Visa Update and Skype Success!

On August 20 I had my appointment at the Italian consulate in L.A. everything went smoothly thanks to my mom's hyper vigilant preparation. Even though the instructions for applying for the visa were super confusing we had all of the papers they needed! Some questions that my mom and I had when we were preparing the visa papers were: Do both parents need to be present, Does the visa cost anything, and how many copies of everything do you need? No, both parents do not need to be present just have the appropriate documents signed by both parents and notarized. No, the visa doesn't cost anything and it is actually put into your passport (i didn't know that). I would suggest that you bring three copies of all of the documents your bring this is because the consulate keeps the originals of everything you give them and also keeps a copy, so in case anything happens your parents should have a copy too. If anyone has any questions about visa stuff please ask! So while it was exciting to finally go to the Italian Consulate it was about as much fun as going to the DMV. They were in the process of moving buildings and it was super busy so everyone was in a pretty sour mood. I am expecting my visa in the mail any day now so hopefully it arrives soon. 

I had a second Skype chat with my host family last week, this time without Giammy (their son, who is currently in Denmark with AFS)  there to help us translate our chat lasted about 12 minutes, which I thought was a pretty good time considering I don't speak Italian (Io non parlo Italiano!) and they don't speak english. Right now my Italian mama, papà, and sorella Cecilia are at their beach house on the Ligurian Sea! They said they will take me to the beach house. I really like my family and they have already made plans for us to go to the beach house, Milano, and Firenze (Florence). Milano is about an hour from Tortona and Firenze is about 3 hours from Tortona. 

I also had a meeting with the Vice Principal of my American high school to make sure I was all set to go abroad for my senior year. It was nice to know that after a year of crazy hard work that I am finally done. So yay I'm graduated from high school, not officially because I didn't want to jeopardize my chances of getting into AFS, I will receive my diploma the day I get back from Italy. Everyone at school is really excited for me to go and they wished me well. If i were to stay in America this year I would start school on Monday, but since I'm leaving I don't have to go, which is kind of fun. 

13 days left until the adventure begins!

The Summer so Far, Getting Ready to Leave, Worries and Advice Part 2

I believe the root of homesickness Is usually fear. And if you know your enemy there are a few ways you can combat it and I plan to implement these so we will see how it works our. First of all, I think mental preparation can take you a long way. I know I will be gone for a year and I have been preparing for almost year to leave so I hope it doesn’t come as a shock when the day is here. Also, early contact with your host family to establish a bond is a good step. This bond will help ease you into the new life instead of dropping you into a stranger’s house. I achieved this through skype and consistent email contact with my host family. In addition, I would recommend that you and your parents make a pact to not talk for at least two weeks when you arrive in your host country. One of the AFSers I have talked to didn’t talk to her family for two months! Now that seems a little too hard for me, but my mom and I have agreed on no contact for two weeks. Plus, I have been told to keep a journal, which I will do in addition to this. So I will implement these theories and tell you how it works out.

 Right now I am finishing up the Rosetta Stone that AFS gave us and it makes me feel better when I start to get worried about learning the language. If there are any prospective AFSers reading this I urge you to not let a foreign language deter you from studying abroad instead let it be an incentive! Even though it might seem impossible the human brain learns extremely fast and language skills develop within months ( I have seen this firsthand with two Thai exchange students I know).

The thing that has me most freaked right now is the realization that this part of my life will soon be over forever. I have finished both junior and senior year and have basically graduated. Then after that is college, so after these 23 days, at least for the next five years, I will no longer live consistently at home. I have waited so long to be done with high school and with this bracket of life, but now that it is here I sort of wish I could put the brakes on. Not that I would give up the future I would just maybe like a moment to look back and reflect, and all of the sudden it seems as if there is no time. This is both terrifying and exhilarating, but I suppose that is what the future is and I am lucky to have something to look forward to. I am getting my hair cut in a week or two and dyed back to my natural color so everything is low maintenance and cost in Italy I haven’t seen my natural color in years haha wonder what it is now. Every time I look at something or say goodbye to someone it somehow feels more meaningful and permanent now that my life is about to change. Which of course then makes me cry, stupid puberty. Well anyway I digress.

Italy is fast approaching and I plan to get my host family something along the lines of magnets, t-shirts, tiny flags and sand from the Pacific Ocean. How cool is it that next time I swim it will be in the Mediterranean Sea?! I have heard bringing post cards is good so you can write thank yous to your friends and stuff. It is very cold in Tortona and It actually snows! I have never been in someplace that snows so I plan to buy warm clothes there because I don’t own any here. Well that’s all I can think of right now. Now that I am done with summer classes I will be posting more frequently and will definitely continue to do so in Italy. Please if anyone has any questions or comments post! I am happy to help :) 

Ciao  

The Summer so far, Getting Ready to Leave, Worries and Advice Part 1

This summer has been very busy, but I have completed all of my summer classes and decided which colleges to apply to! I received my host family information in mid- July! I will be living in a small town called Tortona in the Alessandria Province of Italy. I have  a mother, father, and a sister. They also have a son who is 17 as well, but he is studying with AFS in Denmark this year and has been there for a week now. When I received my host family information the first thing I did was email my host mom, sister and dad. I assumed they spoke English, but it turns out they only speak Italian, which is great because it means I will learn faster! They are very nice people and I love them already. I will be going to Istituto Scolastico Peano which is less than a kilometer away from my house J. I believe when they call the school “Scolastico” it means it ha more than one of the school programs (Linguistico, scientifico, classico…) I am very excited to be in the Linguistico class because I love languages. I do not have my class schedule yet, but I think it will be something like French, German, Italian, English, Art History (yay), and maybe a science. Rumor on facebook is that Linguistico is the easiest and most fun program for exchange students I’m not sure why that is, but I’m sure it’s true. On August 20^th I have my appointment at the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles and I also need to turn in my transcripts from my summer classes to my American high school. Talk about a busy day!

