P.S. My orientation is in.... two days!!
WOOOO!!!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Host Families and Visas- Spain
Ohh I'm so over my "I hate exchange" mode. I've been looking at people's experiences via Facebook, and looking at photos and blogs and all that, and I'm just so excited! I'm such a rollercoaster of emotions, often being incredibly excited about exchange, to regretting my decision to go on a year long exchange.
I've been having a really busy couple of months.... I've finally finished school, but still have my HSC- final exams. I have two left to go, and then I'm finally free! Although I miss some aspects of school, I really do enjoy not being at school. These past couple of weeks have been pretty stressful with my exams, and my family also had a health scare with my Dad, but he is all fine now, which is great. Although I have so much to live for now, here, in Australia, my mind is never far from Spain, and what my experience will be like there. I SO want to know where I am going!! But, I got an email from Student Exchange Australia this morning, saying that I probs won't find out until a month or less to my departure.... AND I have a date for when I leave!! Here's the email that I got:
I've been having a really busy couple of months.... I've finally finished school, but still have my HSC- final exams. I have two left to go, and then I'm finally free! Although I miss some aspects of school, I really do enjoy not being at school. These past couple of weeks have been pretty stressful with my exams, and my family also had a health scare with my Dad, but he is all fine now, which is great. Although I have so much to live for now, here, in Australia, my mind is never far from Spain, and what my experience will be like there. I SO want to know where I am going!! But, I got an email from Student Exchange Australia this morning, saying that I probs won't find out until a month or less to my departure.... AND I have a date for when I leave!! Here's the email that I got:
Dear Laura,
Hello or Hola as you will need to start using.
I wanted to send you this email for a couple of reasons. The first is so that I can make sure you and your parents have my email address. This way you can contact me regarding anything that crops up and you will always have my contact details even whilst you are away.
The second reason was to get your permission to send your email address onto the other students that will be going to Spain at the same time as you. I like to get my students in contact with each other so that you can talk to other people that are going through the same thing as you.
At the moment I am looking at flights for you and I wanted to confirm some dates. I have you down as a 12 month program. This means that your travel dates will be approximately 5-10th February 2010 returning 5th-10th February 2011. Naturally this is subject to change based on flight availability and visas being issued on time. This is an approximation to give you some idea about the coming months.
The big thing that I wanted to point out was host families and visas. First, host families, ideally we like to have you placed with a host family 1 month prior to departure. With Spain however we find that this can come a little bit later than that. There is always someone to be placed first and someone to get placed last and then everyone else falls in between. These things take time but I will always keep you updated as things are progressing.
Visas; I have sent out your visa pack, if you have not yet received this please let me know asap. The visa will take you some time to get together. Please be sure that you are not traveling on your passport at least 6 weeks prior to your scheduled departure as this will be needed for your visa. As I may have already said to you sometimes the visas can be delayed by the consulates and this may mean a delayed departure. Again this is not ideal but it is something that has happened and I want to make you fully aware of this.
Please feel free to contact me via email or phone if you have anything you need to discuss. The next step is flights and I will be sending out that information soon.
Adiós
I'm so excited!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
I Hate Exchange.
This week I have hated that I'm going on exchange. I have finished school, and it has finally made me realise that I won't be seeing my friends five days a week, which makes me incredibly sad. But, then I realised that when I go to Spain I won't see them for a whole year, making me even sadder. I feel like I'm going to miss my friends and family so much, and that I will miss out on a year of their lives.
This is not to say that I want to not go on exchange, because I know that it will an awesome experience, and even if I do miss my friends, in the end it will be so so beneficial. But I just thought I'd post about how exchange is not something that is rosy, and all fun. Because it isn't. It's hard, and painful, but in the end so so so worthwhile those hard moments.
So, do I really hate exchange? Not really, but I do hate the aspect of not seeing my friends and family for a year.
This is not to say that I want to not go on exchange, because I know that it will an awesome experience, and even if I do miss my friends, in the end it will be so so beneficial. But I just thought I'd post about how exchange is not something that is rosy, and all fun. Because it isn't. It's hard, and painful, but in the end so so so worthwhile those hard moments.
