8 posts tagged “afs”
I went on the computer to check my email this morning, only to recieve one from AFS NZ to say that I had been accepted by AFS Chile.
That means that my next payment is due, and once it has been paid they will begin to find me a host family. I don't want to get my hopes up, but it would be awesome to be able to answer the question of "Where in Chile will you be?" with an answer other than "I don't know yet."
I've also been looking at a Lonely Planet for Chile, I don't know why but I have an obsession for the population size of places, and ANY of the cities/towns/villages there look wonderful. Mum tried to discourage me from Wikipedia-ing places in Chile, because 'I might be disapointed if I don't end up in a place that I like' but that is so not me! I like all of Chile at the moment. Once I find out my host family I might become slightly biased . . . but who knows? I'm just happy to know that AFS hasn't forgotten me.
I'm going to Chile! Yay!
On Saturday afternoon it was an AFS meeting. We met at the indoor sports centre and never thought I was going to make it there because I got so lost... I drove way too far up the road, then doubled back and eventually found it.
The meeting started out by introducing the new inbounds, a few 2 month students from France, Italy and Spain, a 6 month student from Spain and a year long student from France, as well as a outdoor pursuits student from the USA. The other exchangers were 3 year long students from Finland, Costa Rica, Sweden and Iceland (sorry if I missed anybody). The outbounds are going to Venezuela, Spain, Chile (aka me), France, Italy and the USA and I'm sure I've forgotton someone. Then there were the returnees from Denmark, Sweden (x2) and the USA, and the students who were applying. Not to mention family and a boyfriend or two. (All of the outbounds are girls).
The first game we played was soccer and I now have a bruise on my shin. I was in a team with only one other English speaker and it was really awesome. Dodgeball was harder because I didn't understand the rules completely, so therefore couldn't explain to the others. But basically we all had to throw balls to knock down cones. And, our opposing team also happened to be made up of young men who throw the dodgeball very hard and fast. One of them even made Marta fall down! Luckily there were no serious injuries.
After that, I had a drink and talked to some of the inbounds, especially the Spaniards, where I tried to converse in Spanish but I just couldn't keep up. I know in Chile my head is going to be done in after 2 minutes :p I could grasp the majority of what was said, but couldn't think of an answer in English, translate it to Spanish, and then say it fast enough. The USA returnee showed us some of her photos, and wow it looked like she had an amazing family and the school yearbook was astounding. It looked so professional and was properly published so it looked like a real book, unlike our magaziny things here. The student's parents actually give the yearbook committe baby photos and stuff to say about their son/daughter. Wow.
I played a game of indoor netball as well (and my shooting SUCKED) but anyhoo, it was fun. The we had pizza! It was very nice and I talked some more to the inbounds and outbounds. They were such great people and I really really look forward to the next chapter meeting. But by then the USA, Venezuela and Spain outbounds would have become inbounds, and the 2 month students would have gone (I think) so it won't be the same. Ah well. When I get back I want to volunteer with AFS for a while. The people are great to be around :D
No news back from AFS about host family, but I'm not expecting one for a long time yet. Some people don't even find out until less than a week before departure.
A THICK envelope arrived in the mail today. As soon as Mum told me, I raced to the study, took it off her desk and raced back to the lounge, only to discover that it was adressed 'To the Parents of Anita *****'. I will not open anybody's mail without their permission so I went back to pouring myself a glass of milk. Mum asked if I'd opened the envelope, I said, no, then asked if I could open it.
Inside was a folder with two pockets and a LOT of paperwork/reading. A piece of paper showed the invoice for my first payment, another to ask for a scan of my passport, a health insurance booklet thingy, a student handbook, y mucho más.
I skimmed through the health insurance papers, re-read my acceptance statement, and knuckled down into reading The Student Exchange Handbook, which promised to be exciting but really scared me. Suddenly this is a reality; in February I WILL be at the airport ready (or not) to say goodbye to everybody, about to embark into the unknown...
What the SH (Student Handbook) basically contained was information about your schooling - don't slack off, let your school know, etc. There was also information on expectations - reasonable ones like no driving, flying on an unschedudeled flight (e.g a tiny 2 seater plane), obeying the rules of your host country and such. Nothing about No Dating . . . when I realised that I let out a sigh of relief in my head.
Reality hits
So far, I guess, going on an exchange has been a dream for me. And I say a dream because it has never been tangible until tonight. Even when I got my acceptance call, everything was still so far away that I had never really woken up.
My eyes are now firmly open . . . This is no longer a dream but a reality. Reading over the SH has made me realise a few truths about my exchange. I had always known that an exchange is going to be one of the toughest phases of my life. Tougher even than doing Level 2 NCEA a year early, and tougher than waiting to go into a flute exam. And reality hit me.
(Just a random side note, but when I imagine reality hitting me I always think of a brick dropping on my head).
