Visa and Update

Alright, so in my last blog post I received my host family information, and was days away from my visa appointment.  That feels like forever ago, because getting a visa has been the most complicated thing ever.  AFS Italy couldn't get some of the documents that we needed to us in time for our Dec. 13 appointment, so that didn't happen.  Months ago, I made an appointment in Chicago for a visa appointment. (If you don't know, I live in Hutchinson, MN, which is about 8 hours away from Chicago.)  That appointment was a last case scenario, in case things went bad.  Well, things went bad so we ended up going to Chicago this last weekend.  The actual appointment only lasted about 15 minutes, which was nice but also kind of annoying.  It had taken weeks to gather all of the documents to get the visa.  That plus an 16 hours of driving, all for a 15 minute conversation.  As long as I get my visa, I will get over it I guess!  The lady said that everything looked good as far as paperwork went, so I don't think there will be a problem.  

My domestic flight to New York is booked now.  I will arrive in NYC at about 10:30 a.m. on January 28th.  I think that we will have an orientation that night, then a longer orientation the next day.  The next night, we depart to Italy!  Then we will have another orientation in Rome, and then head to our host families!

The next month will be dedicated to learning Italian.  I have owned all 5 levels of Rosetta Stone for almost two years, and I've only done like one level...  I am done with school until I get to Italy, so my days are pretty open to learn it anyways.  I have a local orientation on the 18th, which will be cool because I can meet some of the other people going abroad.  It's more than just Italy people too, so hopefully I meet a lot of people.  (If you are going to be at the orientation, find me on Facebook! Colin Gran).  

That's about it for now.  Hope you all had a good Christmas.  More than likely, I'll forget to update again before I leave, so my next post may or may not be from Italy!

Host Family!!!

I got my host family information today!  WOOHOOO!  Their pictures make them look like the happiest people in the world.  The father is ALWAYS smiling.  I am not sure if they want me sharing anything personal, but I can tell you some stuff I guess.  The father is named Tiziano, and the mother is named Stefania.  The have a 17 year old son named Giorgio as well, which is awesome!  At least I will know 1 person at school. Haha!  They live in Francavilla Al Mare, which is right on the Eastern Coast!  Their house is only 200 meters away from the beach, but they are also by some mountains it looks like! Couldn't have been better placement.  I wish I could describe this feeling.  It's like I am so excited, but I am so unbelievably terrified. Everything is so real now that I know where I am going. At first, I had a little panic attack, but after I calmed down a bit, I realized how perfect everything is.  I have been talking with Giogio, and he seems really cool.  They live a different lifestyle than I do, but isn't that part of why I'm going? (it is)

Today I received my Rosetta Stone information as well.  I already own all five levels, but I haven't done very much, so this will be good.  My goal is to finish all five levels before I go, but I'm not sure if that will happen.  I'll try, but it's gonna be a lot of work.

My flight information came as well.  I need to be in New York City on January 28th for the pre-departure orientation.  Then, I fly from NYC to Zurich, Switzerland on the 29th.  We have a layover in Zurich for a few hours, then we fly to Rome on the 30th.  We will have our arrival orientation, then go our host families!

I have my visa appointment in Minneapolis on December 13th.  I am busy trying to get everything organized for that.  Do you know how impossible it is to have passport pictures copied?  IT'S IM-FRICKEN-POSSIBLE.  It took three and a half hours today to get some freaking copies of my picture!  I ended up just having to retake them.  I think I have everything figured out now, but it wasn't without some frustration. (PS, I hate you Walmart.)

I'll try to keep this updated more (it took me about a week to write this post by the way). Everything just kind of happened at once, so I'm not sure what I will have to update.  I'll let you know! Peace.

Thanks Bob Marley.

Well, it's official.  I have officially hit best/worst stage of pre-study abroad emotion: The Questioning Stage.  Recently, I have begun to wonder why I am going abroad. Unfortunately, "experiencing new things" is not an acceptable answer for me anymore. For almost two years, I have been so engulfed in the idea of going abroad, that I never let new emotions affect my decision. (If that makes sense).  Two years is a long time.  Like it or not, you are going to change in a lot of ways.  In my case, I thought of this trip with the mentality I had when I first started looking into it.  Now that I am older, I have a new view on just about everything, including studying abroad.  I have spent countless hours wondering if this is still the best thing for me.