So, do I really hate exchange? Not really, but I do hate the aspect of not seeing my friends and family for a year.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The End Of School
I think I commented on this in my other post... but I am finishing school in 8 days. 8 short days. Today, I am feeling quite sentimental about it all- I just looked through all of my facebook photos, and thought, that these might be my last days with some of my friends! I so don't want that aspect of school to end- I love coming to school and seeing my peers every day...
I don't want to waste my last days at school, so I'm about to go to the shops to buy some fun stuff to celebrate the end of school with friends with.
My dad used to write me and my brothers a quote in an email every day to inspire us and encourage in our lives. He now sends this to quite a few people, and I find such joy in reading them. He recently wrote one on this following quote:
“Find occasions to celebrate your happiness. There is more to celebrate than anniversaries and birthdays."
Amanda Bradley
I am going to celebrate these last few days at school! I hope that whoever reads this decides to look upon their life as a celebration, and can see what or who makes them celebrate life:
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust
"...It may not be my wedding anniversary today and I might not remember what I did on my first wedding anniversary, however I do know who I spent that day, and chose to spend the rest of my life with. My wife Wendy and she is the charming gardener in my life that makes my soul blossom.
So who makes your soul blossom? Whose soul do you make blossom? How much gardening are you going to do today? Tell someone today that they are the gardener of your life and the impact that they have on you." (Excerpt from my Dad's quote)
I don't want to waste my last days at school, so I'm about to go to the shops to buy some fun stuff to celebrate the end of school with friends with.
My dad used to write me and my brothers a quote in an email every day to inspire us and encourage in our lives. He now sends this to quite a few people, and I find such joy in reading them. He recently wrote one on this following quote:
“Find occasions to celebrate your happiness. There is more to celebrate than anniversaries and birthdays."
Amanda Bradley
I am going to celebrate these last few days at school! I hope that whoever reads this decides to look upon their life as a celebration, and can see what or who makes them celebrate life:
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust
"...It may not be my wedding anniversary today and I might not remember what I did on my first wedding anniversary, however I do know who I spent that day, and chose to spend the rest of my life with. My wife Wendy and she is the charming gardener in my life that makes my soul blossom.
So who makes your soul blossom? Whose soul do you make blossom? How much gardening are you going to do today? Tell someone today that they are the gardener of your life and the impact that they have on you." (Excerpt from my Dad's quote)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Thanks For Your Time
I have been so bad about writing in this blog. I promised myself that I would write regularly, and would write about the second half of my trip to America.... but then I never did! America was great. Bartlesville was amazing. The people were amazing. It stirred me. My brother works for the Voice of The Martyrs, so I learnt more about that, and what they do. It was so awesome, to see all of these people completely serving God in all aspects of life.
It was also really weird, I guess, because it was in the BIBLEBELT... so there was a church on every block, and everyone proffessed that they were Christians- so different to Australia!
So, what's been happening in my life since July? I have been quite busy with school. I had my HSC trial exams, which all went really well. I handed in my 3 major works! which was both stressful and vey satisfying, to finally have them all handed in. I officially have 8 days of school left... ever. It's so weird! It feels weird to think that in 8 days I will not be attending WCS, my school for 10 years, and that I probably won't see a lot of people I have seen daily for years. But then, it's also really weird that although I have finished school, I am going back to school in Spain.
Spain? I haven't really heard much from SEA, making me sad, cause I'd like to know everything right now! I have heard from a few people, who are have just left for Spain, who I will potentially meet. I am following a couple of their blogs, which you can find at http://becca-in-spain.blogspot.com/ and http://global-student-kaylee.blogspot.com/
I have my orientation on the 7/11 (7th of Nov) and I'm really looking forward to it.
I think that's it :)
It was also really weird, I guess, because it was in the BIBLEBELT... so there was a church on every block, and everyone proffessed that they were Christians- so different to Australia!
So, what's been happening in my life since July? I have been quite busy with school. I had my HSC trial exams, which all went really well. I handed in my 3 major works! which was both stressful and vey satisfying, to finally have them all handed in. I officially have 8 days of school left... ever. It's so weird! It feels weird to think that in 8 days I will not be attending WCS, my school for 10 years, and that I probably won't see a lot of people I have seen daily for years. But then, it's also really weird that although I have finished school, I am going back to school in Spain.
