Have you ever tried running really fast while looking behind you? Maybe if you are racing someone. Most people don't do it for very long while those who do usually find themselves in trouble. By turning your head you are able to see the past, but can no longer see where you are going. Everything is slightly thrown off. Your speed decreases, and you can no longer run in a straight line. You are distracted by something in your past, and can no longer look to see the direction in which you are headed. And then finally something snaps to get your attention. You may be nearing the finish line. You may have tripped. Fallen. Or maybe, your competition gained distance and you realized you needed to start paying attention to your own self. But if you would have simply glanced back instead, that would have been enough. The push of your competition would have kept you on track and focused to reach the finish line.
This is simply my goal. To stay focused. As I say goodbye to many people and things here, I need to keep focused on where I am going. Don't get me wrong, there are many people I will miss. But I know if I dwell too long on everything here I will simply trip my way forward towards my new destination. And fall.
So, this is it. My last weekend...before I see the world from a completely different perspective. My last time in the states only understanding one language and one culture. But these are the only lasts that I will have. Things change. People move. Life won't always stay the same no matter where you are. Time changes everything. But whether we like it or not, the show must go on.
Culture is the diversity that makes things different. I am able to understand more of what an exchange year is from the student's point of view. Exchange students you meet are not the same person they are back home. When moving to a different country you have to adapt, and with adaption you become different. Like the blue and green glasses. In your home country you see things through yellow glasses. In your host country you see things through blue glasses. And when the year is over, you go back home and start to see things through green glasses. But people at home still look through the yellow ones. And people in your host country still look through the blue. Neither side has the capability to fully understand each other's way of life.
I had an exchange student who asked me a question that stood out from everything anyone's asked me before about exchange. When they found out I was going on exchange to Spain their response was
"Why? Why would you ever want to leave here? You live in the United States. What makes you want to leave?"
As the countdown continues, this is probably my last post until I arrive in Spain. My suitcase is mostly packed, and after buying a different suitcase that weighs only 10lbs (instead of 15.5) I am very happy to be at 39lbs (44lb max.) with only a few adjustments to make. And in three days, I'll start my journey.
Well, it's been great.
-mb
You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. -André Gide
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
grace-land
So much to say without the knowledge of knowing how to write creative enough to keep your attention. Where to start?
The AFS 2010 Arrival Orientation this year was simply fantastic. I am amazed at how many awesome people there are in the world. Seriously. Every year I wonder if it's possible to know all of the kids out there. The good type. The life changing ones. And what is shocking? Intercultural programs have a hard time finding host families.
Here's how it works. The students (MinnKota) flew from X country to Chicago. From there, they took an 8 hour bus ride to Minnesota, and another hour or so ride to us- who relocated our orientation to a summer camp location. This year the students arrived in groups over a three day time period. The first group arrived at 2:30am on Thursday, with breakfast at 8am to follow. Orientation doesn't take too long, with me and four other volunteers going over rules and such. The afternoon was free for activities. Host families attended an orientation while us kids went on a boat ride. It's impossible to tell someone everything they
need to know for one year, or everything to expect from an exchange student. Just think. If you were to live in your next door neighbor's house, simple changes such as, "Where do I put my shoes? What expectations are there from me? or What time does everybody wake up?" are taken for granted by routine. Got that down? Good. WHOA! Everyone is speaking in a different language! And then, the realization you don't know anyone.
Seeing host families meet their student is really powerful. Mostly by the fact of knowing what the End of Stay orientation looks like. Crying. Everywhere. For some, not so much, but for many- heartbreaking. It's not easy to say goodbye to a lifestyle you will never have back. Sure, visit them. But the everyday things? Gone.
The next two groups went through the same routine. Saturday was our last day. One of the most exciting as we wrapped up the weekend. We went canoeing! Great idea, I mean, we are in Minnesota, right? A student from the Czech Republic and myself were canoeing (and doing quite well, really) but got too close to another canoe and pushed out of the way. I suppose that results in a flipped canoe. Embarrassing, yes. But funny. And even better? All of my clothes were in a volunteer's car an hour and a half down the road. Awesomeee :) Canoe pictures are credited to Marilyn.
What else? In the midst of things people are starting to almost scare me about my trip. If you repetitively had people ask you questions like:
"Are you ready?... A year? WOWW! Isn't that a long time? Won't you miss it here?...This is your last time doing this!...What if this happens, then what?"
