Tis' the Season To Lower Expectations

16 days to go.  Honestly can't believe it's finally come.  I've been preparing for this trip for so long, but it now that it's here, I feel like it's only been a couple of days.  A piece of advice to people that are applying:  it seems like things are taking forever, but you should cherish your time at home.  I've been so focused on the future that I kinda forgot to pay attention to where I am at right now.  I was lucky enough to have a niece born in late November, and that really prompted me to stop thinking about my trip so much, and just enjoy the moment.  I am really soaking up my time here at home before I have to leave it for half a year.  I'm realizing that this sounds a little negative, and that's not what I mean at all!  I'm so lucky to be going abroad, but I'm just realizing that I am very lucky to have the normal life I do as well.

As for my next steps, I'm just learning the language.  A lot.  Luckily I don't have to go to school until I arrive in Italy, so I can just work on it all day.  Now that I got my fair share of oversleeping, (honestly about 13 hours a night... nothing makes you feel more gross than not doing anything but sleeping all day by the way.), I am really diving into the Rosetta Stone.  I'm soaking up all of the information quickly, so hopefully I can get through a couple of levels. I'm becoming more confident in speaking it to people as well.  I was a little afraid to at first, but a lack of "language confidence" is the last thing that I need abroad.

I had my pre-departure orientation last Sunday as well.  It was rather boring, but I got to meet everyone that was going abroad from Minnesota.  Only one other person is going to Italy with me.  I think that she is placed outside of Venice, so chances are slim that we will see each other much.  One guy is going to Costa Rica for a year, one to Japan, one to Chile, and one to Ghana!  It ended up that me and the other girl going to Italy are on the same flight to New York!  I've never really flown before, so it will be good to have someone to be confused with.

Now, to address the title of the post.  Again, sounds negative but it really isn't.  At this point, I built up quite a fantasy as to what my semester is going to be like.  I'm going to travel all around the country.  I'm going to be friends with everybody.  I'm going to be fluent in Italian.  These are ok goals to have, but I don't think that they should be expectations.  These are, what I'm going to call, "ignorant expectations". Part of being an exchange student is having the ability to adapt.  Things are not going to go the way I think they are.  This is a fact.  Chances are, I'm not going to be friends with everybody.  I'm not going to see everything I want to see.  I might not learn the language as much as I want to.  Nothing I have done in my life can compare to what I am about to do. I have no idea how the next few months will play out.  But it's ok.  That's the reason I'm going on exchange. I'm going to change my entire way of life, but I'm just not sure how quite yet.  At the end of Night at the Museum 3, Robin Williams asks Ben Stiller what he's going to do tomorrow.  He says simply, "I don't know", to which Williams replies, "How exciting".  Certainly my new favorite quote.  I've been rambling on a bit trying to explain an idea I don't really understand yet, but I think that quote sums it up.  Each day abroad is going to be a new adventure, which is why I need to go into this trip with minimal expectations.  (See, I related this rambling with the title.  It just took awhile.)  If I expect too much, I'm going to end up disappointed.  I'm not really sure what to expect out of this trip, which is really exciting for me.

A little bit of a ramble, but I hope you understand what I am getting at.  Thanks for reading.  I'll probably update this one more time before I leave.  Ciao.

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.