Spain? I haven't really heard much from SEA, making me sad, cause I'd like to know everything right now! I have heard from a few people, who are have just left for Spain, who I will potentially meet. I am following a couple of their blogs, which you can find at http://becca-in-spain.blogspot.com/ and http://global-student-kaylee.blogspot.com/
I have my orientation on the 7/11 (7th of Nov) and I'm really looking forward to it.
I think that's it :)
Friday, July 17, 2009
America
There is a song, by Ingrid Michaelson, and it starts with, "I am a lady in Spain". Every time I hear that song, I count down the months to my exchange to Spain. I have 6 small months until I depart to Spain, where I will truly be "a lady in Spain". I'm so excited about it, and spending this past week and a bit in America has shown me just how interesting and challenging my exchange year will be.
I have loved being in America, and have loved seeing all the differences between here and home. I arrived in America last Wednesday, feeling horrible, after throwing up on the flight over, and feeling flu-ish. But felt better purely because the people were all lovely! They would go out of their way to make sure that we were accomodated for, that we knew where we were going and that we were safe. San Francisco was lovely. It was very sunny- being summer and all, but had a cold wind from the sea, that made it beautiful- just like a nice winter's day. On our first night, we were extremely jet-lagged, so we went to a Dennys, which is a chain of diners in America. There was a group of American teens across from the booth (yes, booth!) we were sitting on, and told the waiter that "collectively, we are ready to order". Just the way the Americans speak, is so nice! Every day, I am constantly blown away with how nicely they speak to each other, or to a customer. Though, this is not everyone, and we have experienced some cold, stand-off-ish people.
We did some fun stuff in San Francisco- we walked all around SF, going to the famous Lombard street, riding on the Cable Cars, seeing Pier 39... I loved the Sea Lions, and their cute faces and loud funny roars, and the delight they get from fighting each other. Close to Pier 39, we saw a bush on the path, which surprisingly, looked real. Only after staring at it for a few seconds did we realise that it was bunch of branches held together by a man, who shook the branches at any unsuspecting bywalkers. Oh it was hilarious! And everyone got such a laugh out of it. Everyone was in such a good mood. While we were watching it, though, a man came up behind us, and shouted in our ears, shaking us- and scared us so much! He said, "See! You don't need the bush!"
We also got the incredible opportunity to ride accross the SF Golden Gate Bridge and down into a small, cute, beautiful town called Sausolito. It was a beautiful ride, and has been a highlight of this trip. It was really difficult though, as I had Tonsilitis, and walking up a hill, let alone riding a bike made me want to curl up into bed and sleep for 14 hours. But, it was well worth the tiredness and fatigue. It was so beautiful, and was so great to look down from the bridge, and ride down into Sausolito. Sausolito reminded me so so much of England and the small towns in Cornwall. I just loved it.
Mum and I have been eating out heaps, which I'm getting a bit sick of, and in SF we shared all of our meals, and ate twice a day... with snacks for lunch. We have found American meals to be enormous!! Soemthing that I have been so excited for has been the hashbrowns, and I have had that for every breakfast. It is so good!
I also go the opportunity of visiting Yosemite! It was so beyond beautiful. It took us about 7 hours to get there, and it was a great drive. We stayed at this little hostel called the Yosemite Bug, and it was great there. We were in a dorm of 6 beds, and we shared with some scout girls. We were so tired by the end of the day, we just wanted to get to bed, but they didn't turn off the lights till like 12, so we didn't get the best sleeps. But we guessed thats just part of the Dorming experience! I loved going to Yosemite. It was much higher up than the valley, so it was a lot cooler, while still being sunny and hot. We went on some walks and looked at the half dome, and even got the opportunity to see a wild bear! It was a small one, but I was thinking the whole time, "where's his mum!" It was fun though, and mum, being mum, pulled out the camera and started taking photos of it. We went to the lower falls, and went climbing over the rocks for about an hour, and I think that was my favourite part of the day. I felt like I could do it all day. Yosemite is just such a beautiful place. The food was very expensive though- $4.99 for a small handful of 'fries'.
