On this day, April 6th, this blog was born. Although, obviously, my great adventure into the Latin-American unknown is still far into the distance, I decided to start my blog to show the process that I have already started, and to share with you what is to come. Becoming an exchange student is a long and difficult process, a process which I am almost certain will pay off.
The road to deciding a country was rocky. Originally it was Spain, for the Spanish, obviously. But then I felt uncomfortable going that far away so soon. So it became Argentina, for the proximity to home, and the Spanish. Shortly after I began to think about the fact that I hate to be cold, and I thought “Why not Panama?” I chose not to go to Panama because due to the canal the country is very Westernized, and I want to get away from The American culture. So I then did extensive research on the culture of pretty much all the Latin American countries. When I came across Costa Rica, a country which I had never even considered before, I found the lifestyle, language, and climate was perfect for me.
So far I have completed my application, which I turned into AFS in January. The application was long and arduous I will admit, but it was also quite exciting to think that one day my new family will me gathered around their computer anxiously and excitedly reading the very words I was typing. Once that part of the process was done, I waited a few weeks, maybe even a month until AFS told me that they had finished reviewing my application. This was great news, because this meant that as soon and I finished the revisions they told to to revise, I would officially be accepted my AFS america. As promised, a few days later I received my revisions, which are things I needed to change on my application. They included captions on my photos, "elaboration on the severity of my amoxycillen allergy" and a few more things, which took me a little over an hour to complete. I eagerly turned my revisions back in and almost immediately heard back from AFS, on February 4th to be exact (what a great valentines day present) that I had been accepted into AFS USA. I was overjoyed, and even more so when I read the part which said "Your application will now be sent to AFS Costa RIca." These things take time. I waited about a month and a half to hear back from AFS Costa Rica as to if I was in the program or not. Although AFS USA had already given me their stamp of approval, it was the acceptance of AFS Costa Rica that would truly secure me a spot on the program. On March 25th, whilst in California on spring break, I got the email "You have been accepted by Costa Rica!" from AFS. Since then I have received many materials including the AFS handbook and many recourses to help me integrated into this program, and to tell me what to expect. It is funny how my attitude toward this whole thing changed that day. I suddenly thought "It's real now." Before I had always said "If I go to Costa Rica..." But on that day it became "When I go to Costa Rica."
It still seems odd, thinking that next year there will be no Prom for me, no tennis season and no movie nights with my friends. There will be no late night orchestra rehearsals or school trips to Albuquerque. I won't go to English Expo, and I won't hear the American hit songs, or see the new movies, at least not in English. I will miss an entire year of my friends gossip, first kisses, and drivers licenses. I won't have snow days, labor day, or memorial day off of school. I won’t go on road trips with family to Arizona, California, or go on our traditional President’s day trip to Silverton. I won't be speaking English, or exercising my extensive vocabulary. I will no longer be able to kiss my mother good night, or have intriguing debates with my parents on road trips. But this all seems so trivial compared to what I will gain while I am abroad. I will go to new parties and dances, I will play new sports, and I will make new friends with which to have movie nights. I will hopefully be playing a new (rented) cello, and I will go on AFS bus rides to volcanos and beaches. I will dance to the hum of Latin American music, and desperately try to read the subtitles, or translate the movies. I will have a new year of gossip to tell my friends back home of hot latin men, my Costa Rican best friends, and the crazy Costa Rican drivers. I will get a whole 2 months of summer vacation while my friends at home are freezing. I will be becoming (slowly but surely) fluent in Spanish, and I will be kissing my Costa Rican mother and siblings goodnight. This year isn't about what I will lose from home, but what I will gain abroad.
Some questions I am frequently asked are “What is your family like.” Well I don’t know, obviously. It’s a long process and I won’t know anything about my family until at least May. I also hear “Do you speak Spanish?” No, but a lot of AFSers don’t speak their host countries language, and all of them come back in one piece, and fluent in a new language. Another is “Aren’t you nervous? I could never do that.” Well that’s too bad for you. I am nervous for not knowing the language, I will admit, and making new friends, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have the time of my life.
