Where am I going to live?! (Clue: It's muy bella.)

Hello all! I have many a things to tell you! First of all, I officially have my passport! It came in the mail on March 14, and although I am all swollen in my picture (from surgery), I am very happy to finally have it. Secondly, I had Pella Outbound Training last weekend. It was a very long day of speakers, but I learned useful skills and had training that made it worth while (in addition, it was mandatory for all outbounds :)).


District 6000 Rotary Youth Exchange Class of 2011-2012

 Also, I had my J.E.T.S. yard sale fundraiser during spring break last week, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It was a HUGE success; over $900 was raised!! THANK YOU so much to everyone who helped make this possible. I couldn't have done it without you. So now I am that much closer to Spain, and my plane ticket there. :)

Speaking of Spain . . . MY HOST MOM CALLED YESTERDAY!! Her name is Maria, but everyone calls her Paola. I will be living in Marbella, Spain! It's a city in Andalusia, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea, situated in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain (Thank you, Wikipedia). It has a population of about 124,332. Here's a map: (look in South Spain, I'm super close to Africa!)

I am so excited! Paola sent me an email today; here's some info from it :)

Marbella is on the Mediterranean sea but only a few miles to the Atlantic. Paola's husband is David, and their daughter is Carol. Carol has an older brother, David. Paola's house is 50 meters from the beach!!!!! I am already planning to run there every day :D Paola has a dog; it's a small Yorkshire Terrier and very friendly. They also have a cat. "His character is very much like a dog. Most of the time he follows us on our walks on the beach."

Talking to Paola made the experience of living in Spain next year seem so much more real! However, now I am trying to take in all that she said! 

Now if only departure time would come. It seems like most Spain kids leave in early September. I don't know the exact date I'll be boarding my plane, but I know I can't wait for it!

Lists

Wow, has it been a crazy week! Last Saturday - February 5th - I found out that Spain had accepted me as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student! Talk about a good birthday present!! Monday was my birthday - Sweet 16! I got my license that day and since, have been driving around with Carolyn (sister) to random places around town, mostly because --why?-- we can!! On Wednesday I got to go to youth group for the first time since my jaw surgery on January 11th. They were all pretty ecstatic about my Spain news. So far, everyone's been pretty supportive of it all, which really helps :) On Friday I applied for my passport! It should come in the mail in about six weeks, according to the lady at the courthouse. Once I have my passport, I need to apply for my visa ASAP because apparently they can take a long time to attain. Yesterday I had my official interviewing for RYE since I couldn't make the original date in January due to my surgery. The interview went well, and I even made a few friends! Two other girls were also there -  Melissa and Brooke - that couldn't make it to the January event either, for various reasons. It sounds like Melissa is going to Italy and Brooke could be headed to Belgium?? It's cool to already be making friends on this journey :)

My RYE will probably begin in about six months (I'm guessing mid-August?), so I almost feel silly blogging already, but there's so much preparation that's going to be done in that time! I'm hoping that when all my blogs are finished and through, people can look back on them and learn what all the preparation entails, as well as what being an exchange student is like, and how to deal with coming home and adjusting back into things. So that's one of the purposes of this blog. Another it to inform people of what I'm up to, without having to spend a terrible amount of time communicating with everyone individually. This will be a bigger deal when I'm in Spain, with a probably busier schedule.

Right now, I am making many, many lists. To-do lists, shopping lists, date lists, contact lists . . . they never seem to end. But I guess that's the kind of person I am. I'm a writer. I love writing, and apparently, I also love lists. It seems that forgetfulness runs in my family, and so lists are, at times, a necessity.

Some top priorities on my lists right now include: apply for job at Quizzno's tomorrow, fill out Visa application, figure out a date to apply for Visa in Chicago, somehow find navy blue blazer that FITS, attend more local Rotary meetings, pay hard-core attention in Spanish class . . .

I think it'd be cool to have some kind of community event to raise money for my exchange. So far, I don't really have any ideas. I thought maybe a 5k fundraiser or something would be cool. A bake sale seems somewhat impractical... If you have any ideas, let me know!

There's a lot to do between now and departure time, and I'm sure that that time is going to fly by before I realize it. My mom and I decided that we'll have to do everything in preparation a little bit at a time throughout these next few months, because if we wait until the end for everything, it's not going to be possible.

It looks like this has turned into a pretty long post, but it doesn't really surprise me. (Warning: there may very well be many long posts in the future :).) Even so, I'm sure I've forgotten something I wanted to say, and I'll probably remember it right after I publish this. It still hasn't soaked in that next year at this time, I will be in Spain! Everything seems so unreal at this point. Feel free to comment and fun things!

Hasta luego,
Josie