FINALLY!!

Hey, yo! So I tried posting this last night, but my internet wasn't wanting to work with me. What's important is that I have it up now! Enjoy.

After waiting for more than three months, I finally recieved a phone call today that my visa is ready!! Yes, you read that correctly! MY VISA IS READY! On Sunday, my mom and I are driving to Chicago and on Monday I will be picking up my visa from the consulate! YES!!

I already have my itinerary and my plane ticket has been purchased! Unless there are last-minute changes, I will depart on WEDNESDAY morning, October 5th, from Des Moines. From there I will go to Chicago, then to Madrid, and finally, to Malaga. In Malaga, it will be October 6th, 10:30 a.m. when I arrive. From there, it is about an hour drive to my home in Estepona.

So, for nearly a year now, I have been fundraising/working in order to raise enough funds to do youth exchange. The majority of the cost of RYE is the plane ticket, which is usually estimated to be $3,000 (The total cost of RYE is usually estimated to be $5,000). The reason it is so expensive is because it has to be open-ended, meaning you can return, basically, at anytime. So, you can imagine how happy I was when my plane ticket costed $2,191.37 USD! That's what I'm talking about! Roundtrip to Europe and back! Matthew's visa was also approved and he will be picking it up on Monday as well. I'm hoping we can fly together, but at this point I just don't know. I may be flying by myself otherwise, which is a little freaky. Manageable, but freaky. (Shout-out to Anna from Newton - Unaccompanied Minors, baby! Minus the Christmas part . . .)

Tonight was a home football game in good ol' Newtonia, so I went and was able to say hi/bye to many people. It was so strange thinking that I won't see most of them until next summer! So many crazy emotions, but I couldn't have asked for a better last-Friday-night-in-America-until-next-summer! I feel so blessed to have people I'm going to miss. I'm sure I'll be cramming in as much time as I can to spend with friends and family during the next few days.

Well, I don't know where I'll be typying my next post . . . Maybe in Iowa? Maybe in Spain? Or in an airport? Easy for you - all you have to do is read on!

Until later,

Josie

Here's Hoping . . .

Hello Blogger World! Good afternoon, or evening or morning, depending on where ever you've stumbled upon this. Me? Still writing from Iowa - hopefully not for too much longer though! I've missed the first day of my school in Spain - September 15 - and now I've missed Spain Inbound Orientation in Madrid - September 22-24. *tear* There's still about fourteen people across the U.S. waiting for their visas to Spain though, so there's going to be mini-orientation in October for us, which is a relief. I can't wait to meet all the other exchange students!

As for the status of our visas . . . I heard on a Facebook group -- for those of you who don't know, exchange students connect like crazy on Facebook -- that three were issued today, and that we should all have our visas by the end of the week. After it's issued, we should be departing the day after! I don't know how things will actually play out, and I don't want to get my hopes up, but being in Spain by next week would be amazing. I thought I would have to go to Spain's consulate in Chicago to pick up my visa, but now I'm not sure. I was looking forward to going to Chicago, because my mom and I were going to spend two days up there together as bonding time before I'm off to the other side of the world for ten months, you know? I guess we'll just have to figure out something else to do. We both just want me to be in Spain as soon as possible.

Shout-out to Caroline from Kentucky who knows exactly how I've been feeling. She's still waiting for her visa too. About a week ago on Facebook, she said, "My life is a shallow pool of loneliness. Everyone goes to school and I sit at home and watch Friends all day. I need to be in Spain." I don't know about you, but that sums it up for me! Except her Friends is my NCIS. Did you know that Friends and NCIS are on TV pretty much all day? And That 70's Show!  Anyways, I think you get the idea . . . I'm going kind of crazy and am somewhat depressed, but I'm receiving an excellent lesson of patience at the same time.



Well that's about I got. Hopefully I'll be writing to you soon about a departure!

Here's hoping,
Josie

Still in Iowa

Hello devoted readers!

It's already been more than two weeks since my last post! I'm still in Iowa, but the past two weeks have been pretty exciting/fun/boring/tiring/stressful/busy/sad/happy . . . emotions all over the place! (Not necessarily in that particular order, but close.) Let me fill you in.