I've never expected exchange to be plain sailing and I know, unless in some few cases, that its not going to be. I pretty much have no expectations, just unrealistic subconscious hopes that are so pathetic I won't even write them because they are unrealistic and stupid and not my expectations.
The town where I live has always felt like home to me, and even the country. Everything is somewhat familiar ... and I remember earlier this year when I went to Perth, the houses were different. None were made from wood, and they were just ... different ... and it felt strange, I felt very touristy. I want to be part of another culture, not an outsider, and whether is be in a poor family, und the Chilean desert, in the extreme South or in the Andes, I have a goal for myself. These are the six words that I will think of all year, through the highs and the lows and everything in between. No matter where I am, no matter how I feel, this is a unique oppurtunity that I am never going to have again. My words of wisdom are :
Make the most of every minute
And that is the only expectation I have. It is an expectation I have of myself, so I am fully responsible for doing it. And right now, I think I will.
This is the story of the afternoon when I was accepted to Chile:
I was sitting in my bedroom, on CS, when I heard the phone ring. I picked it up straight away, but my family's nanny had also picked up the phone on the kitchen. Her voice answered then phone, so I went to hang up my phone. But just before I did, I heard the voice of my AA.
I hung up anyway because it's polite not to eavesdrop.
A few seconds later, she came to my bedroom and said the phone was for me. So I picked it up, thinking to myself this is it! please please please please be Chile. And I can't remember exactly what he said, but it WAS Chile! All I could say was 'thank you!' 'thank you!'.
After I put the phone back, I turned to my younger brother and told him. (He was in my room looking at an I Spy book). "Matthew, I'm going to Chile!" I exclaimed.
He just grinned a sheepish grin and turned away. I asked why he looked to sheepish and his reply was "Cos you'll get me stuff".
...
So I texted two of my best friends and my mum then went on MSN and CS as well.
And today at school my friend told my whole Spanish class. And then it really sunk in how excited but nervous I was and I started to cry.
Nope, just kidding, I didn't cry :p
Today I was pretty excited though.
I saw my Auntie in the library after school and told her as well.
Right now it feels surreal, like this isn't really happening. I cannot see myself actually at the airport saying goodbye to my family. I'm sure this is how most other exchangers feel, so I'm not worried.
And my new favourite Spanish word - ¡Superfantastico!
I just got a phone call from my AA to say I have been accepted to a year programme to Chile!!!
Since this blog is an exchange blog, I guess I should include everything that I do to do with my exchange....Kinda obvious eh? :-)
Last night I went to an AFS information evening... although another girl and I were already going through the selection process, we were still aksed to attend in case anybody had any questions for us. But I'm glad I did go anyway - it beats doing homeowork!
Dad and I were the last to arrive (no surprises there) even though it was just down the road... But we found some seats and sat down, then looked at a flyer of a Russian girl that needs hosting. I feel really sorry for her - I hope she gets a host family soon. A video on hosting (PLEASE let us be a host family!) and students was shown. A returnee spoke about her time in Guatamala (Central America), then and inbound from Iceland spoke - man it was funny! He had only been here 5 and a half months but his English was fluent, even with a strong Icelandic accent. Two outbounds also spoke, one leaving in...wait for it... 22 days! There were questions and then on to the fun part - supper! Well, not exactly...
Dad and I (well, mostly Dad) talked to the Icelandic student, who explained the differences between here and Iceland. He was used to preparing his own meals *ahem* protein shakes, and could drive. But in NZ, his host mother cooks for the family and he can't drive (one of the AFS rules). But he sounded like he was loving it here. No surprises there - who couldn't NOT love NZ?
I also talked to the two outbounds (Spain and USA). The USA outbound had 22 days to go, and it sounded like leaving is going to be quite hard. The Spain girl had found out her host family, where she would be living and her curfew was 4am! Sounds like a pretty cool host family to me!
Since this is not going to be a blow-by-blow account, I won't go into details but it seems to be an AFS tradition to swap name stickers at every meeting (or every meeting I have been to so far... all two of them) My name changed to the Icelandic student's name. There was also a very funny moment when the Icelandic retold an embarrassing story because he thought we knew it, but really we didn't... we told him afterwards and it was kind of funny.
My next meeting is three weeks away, but I'm already looking forward to it a lot! AFS is so much fun and I have no regrets about choosing this organisation. The next meeting is at a sports centre and there will be other inbounds and the semester student - the one from Spain that I ended up emailing and then meeting.
That's all for now.
Tata
Anita xo
Here I am, looking around nervously for the right family. I'm looking for a man and a woman, with at least two kids. They wouldn't have any luggage, because of course they are waiting too. I find a seat in the airport and gaze around. Glancing at my watch, I realise I have only ten minutes to find them and explain why I am here.