Wouldn't you be a bit intimidated? Not all these questions come from my friends, either. They come from adults. As in, have lived on their own for many years.
I am soo soo so so so happy I was able to spend this past weekend with my German American friend Grace. There is nothing more relieving than talking to an AFSer who knows exactly what you are going through. AFS is like a culture of it's own. You can be AFS, speak AFS, teach AFS, and experience AFS. But no one knows AFS better than AFSers themselves. Adults don't get it sometimes. The little things, or big, for that matter. Sure, anyone can say "I know what you're going through." But they can't. They simply do not have one clue as to what you are going through. The mixed emotions, uncertainty, unknown, excitedness, or nervousness...
Grace and her family are also a welcome family for an Italian student this year. If you are not able to host for a long duration of time, you can volunteer to be a welcome family for as long as you'd like. The duration of a welcome family does not last more than 8 weeks and is a great experience.
Today on my countdown to Departure Day the number of days is down to single digits. I received two emails from AFS, containing about 50 pages of rules, information and such. I solumnly swear I will not walk barefoot in the house, and will never wear jeans to bed, no matter how tired I am. And 220 can give a good shock. Sound like jibberish? Sorry, I was speaking AFS. :)
As the days pass the reality becomes more obvious as I will start to pack in just a few days. And also, I have NO SCHOOL tomorrow! I wonder if I'll get weird looks from people during school hours.
chau chau -mb
The AFS 2010 Arrival Orientation this year was simply fantastic. I am amazed at how many awesome people there are in the world. Seriously. Every year I wonder if it's possible to know all of the kids out there. The good type. The life changing ones. And what is shocking? Intercultural programs have a hard time finding host families.
Here's how it works. The students (MinnKota) flew from X country to Chicago. From there, they took an 8 hour bus ride to Minnesota, and another hour or so ride to us- who relocated our orientation to a summer camp location. This year the students arrived in groups over a three day time period. The first group arrived at 2:30am on Thursday, with breakfast at 8am to follow. Orientation doesn't take too long, with me and four other volunteers going over rules and such. The afternoon was free for activities. Host families attended an orientation while us kids went on a boat ride. It's impossible to tell someone everything they
need to know for one year, or everything to expect from an exchange student. Just think. If you were to live in your next door neighbor's house, simple changes such as, "Where do I put my shoes? What expectations are there from me? or What time does everybody wake up?" are taken for granted by routine. Got that down? Good. WHOA! Everyone is speaking in a different language! And then, the realization you don't know anyone.
Seeing host families meet their student is really powerful. Mostly by the fact of knowing what the End of Stay orientation looks like. Crying. Everywhere. For some, not so much, but for many- heartbreaking. It's not easy to say goodbye to a lifestyle you will never have back. Sure, visit them. But the everyday things? Gone.
The next two groups went through the same routine. Saturday was our last day. One of the most exciting as we wrapped up the weekend. We went canoeing! Great idea, I mean, we are in Minnesota, right? A student from the Czech Republic and myself were canoeing (and doing quite well, really) but got too close to another canoe and pushed out of the way. I suppose that results in a flipped canoe. Embarrassing, yes. But funny. And even better? All of my clothes were in a volunteer's car an hour and a half down the road. Awesomeee :) Canoe pictures are credited to Marilyn.
What else? In the midst of things people are starting to almost scare me about my trip. If you repetitively had people ask you questions like:
"Are you ready?... A year? WOWW! Isn't that a long time? Won't you miss it here?...This is your last time doing this!...What if this happens, then what?"
Wouldn't you be a bit intimidated? Not all these questions come from my friends, either. They come from adults. As in, have lived on their own for many years.
I am soo soo so so so happy I was able to spend this past weekend with my German American friend Grace. There is nothing more relieving than talking to an AFSer who knows exactly what you are going through. AFS is like a culture of it's own. You can be AFS, speak AFS, teach AFS, and experience AFS. But no one knows AFS better than AFSers themselves. Adults don't get it sometimes. The little things, or big, for that matter. Sure, anyone can say "I know what you're going through." But they can't. They simply do not have one clue as to what you are going through. The mixed emotions, uncertainty, unknown, excitedness, or nervousness...