The only answer I can come up with is; yes.  This may have sounded like a negative post at first, but it is really optimistic actually!  Because of my questioning, I have found new reasons for going abroad, and they are much deeper than my initial reasons.

I have a deeper understanding of what makes me, "me".  This trip has really made me analyze myself.  It has certainly brought the best and worst out in me, but I wouldn't change it.  It made me realize that I was incredibly irrational when it came to expectations.  I fully expected to be done with the application process in a week, simply because I started early.  Anyone who has studied abroad is probably falling over laughing right now.  In reality, it took about 8 months from start to end.  I was frustrated during that time, but as the year went on, I learned to deal with it.  I feel like I am better equipped for future things, like college, because of that.  On a bigger note, I learned that the world does not revolve around me.  Most people claim to understand this, but really they have no idea.  I am grateful to have people in my life that makes it seem this way, but they have their own lives to worry about as well.  So for me, all those countless hours of frustration waiting for a reply from AFS was wasted time.  They send a lot of kids abroad, so they have a lot on their plate.  Is it the end of the world if I don't hear back the next day?  NO!  (Advice to future AFS'ers, be patient.  AFS will help you with literally everything along the way; just give them time.

I thought I had everything figured out.  I had my entire life planned out Freshman year.  Pretty detailed too I would say.  I can honestly say that not one thing I planned has or is going to happen.  Back then, I was going to finish high school normally, no AP, no PSEO, no study abroad; just go with what was expected of me.  Yet, around spring of that year, something clicked in me.  I decided that if I didn't push the envelope, and do above what is expected, I would live a hell of a boring life. I could be sitting in a boring high school class right now, but instead I'm sitting in my college commons waiting for my Psychology class to start, and I'm really excited for it! I could be planning what I am doing after school with my friends today, but instead I am planning a trip abroad.  I could have been a normal high school student, but I pushed myself to take AP classes a little early.  I could have been the majority, but I choose to be the minority. This sounds super egotistical, but I am just trying to point out how life never works the way you think it will.  As of right now, I have some ideas of what I want to do next, but I'm keeping my options open.  Who knows what's going to happen next?

I think Bob Marley sums it up best. "Emancipate yourselves from inter-slavery.  None but ourselves can free our minds."  This is probably not what he wrote this about, but I think it still applies!  Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy.  To be honest, I am incredibly nervous about what people in Italy are going to think of me.  I understand that America isn't everyone's favorite place, and I'm curious if I'm going to encounter any negative opinions.  But, I am not letting me hold me back.  I think this is what Marley means by interslavery.  We too often let our nervousness and our uncomfortableness (not sure if that's a word, but whatever) overcome us, and we miss out on a lot.  I think that you grow most when you are in uncomfortable situations.

Well, this is my first long post in a while, but I think I'll end it here.  Hope you enjoyed reading.  Once again, if you are going abroad this upcoming semester, and are not part of our Facebook page, feel free to join now.  Ill post a link at the bottom.

Ciao!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/648391541903974/?ref=br_tf

Update and Q&A

I'm sitting in my college's commons right now, waiting for my Psychology class to start, so I figured I could update you guys real quick.  Since my last blog post, not a whole lot has happened.  Once again, my insane preparation has come to bite me.  I have looked through just about everything that I can, including CultureGrams, which I highly recommend.  I have been reading blogs as much as I can, (shout-out to Tami. Feel better!), but I think I've read every blog front to back...twice. This means that I am just waiting.... again.  I can't put into words how much waiting there is, but eventually things will start to happen. I hope.

One complication that I have been facing is getting my visa.  I live in Minnesota, and there is an honorary consulate office in Minneapolis, but the main building is in Chicago.  They require an in-person meeting, but I'm not sure where to do that.  Their website is all in Italian, so I can't tell if I have to go to Chicago or Minneapolis!  I have already made an appointment in Chicago for late December, but we'll see if I actually have to go to that.  (If you are from Minnesota, and have gone on exchange, advice would be awesome right about now!)