No, I haven't departed on my exchange 7 months earlier, nor have I arrived at the airport to count how many planes land on our miniscule runway. I am here because of an amazing coincidence.
A few months ago, just after I had submitted my appication to AFS, I was trawling YouTube looking at exchange videos in an afternoon of boredom. There was one about a Belgian girl who spent a year in NZ, and a comment below it was from somebody from Spain, saying that he/she was coming to NZ in a few months and would like to hear from anyone who had been there. The comment was dated one month ago.
Having just created an account on Youtube with my sister, I replied to the comment, explaining that I was from NZ and was happy to answer any questions about the country. We then began emailing each other, and I found out her name, and a littler bit about her and her family, as well as telling her about my family and myself. She said that she was living on a farm, and was that normal? In my reply, I asked what area of NZ she would be living in. She replied, and the name of where she would be living was a town, 20 minutes drive from where I live. I was shocked. What a coincidence! We would probably meet each other in a couple of months at an AFS chapter event.
At my interview, I told of this amazing coincidence and they asked if I would like to meet her at the airport. Well, I did, but I hadn't heard from her in a few weeks, and I thought it would be best to ask. Since the interview was a day before her arrival, I did not get a response.
So here I am, at the airport, and I think I have found the people who might possibly be her host family. I realise that I recognise one of the girls from an AFS meeting back in February. What was I going to say to them? It took me a few minutes to gather up my courage to speak to them. I was sitting in a seat behind the host father, I guess. I turned around in my seat and asked "Excuse me, are you the ********'s waiting for *****?" They all turned around looking puzzled, as I expected. So I quickly explained why I was here, hoping that they wouldn't think I was some crazed stalker or anything. Well, as far as I knew, they didn't. Both the faces of the parents looking surprised (in a good way) when I told them the story, and I continued to chat with her host father until the plane arrived. As the passengers were getting off the place, I tried to guess which one was *****. I followed the family over to the single arrival gate, and then I saw her. She still had no idea who I was!
While the host family did their introductions, I hung back, but then her host mother stepped forward and introduced her to me. I think she looked a little confused (but I don't know) until she realised who I was. We hugged, and then I followed the host family to get her luggage. While the host parents helped her to find her suitcases, I stood with the two host sisters and another exchange student, from Finland, that they were hosting. By the doors of the airport, ***** and I exchanged phone numbers and I walked back to the car, ready to drive back to my home and to have dinner, wondering what it would be like when I would meet my host family at the airport.
I decided to do a blog to follow the journey of my exchange. Well, my exchange so far...
So far, I have sent in my application and had one interview. I have another on on Thursday.
Here's a bit of a background or
My Exchange Story
I became interested in exchange when I was about 13. In the summer holidays, I would sit at the computer, eyes glued to the screen and google 'Student Exchange'. Crazy stuff...
Then, earlier this year, 2 years later, I saw an ad in the paper for an AFS meeting. THIS was my chance. I went to the meeting, where I met a few outbounds (students selected but still in their home country) and some inbounds (exchange students in their host country), and a rebound (someone who has already been on an exchange). I took home a student exchange brochure, and a hosting brochure. A few weeks later, I started filling out the application form.
One day, I was at a meeting and I saw one of the outbounds. She asked how my app was going, and suggested I do it online (after all, it was last year's brochure and things might have changed. They had changed. I set to work getting it completed, and submitted it. The next day I posted the other information (school reports, etc)
The next day, a recieved an email, saying part of my application was missing. I replied that it was in the post.
A few days later, I got another email, saying the same thing. I replied that it was in the post, checked over my online app and resubbed it.
...
It happened again.
I sent it again.
I also had to post the things I had scanned in (the quality wasn't good enough)
After all that drama, I was emailed to say my application has been accepted.
The deadline date passed.
...
In assembely one day, a was called to go and see my dean (my school referee). She said that she had been contacted by AFS because my School Referee statement was missing.
This is what I was thinking *SHOCK HORROR*!!!
I told her I had definitely sent it, and called AFS that night. The nice lady on the phone looked for it, and said she would email if I needed to get another personal referee statement. She didn't email back, so I asked my referee and got one anyway.
Scanned it and emailed it. Then posted it too because it was hard to read.
Don't read this and think this happens to everyone who applies to AFS. It was bad luck and possibly a case of cyber-information-napping. I still believe AFS is a trustworthy organisation and would definitely recommend it! Especially for those in NZ, AFS is the way to go!
While this was happening, I got a phone call from my local AFS chapter to organise an interview.
The Interview
went well. (I hope) We organised a parent interview there as well, which is this week. The interview basically was a chance for me to share experiences that showed I possessed the qualities exchange students should have.
And that brings me to the present.
My Groups
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New Zealand—Aotearoa Updated: 2 days ago
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Cultures Shocked Updated: Oct 4, 2009
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Traveling Notebook: 09-10!! (host) Updated: Feb 17, 2009
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