So, my dear friends, thank you for coming on this journey. Currently I am awaiting a family to snatch me up and take me into their warm, Costa Rican home, and I will notify you of every update I get.
Much love, The wander-lustful Emma
The road to deciding a country was rocky. Originally it was Spain, for the Spanish, obviously. But then I felt uncomfortable going that far away so soon. So it became Argentina, for the proximity to home, and the Spanish. Shortly after I began to think about the fact that I hate to be cold, and I thought “Why not Panama?” I chose not to go to Panama because due to the canal the country is very Westernized, and I want to get away from The American culture. So I then did extensive research on the culture of pretty much all the Latin American countries. When I came across Costa Rica, a country which I had never even considered before, I found the lifestyle, language, and climate was perfect for me.
So far I have completed my application, which I turned into AFS in January. The application was long and arduous I will admit, but it was also quite exciting to think that one day my new family will me gathered around their computer anxiously and excitedly reading the very words I was typing. Once that part of the process was done, I waited a few weeks, maybe even a month until AFS told me that they had finished reviewing my application. This was great news, because this meant that as soon and I finished the revisions they told to to revise, I would officially be accepted my AFS america. As promised, a few days later I received my revisions, which are things I needed to change on my application. They included captions on my photos, "elaboration on the severity of my amoxycillen allergy" and a few more things, which took me a little over an hour to complete. I eagerly turned my revisions back in and almost immediately heard back from AFS, on February 4th to be exact (what a great valentines day present) that I had been accepted into AFS USA. I was overjoyed, and even more so when I read the part which said "Your application will now be sent to AFS Costa RIca." These things take time. I waited about a month and a half to hear back from AFS Costa Rica as to if I was in the program or not. Although AFS USA had already given me their stamp of approval, it was the acceptance of AFS Costa Rica that would truly secure me a spot on the program. On March 25th, whilst in California on spring break, I got the email "You have been accepted by Costa Rica!" from AFS. Since then I have received many materials including the AFS handbook and many recourses to help me integrated into this program, and to tell me what to expect. It is funny how my attitude toward this whole thing changed that day. I suddenly thought "It's real now." Before I had always said "If I go to Costa Rica..." But on that day it became "When I go to Costa Rica."
It still seems odd, thinking that next year there will be no Prom for me, no tennis season and no movie nights with my friends. There will be no late night orchestra rehearsals or school trips to Albuquerque. I won't go to English Expo, and I won't hear the American hit songs, or see the new movies, at least not in English. I will miss an entire year of my friends gossip, first kisses, and drivers licenses. I won't have snow days, labor day, or memorial day off of school. I won’t go on road trips with family to Arizona, California, or go on our traditional President’s day trip to Silverton. I won't be speaking English, or exercising my extensive vocabulary. I will no longer be able to kiss my mother good night, or have intriguing debates with my parents on road trips. But this all seems so trivial compared to what I will gain while I am abroad. I will go to new parties and dances, I will play new sports, and I will make new friends with which to have movie nights. I will hopefully be playing a new (rented) cello, and I will go on AFS bus rides to volcanos and beaches. I will dance to the hum of Latin American music, and desperately try to read the subtitles, or translate the movies. I will have a new year of gossip to tell my friends back home of hot latin men, my Costa Rican best friends, and the crazy Costa Rican drivers. I will get a whole 2 months of summer vacation while my friends at home are freezing. I will be becoming (slowly but surely) fluent in Spanish, and I will be kissing my Costa Rican mother and siblings goodnight. This year isn't about what I will lose from home, but what I will gain abroad.
Some questions I am frequently asked are “What is your family like.” Well I don’t know, obviously. It’s a long process and I won’t know anything about my family until at least May. I also hear “Do you speak Spanish?” No, but a lot of AFSers don’t speak their host countries language, and all of them come back in one piece, and fluent in a new language. Another is “Aren’t you nervous? I could never do that.” Well that’s too bad for you. I am nervous for not knowing the language, I will admit, and making new friends, but that doesn’t mean I won’t have the time of my life.
So, my dear friends, thank you for coming on this journey. Currently I am awaiting a family to snatch me up and take me into their warm, Costa Rican home, and I will notify you of every update I get.
Much love, The wander-lustful Emma