Grace and her family are also a welcome family for an Italian student this year. If you are not able to host for a long duration of time, you can volunteer to be a welcome family for as long as you'd like. The duration of a welcome family does not last more than 8 weeks and is a great experience.Today on my countdown to Departure Day the number of days is down to single digits. I received two emails from AFS, containing about 50 pages of rules, information and such. I solumnly swear I will not walk barefoot in the house, and will never wear jeans to bed, no matter how tired I am. And 220 can give a good shock. Sound like jibberish? Sorry, I was speaking AFS. :)
As the days pass the reality becomes more obvious as I will start to pack in just a few days. And also, I have NO SCHOOL tomorrow! I wonder if I'll get weird looks from people during school hours.
chau chau -mb
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
tres semanas
I just keep adding posts... wow. I got my full host family application today! I'm really excited, everything seems so much more real now. It took a call to AFS to have them email the application to me, but I am very relieved now I have that information.
Three weeks! That's 21 days, until eeeeverything changes! There are no words to express how excited I am to start this awesome adventure. :)
keep it real -mb
Three weeks! That's 21 days, until eeeeverything changes! There are no words to express how excited I am to start this awesome adventure. :)
keep it real -mb
Monday, August 9, 2010
curve ball
WoW! I check my AFS account today and saw more members of my host family added to the list! I have four host siblings: 2 host brothers ages 20 and 11, and 2 host sisters that will be 15/16 this year. I am really excited! :)
Today there was an orientation for myself and another student who is going to Switzerland. He leaves in less than 10 days and still doesn't know his host family...(!!!) (Jonathan I hope you find out soon!) A big thanks to everyone who was at the orientation. It's always fun to hear AFS stories. An AFS returnee friend from Argentia was also there too. Talking with returnees is always really nice- they can give you the best information since they have already gone through the experience.
Curve Ball? It's something talked about at orientation today. Happens in every experience and you can't advoid them. Who knows, maybe I'll get another notice saying i have 10 siblings. I'm not sure what to expect anymore! :)
ciao ciao -mb
Today there was an orientation for myself and another student who is going to Switzerland. He leaves in less than 10 days and still doesn't know his host family...(!!!) (Jonathan I hope you find out soon!) A big thanks to everyone who was at the orientation. It's always fun to hear AFS stories. An AFS returnee friend from Argentia was also there too. Talking with returnees is always really nice- they can give you the best information since they have already gone through the experience.
Curve Ball? It's something talked about at orientation today. Happens in every experience and you can't advoid them. Who knows, maybe I'll get another notice saying i have 10 siblings. I'm not sure what to expect anymore! :)
ciao ciao -mb
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Madrid
I'm placed in Madrid! That's awesome!
August 4th I checked my AFS profile and a few pieces of information were posted. Only 1 family member was listed, so I had to call AFS and see where the rest of the application was. After calling AFS all I know is I have 2 siblings, and they will send me the host family application as soon as they receive it from AFS Spain. Reguardless, I am relieved to know my location. Some small online research shows the population of Madrid around 3 million and the average low winter temperature to be 38 degrees!
In the mix of things, this past week we visited family in Kentucky. It was nice to meet up with everyone again. Since my family is so spread out it's hard to visit on a regular basis. This includes people I haven't seen in 10 years! That's a long time...
Tomorrow is an AFS orientation for me, followed by an orientation for incoming students. It should be a good week! And as a side note, has anyone looked at the news? Le Tour de France winner is from Spain :)
I'll keep ya'll updated -mb
August 4th I checked my AFS profile and a few pieces of information were posted. Only 1 family member was listed, so I had to call AFS and see where the rest of the application was. After calling AFS all I know is I have 2 siblings, and they will send me the host family application as soon as they receive it from AFS Spain. Reguardless, I am relieved to know my location. Some small online research shows the population of Madrid around 3 million and the average low winter temperature to be 38 degrees!
In the mix of things, this past week we visited family in Kentucky. It was nice to meet up with everyone again. Since my family is so spread out it's hard to visit on a regular basis. This includes people I haven't seen in 10 years! That's a long time...
Tomorrow is an AFS orientation for me, followed by an orientation for incoming students. It should be a good week! And as a side note, has anyone looked at the news? Le Tour de France winner is from Spain :)
I'll keep ya'll updated -mb
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
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
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