On Saturday, August 27th, I had my going away party, and it was pretty awesome if I do say so myself! I wasn't sure if people were going to show up, and I've come to hate goodbyes, but it ended up being a really fun time for all! I was overwhelmed by all the support and love, and I'd like to say thanks to everyone who came out and was part of such a special night! Your support means the world to me. I feel so blessed to have you in my life and I'm going to miss all of you SO MUCH!! <3



The delicious cake!




My crazy friends I'm going to miss like crazy!




More friends!





Friendzz





And a good bonfire, complete with s'mores!



September 2nd, the following Friday after my going away party, was my original departure date. However, my visa wasn't ready by then so that didn't happen.  I was pretty disappointed, but with all the visa complications, I wasn't too surprised. This past week though, was extremely stressful. Up until two days ago, I'd had no update on my visa status since August 13th. All I knew was that Spain had a new visa law that required minors to be granted special permission from Spain's government to apply for a visa, and once that was granted, one could apply for their visa as usual. I was going on three months of just waiting for my visa to be ready, so I can go!! I began to doubt if I'd ever be granted the approval, or if I'd ever get to Spain, or if I'd have to start school late and be the girl who was supposed to go to Spain but was still...here. Even though I'd been told that things happen, delays weren't unusual, I was beginning to panic. All the outbounds from my Rotary district (there are twelve of us in all) were in their host countries, except for Matt and me, and we didn't even know when we'd be getting our visas.

Then, two days ago happened! Remember what I said a couple posts ago about one email changing your exchange? Well I got one of those two days ago! Apparently the Spanish consulates in the U.S. interpreted Spain's new visa law wrong, and we don't need any special permission granted to apply for a visa! My paperwork has now been submitted to the consulate and is being expedited! Once my visa is ready, I'll pick it up in Chicago, and be off to Spain shortly after! I'm hoping that my visa will be ready by the end of next week. Oh happy day!! You, my friend, are reading the words of a girl who will be in Spain VERY SOON!!! My school in Spain starts on September 15th, and inbound orientation in Madrid is September 22-24, so I'm hoping I can at least make orientation!

For now, I continue to sit at home while everyone is at school/work. At first, being at home while everyone was gone was super weird. Now, two and a half weeks into the Newton school year, it's pretty much normal. Things have been quiet around here. In fact, the other day I could hear my phone vibrate upstairs, from the basement! It gets a little boring, but I usually find something to do. Since the beginning of summer, I've gone to cross country practice, and I've gone to the two meets we've had so far. What can I say, I enjoy the team, the running, and it gives me something to do every day that is solid, routine. There is always something that can be done! Making more pins, packing/repacking, studying Spanish . . . It sort of feels like an extended summer, but without siblings until 3:30 pm on weekdays. Right now, I'm on a terrible sleeping schedule, hence I type this at 2:45 in the morning. BUT, that won't really matter when I get to Spain since I'll most likely be the Queen of Jet Lag, and time will mean little anyways.

Peace out,
Josie

Word of the day: Unpredictable.

What can I say? My exchange has been unpredictable lately.

If you're an exchange student, then you already know that one email can make all the difference in your day, week, exchange year. I check my my email daily, probably about ten times daily. This has been going on since about February. I know it probably seems obsessive, and I even considered writing a blog post about "the obsessed exchange student." But truth be told, I think every exchange student would fall into that category. We're aching to know more information. From, what city am I going to? to Who are my host families? and so on. Right now, though, I need to know when my visa is ready and when I can go.

Within the past four days, I have received three significant emails. In summary . . .

1. August 22
My district's outbound coordinator contacts the travel agent at It's Your World Travel that is organizing Matthew's and my exchange. We have no idea what the status of our permission to apply for a visa is, or if our visa is being processed yet. Our outbound coordinator believes we have a departure date of September 2nd(one week from tomorrow).

I was so happy to have a departure date, even if it was only tentative! I still had no idea how my visa was doing though.

2. Today, 12:55 AM
The travel agent finally gives us an update on the status of our visas. The Spanish government still hasn't issued the approvals to apply for a visa. Both consulates of Spain in the US, in Chicago and San Francisco, will not re-accept our passport and documents without a prior approval issued by the Spanish home government in Madrid. She gives us a list of fourteen students who are going through the same thing. She seems doubtful that we will make the September 9-11 orientation. There is nothing we can do right now - everything on our end has been completed.

I'm upset. I'm glad that the travel agent bothered to keep us in the loop of our own exchanges though. I go to sleep frustrated and exhausted.

