Friday, July 23, 2010

paparazzi

SPAIN WINS!!!!!!!!!

in overtime. incredible.


Since the United States has yet to claim the title, there´s no wonder why the World Cup isn´t near as popular here vs. other places. We´re not able to stay excited for too long... But hey, at least we have the Olympics.

For all of you who missed it, here´s the winning goal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awrgy_rK1T0

Let´s do a quick flashback to second grade math. What´s 44 minus 15? 4 becomes a 3, carry the 1, 14 minus 5 is 9, 3 minus 1 is 2,... bingo! 29. The magic number of pounds that can be inside my suitcase. Who knew a suitcase weighs 15 pounds? Sure, that´s nothing, but when you can´t have more than 44? Wow. But I can´t say I´ve weighed clothes before, so I might find myself pleasantly surprised...

Recently I have been chatting with a few AFSers going abroad this year. I have also met two people who will be on my flight. It´s really nice to talk to other kids who are going through the same thing, wondering the same questions, and running into the same problems. It´s just another nice thing about exchange- getting connected with others around the world, whether they are in the same state, country, or destination.

One of my friends is hosting a student from Spain- which is really cool. Looks like there will be 5-7 kids so far in our town. I´m looking forward to the arrival orientation and will post more about that when the time comes.

Oh yeah, the newspaper interviewed me on my exchange year. (Thank you dad, who woke me up at 6:50 am to show me the newspaper… I´m not actually sure if I read it or just stared it down, trying to figure out how to read something so early in the morning. One hour later? Yes, I was then woken up a second time by mom asking if she could have the paper. Sheesh :) Never fails though, words get twisted and weird pictures get chosen to be place on the front page.. So a few corrections- #1. Yes, I will miss my family, but I won´t be homesick and lock myself in a room and be depressed. I simply think the 10.5 months will go by very quickly during this awesome experience- so no time to be sad. Apologies to my family- well, you can read the article. They made it sound like I´m a terrible person. #2. I don´t have anything Spanish in my home for a picture. I haven´t been to Spain yet! So the Spanish books in the picture? Not my idea. And I wasn´t actually reading of course, just thinking about how weird it would look in the paper. Hm...

Here´s the link to the article: http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/517878.html

Whether you´re an exchange student, host family, or friend, the greatness of exchange never ends. Yesterday I met a friend returning for a visit from Bolivia. She stayed here the 2008-09 year. Meeting friends, getting connected with others from around the world, return trips and visits... it´s all part of an exchange program. Meeting her again, seeing how we´ve both changed, it´s incredible. Even after a year is up, and students return home, the exchange experience is never over. It simply continues, just in a different way.


No news on a host family yet. Soon? Possibly. I´m pretty sure I´ve accepted the fact I won´t find out until much closer to my departure. I´m ok with it really. It makes everything more...adventurous? Somethin like that. Well, that´s all I have for now.

Adiós! -mb


7/26/10

I would also like to thank Mrs. McConnaughey for contacting AFS and putting my article on the AFS USA website.
The link can be found here: http://www.afsusa.org/usa_en/news/afs_in_media/10958

Friday, July 9, 2010

numero nueve


Today I was thrilled to get a text message from a friend who had just safely landed in the US from being gone one year with AFS-Germany. It wasn't until much later I looked at my phone for the time to find myself staring at the date- July 9th, 2010. For some reason I felt a sense of importance. Panicking, I thought that I had missed something. Well, not quite. July 9th, 2011 is the day I will be flying home from Europe. Time is really powerful, and I'm caught up in a million thoughts of what this next year will bring.

For the first time in history Spain will play in the World Cup FINAL vs. the Netherlands on Sunday. For those of you who follow the World Cup, (and trust me I didn't until we hosted a European :)you already know Spain beat Germany 1-0 to move on to the final. Very exciting, as I will just happen to be at a welcome home party for my fellow friend that day. Reguardless, the worst Spain can get is second, right? :)



No more news from AFS yet. Still waiting...