Something that bugs me so much, is the whole tax thing. The price tag says one price, but really, it's another. They just trick you into thinking your buying it cheap, and when you go up to pay, voila! It's a dollar, 2 dollars more expensive. I love that in Australia, when it says $19.95, it will be $19.95.
We have gone from a city by the SF Bay, to woodlands and beauty, to the desert. Albuquerque is fascinating. It is so different from what I expected it to be, and is so... deserty. I expected... it to be different. Mum had told me that it was full of Indian influence, and although I do see it, I expected it to be way less American, and more Spanish and Indian. We spent a whole day shopping, and I am so shopped out, I feel like if I go to another JC Penny or Macys I will die. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed it, because I have, but I would much prefer to go on a hike or watch nature than shop, which is something I can easily do in Australia. I have seen the Old Town and Santa Fe, which is just awesome. These towns really show the Indian influence. I found Old Town to be very very touritsty, and although I could see the influence, I felt that the tourist industry had wrecked the feel and integrity of the town. Santa Fe, however was so culturally rich. Everything was in both English and Spanish, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the Spanish, reading that, before I realised that there was an English translation available. There was Mexican food everywhere, and it was different, yet similar to Australian Mexican food. I have been really getting bored with American food, and have hated eating out so much. What I really crave right now, is a big, juicy salad sandwhich, with a roll from Blaxland Bakery, and some great Beetroot! I know that I've only been here a week, and I'm craving Australian food. I am afraid of when I go to Spain for a whole year! Will I begin to enjoy the food? Or will I forever be craving Australian food?
I have found it interesting- many exchangers say that they don't worry about the big things, rather the small things- whether you put your hand up to answer or ask a question, whether it will be ok to just eat food from your host family's fridge when you're hungry, whether you will be able to joke with your family, or if you have to wear shoes inside, or you have to take them off. I have found myself asking these questions to myself, here in America, as I am staying with a family friend here in Albuquerque. It is so much easier to answer those questions, because we do not have a language barrier to stand in between us, but I have discovered many differences between American and Australian cultures. Something I have found difficult, is the use of the word 'toilet'. In Australia we always use toilet, or we say "I need to pee". It is the norm- it is expected. Here in America, to say "I need to pee" or "where is the toilet" is rude. I have caught myself so many times starting to say these Australian things, only to have to change and say "where's the restroom/bathroom".
It's also unusual- so unusual... People riding motorbikes don't need to wear helmets! We (mum and I) cringe whenever we see someone without a helmet on, expecting them to crash and die at any moment. It's also unusual because dogs and pets are allowed in National Parks. I keep on thinking of how wrong it is!
Tomorrow I fly to Oklahoma, and join my brother and sister-in-law in the 40 degree heat. I wonder what differences I'll notice there, and how hard or easy I'll find it to adjust to this different country.
I have been here a week and a half, and have been blown away with the culturally different land I'm in. I am still in a Western country, an English speaking country, one that I've been before, and there have been times where I've felt beyond uncomfortable, or craving home. I can't wait, and also dread when I go to Spain, and accustom myself to that country, that will become my home. It's exciting, but also really scary!! But, I am so looking forward to it, that I jsut want to leave right now.
I have loved being in America, and have loved seeing all the differences between here and home. I arrived in America last Wednesday, feeling horrible, after throwing up on the flight over, and feeling flu-ish. But felt better purely because the people were all lovely! They would go out of their way to make sure that we were accomodated for, that we knew where we were going and that we were safe. San Francisco was lovely. It was very sunny- being summer and all, but had a cold wind from the sea, that made it beautiful- just like a nice winter's day. On our first night, we were extremely jet-lagged, so we went to a Dennys, which is a chain of diners in America. There was a group of American teens across from the booth (yes, booth!) we were sitting on, and told the waiter that "collectively, we are ready to order". Just the way the Americans speak, is so nice! Every day, I am constantly blown away with how nicely they speak to each other, or to a customer. Though, this is not everyone, and we have experienced some cold, stand-off-ish people.