3. Today, 6:58 AM
The Long Term Coordinator  in Spain informs all of the Spain 2011-2012 inbounds that the orientation has been moved to the 22nd - 24th of September.

Many people are having troubles with their visa. I'm glad I'm not alone, but still disappointed about everything in general. At least orientation isn't so early. I'll probably be able to make it.


I feel stuck right now, but I'll just have to go with the flow I guess. School started yesterday, and it is so strange being home! I also don't have work anymore, because my last day was Sunday. I put in my last day since everything is so unpredictable; I didn't want to all of a sudden find out that I'm leaving in a few days and leave Hy-Vee hanging. Now I wish I would've stayed another week or two. At home . . . I've started packing, I've been reading, I've been watching cheesy morning shows.

Most of the outbounds from my district are in their host countries already. I thoroughly enjoy stalking them on Facebook and on their blogs. It's fun, but sad at the same time, because I wish that I could be one telling you guys about my exchange in Spain right now, rather than telling you about my waiting for it. However, I'm glad I'm not alone. It's so nice to have Matt to talk to about everything, since we're going through the same thing. Hopefully we can be talking about out lives in Spain soon, maybe even in Spanish.

I almost forgot to tell you . . . I got my braces off two days ago! Even orthodontia cannot stand between me and Spain! I love how my teeth turned out and I find myself smiling all day. Even though I'm in quite a sad state right now with all of the visa complications, it's hard to feel upset for too long because I am constantly smiling! Have you ever tried to be sad while smiling? It is difficult, my friend. I couldn't have got my braces off at a better time!



Cliché "I just got my braces off" Photo



Was there a knock at the door?

Summer seems to be winding down but my emotions continue to grow. People always ask me, "Are you excited for Spain?" and I usually reply a bit too excitedly that Yes, I am. Then the same follow-up question is raised every time: "Are you scared/nervous?" Again, of course I am! However, as I know my departure is coming sooner and sooner everyday, I am becoming much more nervous. I feel mentally exhausted all the time. I am afraid of becoming homesick, of speaking an unfamiliar language, and of meeting so many new people. I imagine hectic airports, confusing buses, and my laptop exploding because I have the wrong electricity adapter. I imagine Reality as some kind of daunting figure, knocking on my door and then walking in saying, "Just thought I'd let you know I've arrived! Sorry if I scared away the rainbows and butterflies!" All these things and more bombard my mind, and at the end of the day I either 1. cannot fall asleep because my mind is racing about what is to come in Spain, or 2. sleep like a rock because I am so tired of thinking about it all.

Please bear with with me here, because as to every other story, there is a bright side to this one. Even as I become more nervous, I remain incredibly, if not more, excited for the upcoming year. I think of speaking Spanish with new friends, of walking along the Mediterranean, and of hey, who knows, maybe even playing a game of soccer (fútbol, if you will) or two. I want to be surrounded with people of passion, see the architecture and history of Spain, and of course, have some good food along the way!

At this point, I just want to get there already. I have three friends who have already been in their host countries for a few days (two to Germany, one to Poland) and I am very jealous. I am so tired of thinking about Spain; just put me on a plane so I can live it, please? Okay, that sounded a bit whiny, but it's how I feel at the moment.

Today I received an email from my travel agent. Disappointing news. I have been hoping for my itinerary to come, but here is what I received . . .

[We (the travel agency) were] advised by the Spanish Government that as of the end July 2011, if you are under the age of 18 (or a minor), in order to begin the process of applying for your visa here in the US, you must first have an approval from the Spanish Government in Spain that allows you to apply for a visa. The documentation that explains this was sent to Rotary in Spain so that they are aware of this. As of today 11-August-2011, we are still awaiting this approval before your paperwork can even begin the process here in the US.

Your paperwork is already 100% complete and all we need is this approval/authorization.

My visa hasn't even been applied for? For those of you who have filled out a visa application under a time constraint, please, feel free to feel my pain. I thought I was doing good - I sent in my visa application and the many documents that were required with it about a month ago. It wasn't easy putting together all the paperwork for my visa so quickly, but we managed to do it. Now I find out, a month later, that we need permission to even apply for the visa that already takes 4-8 weeks to be processed. I'm not sure if "bureaucracy" is the proper term here (it sounds so negative - I'm not trying to rag on anyone's government; I just need to figure out how to get a visa!), but what I'm going through sure does remind me of talks about that catchy vocab from Mr. Scott's history class. Or was it Mr. Hill's? I don't know.