At this point, I am just waiting for a host family.  I am trying to be as patient as I can, but curiosity gets the best of me.  I can't wait to meet them, and I don't even know them!  I understand that this is the longest process of them all, but I just wish I knew.  Also, I want to be able to tell people where I will be staying exactly.  This leads us into the next part of this post... Stupid things people ask me about exchange.  Keep in mind, all of these question are things I have actually been asked, and these are the sarcastic answers I wish I would've given...

"How are you getting your car to Italy?"
          No response

"What language do they speak in Italy?"
          Arabic. Duh.

"Why would you ever want to leave America?"
          I think you just answered your own question.

"Do all Italians drive Vespas?"
          Probably.

"Do they just eat spaghetti for all meals?"
          Again, probably.

"Is Mussolini still in power?"
          Crack open a textbook buddy.

"Are you coming back?"
          Nope.  I legally have to stay there forever."

"Do you have to find your own apartment or something?  Or do they just dump you on the street."
          Yep.  I'm actually required to live on the streets for the first month.  It will really help me                     understand the culture more.

I'm sure there will be more dumb questions, so there will probably be a part 2 to this post.  Hope you enjoyed this post.  I'll probably forget to post anything for about 3 years now, so I'll see you then

Ciao!

P.S.  If you are going to Italy this upcoming semester, and are not on our facebook page, get on it!  I'll post the link on the bottom.  I have made some really good friends on this page, and I want to meet you guys too!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/648391541903974/

It Begins

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while, I've been busy with school.  This blog post should be a pretty good update on my life.

Well, it's official.  I am officially an AFS Italy student.  A few days ago, I got an email saying that I was accepted to the Spring 2015 program.  YAY!  I started this crazy process in March of 2012, and have been looking forward to this day ever since.  This is a big deal to most people, but this is monumental for me.  With the amount of work and time I have put into this, it feels incredible to finally see it pay off.  As of right now, I am just about 4 months away from departure, but it feels like two weeks.  Everything became so real when I read that email.  I'm ready to just pack my suitcase and go!

So where do I go from here? Well, the only thing AFS Italy has left to do is find me a host family.  I hope that they find me one fast, but I know that this is probably the longest, most unpredictable, process.  I could have a host family next week, or I could have one 2 days before departure; no one knows for sure.  I am very excited to meet the family.  I want as much time as possible to learn about them before I go, it would make the adaption process that much easier.

That is the big next step for me.  There is a lot of small stuff that I have to organize, but I have been trying to get ahead on those for like a year, so I'm not worried about it.  I need to make sure I am up to date on all my vaccinations (done), start learning the language (done), start looking at flights to New York (done), and emotionally prepare myself for leaving, (not so done).

Now that I know that I am going for sure, I am trying to prepare myself to leave everything behind.  I am already trying to separate myself from social networks, and attempting to be as independent as I can.  I don't want to completely cut ties with everything quite yet though, because I know I will miss them when I'm gone.  It's rough.... haha

Well, that's about it.  I will try to update this more often as things happen.  It should start getting interesting now!

Quick Update

Just to keep you guys informed, here is what has happened in the last month.

It was around mid-August when AFS informed me that my application was ready to get sent to Italy. Of course, I told them to send it ASAP, and they said I should hear back 6-8 weeks later. Well, that was about 4 weeks ago, so I should be hearing back from them pretty quick! (hopefully).  It was around that same time that my financial aid went up for review.  They sent it to "the committee" (which sounds super threatening by the way), and about a week later they sent me an email.  They awarded me a generous amount of money, and I'm very appreciative. (Thanks AFS!)

So that's about it. I'll keep you posted when things change.  Things should be picking up here pretty quick.

Good job Colin

Well I did it again.  Another month and a half with no blog update.  Well here it is, but don't get too excited.

Not much has been happening. By not much, I mean absolutely nothing.  The one downside of being ahead of the game is that THERE IS SO MUCH WAITING.  This is the only reason I haven't really been posting much. One noteworthy things is that I believe I will hear back next week from AFS on whether or not I am qualified for my financial aid. I will let you know more about that when I hear back from them.  I was told that August would be the month that I get accepted by AFS Italy, so I am also anticipating that as well.  Sorry for the boring blog post. Hopefully something interesting happens soon.