We did some fun stuff in San Francisco- we walked all around SF, going to the famous Lombard street, riding on the Cable Cars, seeing Pier 39... I loved the Sea Lions, and their cute faces and loud funny roars, and the delight they get from fighting each other. Close to Pier 39, we saw a bush on the path, which surprisingly, looked real. Only after staring at it for a few seconds did we realise that it was bunch of branches held together by a man, who shook the branches at any unsuspecting bywalkers. Oh it was hilarious! And everyone got such a laugh out of it. Everyone was in such a good mood. While we were watching it, though, a man came up behind us, and shouted in our ears, shaking us- and scared us so much! He said, "See! You don't need the bush!"
We also got the incredible opportunity to ride accross the SF Golden Gate Bridge and down into a small, cute, beautiful town called Sausolito. It was a beautiful ride, and has been a highlight of this trip. It was really difficult though, as I had Tonsilitis, and walking up a hill, let alone riding a bike made me want to curl up into bed and sleep for 14 hours. But, it was well worth the tiredness and fatigue. It was so beautiful, and was so great to look down from the bridge, and ride down into Sausolito. Sausolito reminded me so so much of England and the small towns in Cornwall. I just loved it.
Mum and I have been eating out heaps, which I'm getting a bit sick of, and in SF we shared all of our meals, and ate twice a day... with snacks for lunch. We have found American meals to be enormous!! Soemthing that I have been so excited for has been the hashbrowns, and I have had that for every breakfast. It is so good!
I also go the opportunity of visiting Yosemite! It was so beyond beautiful. It took us about 7 hours to get there, and it was a great drive. We stayed at this little hostel called the Yosemite Bug, and it was great there. We were in a dorm of 6 beds, and we shared with some scout girls. We were so tired by the end of the day, we just wanted to get to bed, but they didn't turn off the lights till like 12, so we didn't get the best sleeps. But we guessed thats just part of the Dorming experience! I loved going to Yosemite. It was much higher up than the valley, so it was a lot cooler, while still being sunny and hot. We went on some walks and looked at the half dome, and even got the opportunity to see a wild bear! It was a small one, but I was thinking the whole time, "where's his mum!" It was fun though, and mum, being mum, pulled out the camera and started taking photos of it. We went to the lower falls, and went climbing over the rocks for about an hour, and I think that was my favourite part of the day. I felt like I could do it all day. Yosemite is just such a beautiful place. The food was very expensive though- $4.99 for a small handful of 'fries'.
Something that bugs me so much, is the whole tax thing. The price tag says one price, but really, it's another. They just trick you into thinking your buying it cheap, and when you go up to pay, voila! It's a dollar, 2 dollars more expensive. I love that in Australia, when it says $19.95, it will be $19.95.
We have gone from a city by the SF Bay, to woodlands and beauty, to the desert. Albuquerque is fascinating. It is so different from what I expected it to be, and is so... deserty. I expected... it to be different. Mum had told me that it was full of Indian influence, and although I do see it, I expected it to be way less American, and more Spanish and Indian. We spent a whole day shopping, and I am so shopped out, I feel like if I go to another JC Penny or Macys I will die. Not to say that I haven't enjoyed it, because I have, but I would much prefer to go on a hike or watch nature than shop, which is something I can easily do in Australia. I have seen the Old Town and Santa Fe, which is just awesome. These towns really show the Indian influence. I found Old Town to be very very touritsty, and although I could see the influence, I felt that the tourist industry had wrecked the feel and integrity of the town. Santa Fe, however was so culturally rich. Everything was in both English and Spanish, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the Spanish, reading that, before I realised that there was an English translation available. There was Mexican food everywhere, and it was different, yet similar to Australian Mexican food. I have been really getting bored with American food, and have hated eating out so much. What I really crave right now, is a big, juicy salad sandwhich, with a roll from Blaxland Bakery, and some great Beetroot! I know that I've only been here a week, and I'm craving Australian food. I am afraid of when I go to Spain for a whole year! Will I begin to enjoy the food? Or will I forever be craving Australian food?
I have found it interesting- many exchangers say that they don't worry about the big things, rather the small things- whether you put your hand up to answer or ask a question, whether it will be ok to just eat food from your host family's fridge when you're hungry, whether you will be able to joke with your family, or if you have to wear shoes inside, or you have to take them off. I have found myself asking these questions to myself, here in America, as I am staying with a family friend here in Albuquerque. It is so much easier to answer those questions, because we do not have a language barrier to stand in between us, but I have discovered many differences between American and Australian cultures. Something I have found difficult, is the use of the word 'toilet'. In Australia we always use toilet, or we say "I need to pee". It is the norm- it is expected. Here in America, to say "I need to pee" or "where is the toilet" is rude. I have caught myself so many times starting to say these Australian things, only to have to change and say "where's the restroom/bathroom".