Tschüß! -mb

Sunday, July 4, 2010

dos meses

In two months I will be headed out for my year long adventure to Spain with AFS. It´s hard to believe that everything as I know it now will change in only a matter of time. I am very excited about my experience! Hopefully I will be able to keep my blog updated..

Reguarding my trip as of now, what do I know? Well, not much really. I do not have a clue where in Spain I will be living. Not a one. The top of September I will fly to New York for an orientation, and the next day to Zürich, Switzerland. That´s right, Switzerland. From there I will switch and fly to Madrid. I´m guessing that´s about 4 hours of extra plane time... probably cheaper or something, oh well. Learning a few German words may help to navigate around the airport...

Since last year I´ve been an AFS volunteer and have worked at many orientations. Being at the arrival orientation was one awesome experience. My family also hosted a student from Italy, and so far that has been the best year of my life. Hosting an student is a difficult experience to explain. Having an older brother was awesome, and the whole year was filled with a kind of spark that we´ve never had before. The students from this year left less than a week ago, and it´s been a rough few days with our newest family member not in the house..



Along with my flight schedule, I´ve received a note from AFS saying I will get the chance to communicate with an AFS returnee from Spain. This was VERY helpful news as I am stuck on what to pack. Europe in general dresses up more than us here in the United States. They are more into the fashion, and I have heard packing one pair of shorts is one pair too many. My first thought? I hope it´s not too hot there.. But realistically, I am allowed one suitcase at 44lbs. (Let´s see, the suitcase itself has got to weigh atleast five so now we´re down to like 39...) and one carry on- under 22lbs! So everything I take I must use. I can´t afford to take clothing or something that wastes space and weight...so my packing will be light, as I´ll plan to buy clothes there (too bad Europe is expensive..) My rule of thumb? Take what I need divided in half.

I´m not sure what to expect from Spain. Orientation tells me to expect nothing so I won´t be disappointed. I hardly know anything about the country of Spain itself. Finding information on the internet is very difficult, I mean, after you fight your way through the touristy information every house is different.

When someone finds out I am going abroad for a year, I can never understand their first question of- ¨Why?¨ I am shocked to find the number of people who say they would never leave their small town to travel and experience another culture. Very ignorant, I think. And then theres the others who say- oh, i´d never be able to learn another language. Think!, people! If you were in another country, heard no English for one year, of course you can learn! I think people underestimate themselves, which is unfortunate. And then theres the last group of people who would not leave for one year for social reasons such as school sports or friends. I get the feeling some people think going on an exchange year is having no friends for one year and doing nothing, when quite frankly it is the exact opposite! After returning home from being abroad, your true friends will still be there. And the school sports? Seriously. Is one year of hockey or soccer or football or basketball really going to change your life? And if you get injured? Then what? An exchange year is a way to open up new doors for yourself and change your life forever.

The second most question asked, "are you nervous?" and my auto reponse is no. But, the more I think about it, the more complications and ¨what ifs¨ pop into my head. For example, my host family. In Spain there are different languages or dialects you can say. Not everywhere castillian spanish (what we learn in school here) is dominant. People can understand it, just don´t speak it first. That´s the language I´m learning and hope to become fluent in...learning two languages could become tricky, but, we´ll see how it goes. Thinking too deep into other aspects is distracting too. I could be kept inside a house all year with a 8 oclock curfew, have loud and annoying siblings, no air conditioning, walk an hour to school, have no siblings and be stuck at home alone, live in a rural area with nothing for miles, get injured and not be able to be active, live on rice and bread, BUT! I know AFS only places AFSers in a good home, and change is a good thing. Different doesn´t mean bad, and I am ready to experience different. Because, why not? You only live once, and if you live right, once is enough :)

I hope to keep my blog updated, there probably won´t be much real soon but I´ll write more as time gets closer!

Ciao! -mb