth it. College apps were done and finished and submitted and ooh yeah.

September 2012/October 2012- YES Abroad and NSLI-Y apps were out and about. I finished NSLI-Y within two weeks but dragged to finish my YES app. I was majorly freaking out. I had honestly done about 15 applications by this point. I was burning out.

November/December 2012- Got rejected by NSLI-Y and didn’t give two cares in the world. jk it sucked but I got over it quickly, I still had CBYX and YES to look out for.. I was also deferred by my top university but accepted into my safety. Things were rocky but going good for me. Oh I also had my CBYX interview. Very chill. Very awesome.

January 2013/February2013- Things were going good, everything was calm. Then everyone began getting their semifinalist notifications on the last day of February and I freaked out major time again. Like I always do. But I also got into more of my colleges so life was peachy.

March 2013- I got an email saying I was a semifinalist for YES Abroad and that I would go to the IPSE in Chevy Chase, MD. Life was rockin. I met some amazing people who are really awesome, although all of them are younger than me. I honestly was terrified I wasn't going to stand out or be picked, there were SO many qualified kids.

April 2013- I received my CBYX finalist notification and then four days later I received notification from YES Abroad saying I was going to Malaysia! I hadn’t cried so much in forever. After discussing them with my mom I decided Malaysia was the way to go. Then I paid my deposit to enroll at NYU and submitted by deferral form!

So now it is almost May and I am just waiting on more news a.k.a an email from YES or another conference call. I’m also waiting on confirmation for my deferral.

I know this is long and quite honestly pointless but I promise things will get more interesting once I finish studying and taking all my official AP tests.

A-Malay-Sing

Dear Carmen,Congratulations!  We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a Finalist for a 2013-14 Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad scholarship for study in Malaysia!  

After months of waiting I never thought I would get to read those words. I first discovered this amazing program after failing to make it as a finalist for NSLI-Y. Actually, not failing because I didn’t fail, I just learned so much more about myself and that helped me out a lot the second time I tried. When I first applied to the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad I applied hoping for three specific countries out of the thirteen offered: Turkey, Oman, and South Africa. Malaysia was a surprise, but a surprise that has rattled my whole world and what I expected of my upcoming year. So don't knock something out because it is not what you expected.

As a senior I will be deferring from New York University  I have finally made up my mind and after a lot of thought I have decided that from my two options this is more me. No one is 100% sure of what or where they want to be, so while I might still have my doubts at least I am going to college! The most exciting part of this is that when I return from my gap year in Malaysia I will be spending my freshmen year in Florence, Italy! Yes, that is a tough thing to think about. It will be hard and I honestly don't know what I got myself into but if my mom has agreed to let me go, then I must be ready to do this. Maybe not ready, but prepared. After spending so much time thinking about doing this it seems almost surreal to actually have it in my hands now. 

I know things are going to be hard and there will be times I will want to return home, but I will always give it my best to take a lot from those experiences. I hope to become more than a visitor to my future host community and host family, I hope to become part of their community and of their family.

Look Malaysia! 

YES Semifinalist

I've realized that it has been a while since my last post and a few things have happened since then! All of them exciting and one hugely disappointing one. Let's see where to start....
I am a YES Semifinalist! That mean I get to go to the IPSE, which is hosted in Chevy Chase, MD. I leave this Friday, the 22nd, and come back that same weekend, Sunday the 23rd. This is actually a funny story, so when everyone else seemed to get notifications I got nada, and me being well me decided to vent my frustration to my brothers about it not being fair. I congratulated people and then sent an email to one of the YES people asking if it was rolling admissions and if I was going to get my rejection email soon. They replied telling me to hold my horses and to not worry, that I would get an email soon, and guess what? I got an email! I almost passed out of the excitement. So I had to rush to have everything signed and emailed by the 13th, amazingly I had every form I needed emailed on the 11th giving me enough cushion room in case I needed to fix anything.

I cannot express how happy I was and still am. I have met some pretty amazing people and I cannot wait to meet them in person! This is my opportunity to be social and you know...make friends. (I need to finish shopping for small trinkets and gifts but that is why there is a Target. Target solves everything. Who doesn't love Target?) I can't wait until Friday noon, where I will be on that plane headed to D.C for the weekend. Freaking awesome if you ask me.

The excitement doesn't stop there. A few days ago I was rejected by the University of Chicago. Honestly, I am happy I was, I did not want to go there and I set it as a personal goal. I wanted to see if I was good enough to get it, but the rejection made me realize that putting so much pressure into my grades wasn't particularly the best way to have approached my academic life. And let's be honest, I did not want to go there at all...It's an awesome school maybe for my graduate life?

Today I received a call from St. Olaf College, telling me I was accepted and I was invited to fly in. After having been deferred from Georgetown University, St. Olaf College has grown in my heart. It attached itself to a corner and refused to leave. I cannot properly express my emotions here, after everything had fallen apart it seems that there was something better waiting for me, don't get me wrong I still wish to be granted admissions to Georgetown but knowing that there a school where I truly want to go makes this waiting for much easier.

I can say that life is good now, and that there is always a sunrise, it might be late but it will be there.