Well, finally one of my biggest dreams has become a reality!
A few months back I went for a meeting at school for kids who were interested
in participating in Foreign Exchange. After many private interviews with
Rotary (even an overnight interview at a hotel! It lasted for a little over
2 days. >.<), they came to the conclusion that I was an ideal person to
represent America in another country.. heh.. makes you feel special. *wink*
All the waiting in between the news of whether or not you were a "Go Student"
or a "Standby" was horrid.. especially since I knew they had to cut at least
20 kids this year due to over-interest in the program. But! The head of
outbound students on Long Island (where I live.. ^.^) gave me a call to tell
me I was a "Go". That was great! .. However, I still didn't know which
country I was going to be living in for a year. O.o What Rotary does prior
to the interviews is gives you this monstrous application (which you have to
have 4 copies of, btw..) and attached to it, a sheet with all the countries
listed on it that they exchange to. You pick ten out from the list,
numbering from 1-10 as you go along with 1 being your favorite, and 10 being
your least. They say you're almost always guaranteed one of your top three.
So I assumed for about a month that I would be going to either Indonesia,
Bolivia, or India.
Turns out.. I'll be shipped off to Bolivia in approx. 6 months! And the
great thing about it is.. I won't be back for an entire year- or something
very close to it. (Might come home a month early .. some kids do.) I've
begun all my research on this culturally and geographically rich country
within the last few days, and all I can say is.. I am so psyched. *grin*
Some of you are probably worrying about my gerbs.. what will happen to them
for a year? Well, don't. (: I've been training my mum for about three years
now, she even owns some gerbils that she keeps in her classroom at school.
And it's not like communication will be cut off once I leave.. I know they
have phones.. Internet I'm not sure about. So that would mean I might be
gone from the list for a year, but I'll so much to tell you guys when I get
back!!
If anyone on the list has ever participated in the exchange program, I'd love
to hear your thoughts and stories! (They always have stories.. hehe.) Or,
even if you haven't and would like to throw in your two cents, by all means.
-.o I know what a great group you all are, so I wasn't going to sit here and
assume none of you would care about what I had to say. I don't expect
everyone to respond to this, but I'd be eternally grateful if you peruse it.
(:
-[.. Kay ..]-
-[.. Gerbils From the Choirgirl Hotel ..]-
-[.. 'N Crew ..]-