 So now for some advice to future AFSers about Visa instructions (lightning crash) ooh scary I know. First of all make your appointment at the consulate the SECOND you get that email! I made my appointment the day I got the email from AFS giving the OK, and when I called the next week all appointments were booked until after the due date! Luckily I already had mine set for the 20^th. In addition, AFS will send papers saying what they “think” the consulate requires, however, make sure to check the consulate website! The website and the instructions from AFS differed tremendously and to overcome that my mom made sure we had everything that both places listed plus two copies of everything (the website says one copy, but an AFSer on fb stated that at his appointment they wanted two copies).  I will post after my appointment about how it went and anything I think is good advice.

I have begun the countdown to days until Italy and it is a shockingly low 23 days! So now I find myself wondering odd things like “ Will this be the last tube of American toothpaste I buy before I leave?”, or “ How many pairs of underwear should I bring?”. I have my suitcase and it is sleek, sexy, and polka dotted! I got one of the light weight plastic (not sure if it is actually plastic, but you know what I mean) rolly suitcases, which I thought a god decision because of the weight restrictions. I have been hearing from past AFSers that the less you bring the better and that minimalism is key. I had the opportunity to speak to a family of AFSers at an open house my lovely Aunt Patty took me to (Love you!). These girls had been to Russia, Ecuador, Switzerland, and Norway! They all said that the best advice would be to be observant and use your obvious Americanness/ foreignness to ask as many questions as you can about everything, also they said to assume nothing. Customs can be very different and definitely ask questions even about “embarrassing” stuff like bathroom and shower customs. As far as homesickness goes they said that IT WILL HAPPEN the best thing you can do is when you are feeling the worst pretend and smile any way. See Part 2! 

School Credits

So no new exciting information about my host family yet, but I can tell you all about school credits while abroad yay! I'm going to Italy for my senior year of high school so obviously there were several obstacles concerning graduation, college apps, and credits. So my first step was to talk to my counselor, luckily he was on my side but because I am in advanced placement classes, don't want to do another year of high school when I came back, and plan on attending colleges the fall after I come back, I had to squish two years into 6 months. The to-do list got pretty long 1. 3 AP tests 2. 3 SAT subject test 3. The SAT 4. The ACT 5. 1 semester of government class 6. 1 semester of economics class 7. 1 semester of p.e. 8. Apply to college Th plan my counselor and I came up with to get my credits and still graduate on time was this: I complete my senior required classes during the summer before I leave give my transcripts from my summer classes to my current school and they enter me into the system for the coming school year, then after I leave my mom will unenroll me from my American school and once I return from italy the school will reactivate me in the system and I get my diploma yay. I am doing my senior classes online through national university virtual high school and through the charter school options for youth. Fr my time abroad I can only receive elective credits because I already have completed my required 230 Credits to graduate. In addition the credit I am receiving is pass or fail credit so it will not hurt my gpa. As far as college stuff goes, I am going to attempt to complete as much of my applications as I can before I leave. Well that's all for now I hope next time I post it will be about my host family! I hope this helps anyone who is trying to figure out their credit stuff

Anything but Ordinary Please!

Hello, my name is Hailee Vandiver. I am from Upland, California and currenly attend Upland High school as a Junior.I am one of the fortunate few that have been accepted into the extraordinary AFS Intercultural Programs. Thanks to AFS, I now have the amazing opprotunity to spend my senior year of high school (2012-2013) in Italy. In Italy I will be living with a host family and attending a public high school as a student in either the third or fourth year. During my year abroad, I will accomplish so much more than this: I will learn a new language, I will experience a different way of learning through the Italian school system, I will represent not only California but America by forging lasting bonds. I believe through this program we as a people can create a universal cultural understanding, something I've always dreamed of. I hope while in Italy I can learn to better myself as a person in our incresingly interconnected world. Right now, as a Junior, I manage to keep myself very busy amidst a plethora of homework, studying, community theater, volunteer work, clubs, and social life. At school I am a memeber of the California Scholarship Federation, Spanish Theater, History Day Club, and the Thespian Society. I am also in the works of developing a non-profit organization that encourages education and success in high school students through the form of planned events centered around guest speakers. I am elated to be given the opprotunity to experience and learn about my world through AFS. Cultural understanding has always been very important to me. In fact, after my year abroad when I begin college, I plan to study linguistics and international relations at Seoul National University in Korea. It is only with your help that I can achieve these goals! I must raise 4,000 dollars to cover the remaining cost of my tutition to AFS.I have worked very hard in applying to several scholarships to cover my tution. So far I have raised 3,000 and my tution will be fully covered if I can raise an additional 4,000.I know that times are hard for all of us, so whatever amount you can donate is greatly appreciated! No amount is too small. Click on the ChipIn! gadget on the top right of this blog to help me with my journey by making a secure donation. I would greatly appreciate it if you could forward my blog to anyone else who you think might be interested in sponsoring my AFS experience by forwarding the link haileeanythingbutordinary.blogspot.com Thank you for taking an interest in my blog and in my future hopes and dreams! I will be updating this blog periodically throughout my trip, so please continue to check for updates!