I want to take this paragraph to wish all my fellow AFS'ers who are departing on their year programs GOOD LUCK, AND HAVE FUN! There are so many that I know are leaving, but I'll give a shoutout to the ones I know the best here.  Axelle, Dzenita, Elena, Konrad, Tami, you guys are about to embark on what could perhaps be the defining year of your life.  I encourage you to fight through the inevitable struggles when you first get there, and fully appreciate what your doing at all times, even if it's just sitting in your room doing homework.  It's starting to hit me how lucky we are to have this opportunity, and I am so excited to see how it impacts each and every one of us.  Have a good trip, and I'll see you in January!  PS. I know that I am forgetting people, so this message goes to anyone who I have forgotten, or have not met.  Have fun!

Phone call and $$$

Hello everybody. Another short post today.  Not much has happened, other than my phone call with AFS. Having read every word of the website, not much of what he said was new to me, but it was still worth while.

The main purpose of this post is to ask for your help.  The closer I get to leaving, the more I feel like this trip may not be a possibility because of finances.  I broke down the cost in an earlier post, but as I look back at that, I laugh a little.  The tuition will not be NEARLY as low as I thought. I am probably looking at around $5000-$8000.  Even though I am working as much as possible, this will be nearly impossible to make on my own.  Like I mentioned before, I have a Sponsor an AFS'er widget on the right hand side of my blog.  This is a safe, secure way to help me have the experience of a life time.  I am asking you to donate if finances allow it.  I will be forever grateful for any donation that you give. I don't want this post to sound like a sob-story, but with the amount of work I have put into this experience, I would be crushed if I couldn't go because I couldn't afford it.  Thank you!

Quick Update and an Awesome Picture

Hello everybody
Just wanted to let you all in on some recent events.  In late May, I finished making my changes on my application.  I turned it in a few days ago, and heard back a day later saying that my application was ready to be put through to Italy for final review.  After they look though it, I will be accepted, and they will start the look for a host family!  All I have to do now is have a informational phone call with AFS to talk about what happens next.  So there you go!  More exciting updates coming soon hopefully.  Also, here is a picture of Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor. You're welcome.

Oops

Oops.  So I haven't updated my blog in like 2 months, so I figured I should probably get all of you caught up.  So much has happened since the last blog post; probably enough to do a couple of blog posts, but I'll cram it into one. (I just read my last blog post to see where I left off, and I ended it with "hopefully it's not too long before my next post"... Good one Colin). I will do my best to catch you up on every detail, but no promises. Anyway, here goes....

Italy
Still a country.

Application
In my last post, I walked you through the application, and shared that I had submitted it.  From that time on, I have just been waiting to hear back from AFS.  Well, on May 5th, I received a call from one of the volunteers. They said that they had reviewed my application, and were going to send me an email.  I was expecting a LONG list, but fortunately, I only have to change like 5-6 minor things.  Mostly just stupid mistakes, like not signing a health form (oops).  Compared to some others that I've heard of, I got off pretty easy.

New Friends
So back in like March, I was looking at some posts on the Ask an AFSer facebook page (if you are not on it, go like it right now, I'll wait...), and saw that some people were asking about a page specifically for AFS Italy students.  So between a few kids and I, we created a new page.  We have 80 members as of right now, and we are kind of like a little family.  We decided to start a group chat so we could get to know each other better, and it turned into something huge.  I have 2 different chats going of Italy kids right now, and there are constantly messages.  I will tell you about some of the ones I know pretty well.

Tami:  Tami is from Texas, USA, and is going to be staying in Sorrento, right by the Amalfi Coast.  (Still haven't really gotten over that yet... you are sooo lucky).  She is probably the most active member, and is quick to make friends with the new kids.  When she talks with Axelle, I have to just sit and watch their messages. They are so funny.

Axelle:  She is from Brussels, Belgium, and I'm not sure where she is staying to be honest.  She is essentially a Belgium form of Tami; quick to make friends, and one of the funniest people I've ever met.  I usually wake up to about 300 messages on the group chat, and 90% of them are from her... haha!  Also one of the more classy members.... (totally joking, but you're still awesome...) (PS, if you are reading this, you actually owe me some chocolate.)