It's also unusual- so unusual... People riding motorbikes don't need to wear helmets! We (mum and I) cringe whenever we see someone without a helmet on, expecting them to crash and die at any moment. It's also unusual because dogs and pets are allowed in National Parks. I keep on thinking of how wrong it is!
Tomorrow I fly to Oklahoma, and join my brother and sister-in-law in the 40 degree heat. I wonder what differences I'll notice there, and how hard or easy I'll find it to adjust to this different country.
I have been here a week and a half, and have been blown away with the culturally different land I'm in. I am still in a Western country, an English speaking country, one that I've been before, and there have been times where I've felt beyond uncomfortable, or craving home. I can't wait, and also dread when I go to Spain, and accustom myself to that country, that will become my home. It's exciting, but also really scary!! But, I am so looking forward to it, that I jsut want to leave right now.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Today and Tomorrow
Today I got mail!!!
Don't you just love that feeling, when you have mail specifically addressed to you? Well, this was extra-exciting, as it was about exchange! It talked about me being formally accepted into the program, and the things to expect.
My pre-departure orientation is on the 7th of November- right in the middle of my HSC.. I'm hoping that it won't involve any preparation for it. I'm so excited- everything is coming together. My profile has been sent to Spain, hopefully to future host families, and I am getting sent an itinerary of when I go/return and stuff- though the dates won't be set in concrete.
But, apart from that... Tomorrow I depart for America!! I'm really excited- about hanging out in the diners, seeing the sites, revisiting some of the places I saw when I was last there. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with just mum, as I've never travelled with just her, but I'm really dissapointed that Dad couldn't come too.
I have a 14+ hr flight tomorrow, that I have mixed feelings about... Normally, I love the flights, but we're flying United Airlines, who don't have the personal in-flight entertainment... but it'll mean I'll get to read a lot! (Yay for English Texts!)
I'm really looking forward to saying goodbye to winter for a couple of weeks. So many people have been getting sicker and sicker, so I'm looking forward to some sun, and healthyness. Oh! Sun!! It's funny to think that one day, you crave winter, and the next, you crave summer. I'm totally craving some summer now, and it'll be nice to have a 3 week break from winter- not that our winter is even that cold, but it's just full of people getting sick.
Anyway, I should head off and get some sleep.. I'll hopefully keep this blog posted of some of my adventures in America...
Until then...
Don't you just love that feeling, when you have mail specifically addressed to you? Well, this was extra-exciting, as it was about exchange! It talked about me being formally accepted into the program, and the things to expect.
My pre-departure orientation is on the 7th of November- right in the middle of my HSC.. I'm hoping that it won't involve any preparation for it. I'm so excited- everything is coming together. My profile has been sent to Spain, hopefully to future host families, and I am getting sent an itinerary of when I go/return and stuff- though the dates won't be set in concrete.
But, apart from that... Tomorrow I depart for America!! I'm really excited- about hanging out in the diners, seeing the sites, revisiting some of the places I saw when I was last there. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with just mum, as I've never travelled with just her, but I'm really dissapointed that Dad couldn't come too.
I have a 14+ hr flight tomorrow, that I have mixed feelings about... Normally, I love the flights, but we're flying United Airlines, who don't have the personal in-flight entertainment... but it'll mean I'll get to read a lot! (Yay for English Texts!)
I'm really looking forward to saying goodbye to winter for a couple of weeks. So many people have been getting sicker and sicker, so I'm looking forward to some sun, and healthyness. Oh! Sun!! It's funny to think that one day, you crave winter, and the next, you crave summer. I'm totally craving some summer now, and it'll be nice to have a 3 week break from winter- not that our winter is even that cold, but it's just full of people getting sick.
Anyway, I should head off and get some sleep.. I'll hopefully keep this blog posted of some of my adventures in America...
Until then...
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