I do know that I will get to Spain. I will have the year of a lifetime, and will probably make friends for life. "No matter what, I will still go." Surely most to-be outbounders have thought that. It's like this: I know I'm going. Even through all this paperwork, or this agonizing wait or [insert youth exchange problem here], I am going to [insert country here]. Chill out, don't freak out - it'll work out. Hey, I kind of like that. Maybe I should write it on a note card to take around Spain. I make myself laugh; you really should imagine me typing this write now. I'm sure I look hysterical.

Anyways, today I went back-to-school shopping. Not personally, but more as moral support for my sister and brother. It was so weird not buying my school supplies and a first-day outfit. I did enjoy myself though. While the kiddies looked for backpacks and shoes, I relaxed in Barnes and Noble. I love sitting in there. I'm not sure if it's the smell of Starbucks or just enjoying watching people look at different books and feeling like you already know them by what books they read. But I like being that store. The last time I sat in B&N I skimmed over some books about Spain and Andalusia, but today I was in need of a good novel. I've made a list of books to bring to Spain, assuming that I will be reading a lot over there. I was looking for The Adoration of Jenna Fox, a  book near the top of my list, and in the process I found Thirteen Reasons Why, another book on my list. So, I thought, "Why not?" and started reading it. After 50 pages or so, I decided to buy it because shopping was over, time to go!,  and I could not put it down. In fact, I'm finishing this blog post (I actually started writing this post yesterday) because I needed a break from the book to process everything going on in it!

One of my friends who just arrived in Germany recently said in a blog post that reading helps keep her mind off homesickness, so I'm definitely planning on coming through with my reading list. For now though, I think I will get back to my book because I really do need to find out what happens next; it's pretty intense. Plus, reading helps to keep my mind off of Spain. Ah, there I go laughing at myself again.

Criss, cross, flashin' apple sauce

Hello fellow readers. Here's an update on my preparations for Spain . . .

Has it been a while? It sure seems like it! Summer has been going by so SLOWLY, yet so fast! Does that make sense? I cannot wait for Spain! There isn't a day, possibly an hour, that I don't ponder about what my days in Spain will bring. I would tell you how many days there are before my departure, but I still don't know the date :( Some friends from my district (D6000) are actually leaving pretty soon though (like first/second week of August). I'm somewhat jealous of them because they get to go so soon, but somewhat relieved because I have a little more time to get my visa and do other various preparations like packing and putting together host family gifts. I should know the date of my departure soon though. I have submitted all  SEVENTEEN of my Visa documents to ITWT (It's Your World Travel) too. They will get them to the Spanish Consulate in Chicago, then when my visa is ready I'll have to go to Chicago to pick it up. That shall be fun! So right now is basically a time of lots of waiting - but then again, isn't most of the time before exchange one big waiting period made of little waiting periods? hahh :)

The last Rotary event for the outbounds in D6000 was last weekend. We had a picnic with some rebounds and Rotex and it was just great to see everyone one last time before our exchanges. It was so weird saying bye to people for one year! How does one do that?? Well I said "bye" to everyone except for Matthew, the other outbound to Spain in our district. We knew that we were going to be in the same district, but we just realized that we're going to be attending the same school! How cool is that?? Also, about a month or so ago, Paola (first host-mom) emailed me their address so I could send a document to them, and it turns out that my address is actually is Estepona! From my house, the center of Marbella is roughly 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) east. Matthew will live in Estepona also, so I know that there will be at least one other American in my city!

Two weekends ago I had my last garage sale fundraiser. I was able to raise nearly $1,000 for my exchange ($998 dollars to be exact)! Thank you so much to everyone who made this possible! Everyone's support means so much to me - you guys are awesome. I should be able to buy my plane tickets and go on exchange just fine.

Remember how I was telling you guys about the orthodontist? Welll, I just went the other day, and I should be done on time just fine! Everything is coming together. (<---Haha)

Now to the title of this post. Yes, it does have a little bit of significance, but not too much ;)
Significant word one: Cross*.
I am going to miss cross* country so much! I've been going to practices this summer for the fun of it and to stay active, but it's so weird to think that I won't be running with my teammates this fall. However, my coach said I might be here still when we have our first meet and if I want, I can run! I still don't know if I will though if I am still here.