Konrad:  Konrad is from Poland, and must have a broken keyboard because EVERYTHING HE TYPES IS IN CAPS LOCK!  He is unbelievably funny, and is usually the other 10% of the conversation.  I don't know if he is placed yet, but if he isn't, he will be soon.  The best part of his messages are his English mistakes.  None of us even notice, but he always makes a huge deal out of it. It's so funny!
(By the way, I was definitely under the impression that Konrad was a girl for a while, but I found out that he is very much a guy... another oops)

(I would write about more, but I don't know many of them that well)

It does kind of suck, because all of these people are going on year long exchanges, or only 3 months in the fall, so I probably won't get to meet them :(.  I would love to see them some day though...


Where do I go from here?
As of right now,  I am working on refining my application.  After that, I can submit it for final review, where AFS USA will review it for the last time, then send it to AFS Italy.  There they will look over everything, and decide if I should be accepted or not.  If I am accepted, though I'm not sure why I wouldn't, they will start looking for a host family for me! I can't wait to find out where I will be staying, it stinks not knowing.

Well, that all I can think of as of right now.  Thanks for reading!

PS. My donation widget is still active.  I would really appreciate any donations! Thanks again!

The Long and Winding Road

Yes, The Long and Winding Road is a Beatles song, but it is also a perfect way to describe my past month. I believe I mentioned that I started my application in my last post, but if I didn't, I started it on January 27. By the way, sorry  for not posting in awhile, I should keep up on this thing...  Anyway, my entire month of February was devoted to working on my application, and after a VERY long (and winding road) process, it is finally done!  I will briefly walk you through the application, just so you can understand what I'm talking about.  This may be useful to you if you are someone applying, or will apply in the future.

Cover:  This was the easiest section.  All you have to do was upload a photo to use as a cover picture.  Actually, this was surprisingly difficult!  I have never realized that there are so few pictures of me! But I'll talk about that later.

Personal:  This section is devoted to finding out more about you.  You have to provide your legal name, address, and passport information, as well as information about your family.  I also had to indicate what my country preferences were.  Obviously, Italy was my first choice, and I am fairly positive I will be accepted into that program.  My second choice was Austria; I have no idea why.  I figured that I might as well just choose a random country that interested me a little bit, and go for it.  After all, this experience is all about trying new things, right?

Placement:  This may be the most important section.  This is where you provide any information you think is necessary to consider when searching for a host family. This includes any health limitations, dietary requirements, and religious affiliation.  It asks about whether or not you will smoke during your exchange, which I am confused about, because I thought it was against their policy.  Apparently not!  It also asks about language experience, and I was a little confused about what to put for that as well.  I have studied Spanish for two years, so obviously I put that on there, but I have also been doing Italian Rosetta Stone as well, but I wasn't sure if that counted.  I put it anyway; maybe it will look good!

Health Certificates:  This one requires the most planning!  If you are a person thinking about traveling abroad, it is very simple; all you have to do is schedule an appointment with your doctor, and give him/her the forms to fill out.  BUT, sometimes you have to schedule weeks in advance, so DO NOT PROCRASTINATE this one!!! Repeat, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE.

Self-Intro:  This is where it gets interesting.  You finally get the opportunity to talk to your unkown host family!  You are required to write a letter to them, about 2 pages long, to answer different questions about yourself.  My immediate reaction was "ughhh, I hate writing papers", but it was actually really awesome!  When you really put the time into writing it, you feel like you are having a conversation with someone you haven't met.

Photos:  This one was easy.  You had to upload 8-12 photos of you interacting with friends and family. Again, this was surprisingly difficult, so if you are applying in the future, and are not a picture person, start being a picture person!  I had to really dig back into my photo collections, and wish that I would have had more recent ones to show my future host family!

Parent Statement:  Allow your parents enough time to properly do this!  I gave my parents this form two weeks ago, and told them that I was hoping to have it submitted by Friday the 28; I thought this would be plenty of time.  I was wrong.  Chances are, you parents are still a little nervous about letting you go abroad, and chances are you are plowing ahead with eagerness, (I know I am).  It might take them a bit to do it, so don't rush them, and give them at least a couple of weeks.

Academic Record:  This is also very simple to do.  If you give your counselor the form, and be sure to specify that you need the last THREE years of class information, (yes that includes middle school),  he/she should have it done in about a day.

