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)
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, May 10, 2013
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.
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