Significant word two: flashin*
I cannot tell you how many times I've heard "Learn the language now!" So, I have been brushing up on my Spanish lately by trying to read, write, or speak at least a few words every day. I have had two years of Spanish already at high school, and over these two years I have attained maaany flash cards - a whole shoe box full, in fact! See?!

But sadly, some of the flash cards are lackin' the flashin'*. I'm working on it though. When I'm bored I just grab a handful of flashcards and start practicing! I feel like by the time I arrive in Spain, I'll have a really good base to work off of.

As for the "apple sauce" part of the title, I don't really know . . . IIII hope there is apple sauce in Spain? Yeah, we can just go with that.

Congratulations if you've made it this far. This post turned out to be pretty random! Hopefully my next post is more interesting; I'll try to keep you guys updated!

Until later,
Josie

Guaranteed!

After much anticipation, my guarantee form finally came in the mail last Wednesday, the 15th! It basically means what it sounds like - my exchange to Spain has been guaranteed; I have one host family so far, an address, a school, a sponsoring Rotary Club . . . It feels good. It's so strange to think that I didn't realize the significance of the form that I filled out months ago in November, applying at the district level. Now that form has been around the world, signed, and back! Right now I am working on attaining a visa, which I have found out, is much work between background checks, notarizing a seemingly endless number of documents, and going through applications, among other things. At the moment I am a bit jealous of my friends going to Germany, as Germany doesn't require a visa, or at least to live there as an exchange student. The next time all of us District 6000 Outbounders will see each other will be in about three weeks at a picnic for our final training - ahh SCARY! Soon we will all be boarding planes to places all over the world. People keep on asking me when I leave, but up until a week or so ago, it was basically a guessing game. "Late August/early September....?" I'd reply. Now I know I will most likely be leaving between August 27 and September 3rd. My guarantee form said I need to be in Spain by September 4th, and that there's an orientation for all the Spain exchange students in the outskirts of Madrid from the 9th to the 11th, so I know that I'll be in Spain by the 9th. One of my friends going to Germany already knows the day she's leaving - August 9th or something like that . . . stinking Germany kids!

As of now though, I am preparing for my third and final garage sale in an effort to raise funds for my exchange. It's in about two weeks and I have much to do! On a completely different random note, braces are something I hadn't really considered as something to hinder my exchange, way back in November. However, they are hindering very well right now. Around March or so I told my orthodontist I may be leaving anywhere from July to September and he said it's going to be close . . . I just want the braces off before I leave, so right now I am "wearing the heck out of my rubber bands" as my orthodontist instructed*.(*I am not trying to ramble; this is just so that those of you considering embarking on youth exchange know to get on top of your orthodontia better than I have, if you haven't already!) On a another random note, I bought my Spain luggage last week! I got a supa big suitcase, a large suit case, and a medium sized carry-on . . . I really hope it all will be big enough to carry all my stuff, but not too  big that I'll exceed weight limits at airports - it's so difficult finding a happy medium! A few days ago my mom was searching the web and she found some good packing lists online. Generally, Rotary says to put everything you want to take abroad on your bed . . . then pack half of it. I have awhile to pack, but these links are helpful nevertheless. I would recommend checking them out. Click here for a list we found from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, geared towards students planning on studying abroad. Click here to see a a random list we found as a google document (it was originally a doc for Microsoft Word), created specifically for Rotary Exchange Students.

Lastly, I finally got a job X- ) I've been working at Hy-Vee for about two months now and it's going well. It stinks that I'm going to have to leave so soon, but I'm hoping that I'll be able to continue working when I get back. Speaking of getting back, people are are starting to come/go home from exchange. It's such a weird mixture of feelings - sad to see friends leaving back to their home countries but happy that they get to really be home again, happy to see people back home from their exchanges abroad... I'm sure all the feelings will be 10X more intense in Spain, but many parts of me don't know to expect. I've been reading many "To Sum it Up" blog posts lately, and it's sad to see so many things ending, but then I think, "With every ending is another beginning", and my beginning is coming soon. It's hard to believe that in about two months, it'll be me leaving . . . and my sister taking my bedroom for the year! I really am going to miss her and my other family and friends. I must make the most of the time I have left here.