Participation Agreement:  Again, very simple.  All you have to do is print out the form, sign it, and upload it. I believe it also has payment schedules, which is useful information.

Consent:  I feel like a broken record, but it really gets simpler as you progress through the application.  I do recommend actually reading all of the consent forms though.  It is pretty long, but hey, it has some pretty important information.

Letter of Recommendation:  This requires a bit of planning as well.  Teachers are very busy, so you cannot expect to drop off the letter requirements, and get it back the next day.  I would recommend giving the teacher a few weeks to do the letter.

Passport:  This, once again, needs to be planned out properly, (have you heard that enough yet?)  I applied for my passport on January 21, and received it on February 26th.  AFS does not require that you have a passport while applying, but it does make things much easier.  If you are currently applying, I recommend applying for one ASAP.  If you applying in the future, I still recommend getting one right now.  I believe they are valid for 10 years, so it never to soon to apply for one.

Well, that is the application!  It took some time, but I am happy.  Also, before I end this one, I want to remind all of you that I have a donation widget set up in the upper right hand column.  I appreciate that you took the time to read this post, but would REALLY appreciate it is you donated money to help make this all happen.  Think of it as a subscription to a magazine, except a blog!  Haha!  Once again, sorry for not posting in a while, hopefully it won't be too long before my next post!

Donate Now widget is set up!

Hello everyone! Things are going very smoothly as far as my application goes! I am done with everything that I can fill out online, but I still triple check everything everyday of course...  All that I have left to do is get all of the forms printed, signed, and uploaded, then I will be done!  All of the forms are signed, except for the health certificate, which is in the process of being signed.  Come to think of it, the health certificate and my passport are the only things that I have left to do!  Like I said in my last post, my passport is already applied for, so it should be here near the end of the month (but hopefully sooner...)

Exciting news!  My blog was accepted to be a featured blog on the AFS website!  I had emailed the representative on February 3rd, and on the 4th, I got an email saying that I was accepted!  I looked on the site, and saw that my name was in the Italy section!  AHH.

So my next step was to apply for the Sponsor and AFSer fundraising opportunity, which I did.  I received an email today that I had been accepted to that as well!  Which leads me to my next point.  The program provides a widget where people can donate money that goes directly towards my tuition!  It is a safe, secure way to fundraise, and that way I don't have to worry about sending the money.  I would encourage you all to donate, and help send me on the trip of a lifetime.  I like to think of it as a subscription to my blog, haha.  The widget is on the upper right hand side of my blog.  It is pretty big, kinda hard to miss!

Have a good day!

Wait...what?

This is crazy.  I have officially started my application!  On the 25th, I felt like I had so much time to prepare for the application, then on the 26th, it just kinda started.  I saw that infamous apply now! button, and I seriously have never been so excited to see words.  Well I guess I'll just walk you through my weekend.

When I woke up on Saturday, I was lying there thinking about what this next year is going to be like, and of course, that includes AFS.  I felt the urge to check the site to see if I could start applying, so I did.  When I saw that it was available, I wanted to start applying right there, but I figured I should probably shower first.... You know what they say, don't apply dirty.  (they don't think they actually say that...)

So I stated my preliminary application, which was simply your basic information, your parent's basic information, and program preference.  I filled all of the boring stuff out, then got to the bottom where it asked about your top 3 programs.  I filled in Italy for the first one (duh), but I could not decide what to put for my second and third choice.  I have never really thought about going anywhere else other than Italy.  After some thinking, I decided to put New Zealand, as my second choice.   Why you ask?  Have you ever seen New Zealand?  WOW. I'll put a picture on here, it's amazing.

For my third choice, I really had no idea what to put.  My options were Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Ghana, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, and Russia.  Last trimester, I took a Holocaust Studies class, and in turn learned a lot about central European countries, one of which being Austria.  So that is what I decided to put, Austria.  It is close to everything in Europe, and me being a history lover, I will love seeing all of the WWII stuff.  I'll put a picture of Austria below as well.Of course, these are simply back up programs.  With me starting literally as early as possible on the Italy application, I don't think being accepted will be a problem.

After I submitted my preliminary application, I received an email about where to go from there.  It basically just told me where to go to do my application, and what else the site offers for me.  It also mentioned setting up a mandatory in-home interview.  I have known about this, but never actually thought about doing it.  Everything has become so real.  ANYWAY, I was told to email the leader of the AFS chapter in Minnesota.  It was actually kinda funny, because when I first started looking into AFS back in March, I had been in contact with him.  I emailed him to set up the interview, and he seemed to remember me, which was cool.  He is going to do the interview himself in a couple of weeks.  I'm really excited!

The application is HUGE. I'll post a screenshot of the page below, so you can see what kind of hell i'm in for the next couple of weeks.  Because of my eagerness, I have already finished everything that I can do alone!  Written my letter to my host family was really cool.  I have no idea who they are, but felt like I was writing to someone that I do know.  I printed of about 17 pages of forms that have to be filled out by certain people, and hope to get them done by the end of this week.  I really want to submit this application.... ugh.

Also, last week I finally applied for a passport!  I had to drive 15 miles to Glencoe to get it, twice, in terrible Minnesota winter weather.  But hey, I got it.

I guess that kinda wraps it up.  I'm sure the next few day/weeks will be very eventful, so I'll try to post as much as I can.

http://www.gofundme.com/2l4m2c

One Year From Now

This is insane. In one year and three days, I will be departing on possibly the greatest adventure I will ever have in my lifetime.  This post will be little weird.  I am going to try and walk you through what my week will be like, but one year from now.  I'll look back on this in a year, and probably think that I was way off, but at least it will provide a laugh. (Your welcome future Colin).

Friday, January 16, 2015-  My last day of school.  This is gonna be a super tough day; saying goodbye to friends and all, but it will be the official start of the journey.  I have never been so excited to be sad, is that weird?  I'm sure, with my eagerness, that I will already be packed, and my mom will definitely already be in tears.  I'll be double checking flights, visas, luggage tags, anything that can make me paranoid.

Saturday, January 17, 2015-  Today will hopefully be a day to just relax, and prepare for the series of flights ahead of me, (aka sleep all day).  I'm sure that I will try to do stuff with family, dinners and such.  Once again, I will repeat the process of double checking everything, and probably begin freaking out over little things.

Sunday, January 18, 2015-  Sunday will probably be really similar to Saturday, a bunch of nothing.  I'm not sure how I will feel emotionally though.  I know that I will be excited, but probably very worried, and already a little homesick even though I haven't left.

Monday, January 19, 2015-  My last day in Minnesota.  This will probably be filled with family I assume; lots of goodbyes.  I will be finishing packing, and once again, triple checking everything.  Probably not a whole lot of sleep that night.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015-  Oh man.  My flight will be sometime today, and I probably will seriously consider not going, but i'll force myself onto the plane.  Very emotional day, but this is the day I have been planning for for 1.5 years!  Probably really nervous and sad, but eager to experience everything.  At some point, i'll arrive at JFK in New York, and things will really hit me.  I'll start meeting other AFSers and volunteers, and prepare myself for the next five months.

Well, let's hope things go as smoothly as I just made them out to be.  I'm very excited, but also very nervous.  But hey, I have A LOT of time before I have to worry about it, right?

Check in

Buon giorno! I don't have much to post as of right now, but figured I could check in really quick.

I'm in a little bit of a calm period right now, but that will soon change with the application process coming up. I hope to start the application in a couple of weeks, but if you would like more information on that, refer to my last blog post.  It thoroughly explains the significant confusion that is applying!

Money is coming along.  After writing my last blog post, I am slightly more optimistic about the financial aspect of this trip.  It will still be tough, but if there is one thing that AFS is good at, it is making your trip possible at any cost.  (Like the pun? Me either...).  Some of my major Christmas presents from my family was simply money towards Italy.  I won't go into numbers, but I will for sure have my first tuition payment in February!

Not much, but that is what I'm up to lately.  My posts will get more interesting in about a month, when the crazy part begins... If you are a frequent reader, hang with me!  The purpose of this blog is to raise money, but an equally important reason is to answer questions/ ignite interest in studying abroad for younger readers. If you are thinking about studying abroad, and have no idea where to start researching, keep reading!  This will be a first hand account of what EXACTLY happens during the entire experience, before and after I leave.

Arrivederci!