I have some confirmation! Sort of. We just had our first conference call with the lovely Bosnia-bounded ladies, as well as our officials and people we are going to rely on so much in the upcoming year. So many questions were answered including the much anticipated Departure Date.
I am proud to say that I leave for Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina on August 15, 2012. No, I don't have my actual flight or anything like that, but I did order my passport on Monday! School starts on September 3 (day before America, oh well), but before that we have three weeks of intensive language camp. I'm actually really excited for language camp...
This is all just sinking in though. I mean, sometimes I'll lay in bed and it will suddenly dawn on me that I am leaving. Officially. For a year. In a country where I don't know anybody nor their language. And instead of feeling absolutely petrified, I am thrilled and excited and nervous and a little crazy. You have to be to go on an exchange. True fact.
Anyway, time for Zumba!
Until perhaps I get my host family,
-Katie
P.S. (Edit April 27, 2012) SHOCK (aka the Facebook Five) have officially ALL made it to YES Abroad finalists. We are reppin' Bosnia, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, and Malaysia. I am so excited!
P.P.S. SHAKE is our Bosnia group. It stands for all the first letters of our names, Savannah, Helena, Anna, Katie, Emma :) I am the only one that does not have an "ah" sound at the end of their name. Oh well :P
Friday, April 27, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Where exactly IS Bosnia?
So a common question I've received after telling people what I am doing next year is, "Where is Bosnia?" And if someone does know, it's because they have heard about the bloody Bosnian War in the 90's. To let you all know, Bosnia is stable. YES Abroad wouldn't be sending five teenage girls there if it wasn't.
Back to my original point. Bosnia is in Eastern Europe. See that little orange spot across the Adriatic Sea from Italy? I'll be there!
Another common question is when am I leaving? Well, I wish I could give you an exact date, but I'm pretty sure I'll be leaving beginning of August which I'm happy about so I have time to say good bye to everyone one last time. According to Emma, another YES student going to Bosnia, school starts September 3rd and they would like us in Bosnia two to three weeks ahead of time. Which I am very excited about. I just ordered over $100 worth in Bosnian language material. Crazy stuff! Ready for my introduction? Pozdrav, moje ime je Katie. Yeah, you tell me how to say that without being compared to speaking in tongues.
On NSLI-Y news: It's not happening, but I'm ok with it. I'm glad I didn't get the rejection from NSLI-Y and then was forced to wait anxiously for YES's reply. At least I have Bosnia to look forward to!
Anyway, 66 days until Washington DC for Pre-Departure Orientation.
Until I get more information,
-Katie
Back to my original point. Bosnia is in Eastern Europe. See that little orange spot across the Adriatic Sea from Italy? I'll be there!
On NSLI-Y news: It's not happening, but I'm ok with it. I'm glad I didn't get the rejection from NSLI-Y and then was forced to wait anxiously for YES's reply. At least I have Bosnia to look forward to!
Anyway, 66 days until Washington DC for Pre-Departure Orientation.
Until I get more information,
-Katie
Saturday, April 14, 2012
YES ABROAD SAID YES!
OH MY FREAKIN GOSH!
Ok, I sound immature and too crazy to even explain my excitement. Maybe I can make it a little simpler:
I received this, this morning:
Dear Katie,
Congratulations on your acceptance as a finalist on the YES Abroad Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina!
I am ecstatic. BEYOND ecstatic. I wish I could say that when I found out the news I started jumping and crying and all emotions just started running wild. But no. My parents woke me up this morning with the news so I was so disoriented that all I could understand was that I did it.
Me.
After months of waiting and wishing on 11:11 and praying and that horrible agonizing feeling I got every day another day passed after no notification, I did it.
Which means I will be spending my senior year abroad in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I don't have a host family yet or the exact dates when I leave. Pre-Departure Orientation is June 26, 2012. But as far as I know, we come home for a few weeks after that. Well. Some people leave immediately for their country because of the school system, but Bosnia (as far as I know) is run by the European school system, so I may be leaving later. Meaning time to cram in all my farewells to all my family and friends.
All I can say right now, is that I am excited. True, now I have to go through waiting another three months or so until I leave which will include all my boot camps (so many things to do before I leave!), but this will fly. And then I will be flying to beautiful Bosnia. Oh, you don't know what Sarajevo looks like, do you? Well, you shall be enlightened!
My life is about to be so enriched and I cannot wait to gain this experience. I have been waiting for this since the first time I heard it was possible. One of the first long stories I wrote about was a girl traveling across the Atlantic to study abroad! True, it was in England, but still.
I can't write my excitement. All I feel is my gut going in knots because now I'm not nervous if I am going abroad or not. Now I'm nervous because I only have three months to learn as much Bosnian as possible.
As for NSLI-Y, if I make it, I will most likely turn it down unless somehow I make it to Rabat, Morocco... then it will be a very hard decision. But we'll see! I will know by next week. Even though I am accepted with YES, I still want to know my status for NSLI-Y.
Anyway, my day has been made. I love everyone who has supported me through this and I love YES Abroad!
Until I know more information,
-Katie
Ok, I sound immature and too crazy to even explain my excitement. Maybe I can make it a little simpler:
I received this, this morning:
Dear Katie,
Congratulations on your acceptance as a finalist on the YES Abroad Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina!
I am ecstatic. BEYOND ecstatic. I wish I could say that when I found out the news I started jumping and crying and all emotions just started running wild. But no. My parents woke me up this morning with the news so I was so disoriented that all I could understand was that I did it.
Me.
After months of waiting and wishing on 11:11 and praying and that horrible agonizing feeling I got every day another day passed after no notification, I did it.
Which means I will be spending my senior year abroad in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I don't have a host family yet or the exact dates when I leave. Pre-Departure Orientation is June 26, 2012. But as far as I know, we come home for a few weeks after that. Well. Some people leave immediately for their country because of the school system, but Bosnia (as far as I know) is run by the European school system, so I may be leaving later. Meaning time to cram in all my farewells to all my family and friends.
All I can say right now, is that I am excited. True, now I have to go through waiting another three months or so until I leave which will include all my boot camps (so many things to do before I leave!), but this will fly. And then I will be flying to beautiful Bosnia. Oh, you don't know what Sarajevo looks like, do you? Well, you shall be enlightened!
My life is about to be so enriched and I cannot wait to gain this experience. I have been waiting for this since the first time I heard it was possible. One of the first long stories I wrote about was a girl traveling across the Atlantic to study abroad! True, it was in England, but still.I can't write my excitement. All I feel is my gut going in knots because now I'm not nervous if I am going abroad or not. Now I'm nervous because I only have three months to learn as much Bosnian as possible.
As for NSLI-Y, if I make it, I will most likely turn it down unless somehow I make it to Rabat, Morocco... then it will be a very hard decision. But we'll see! I will know by next week. Even though I am accepted with YES, I still want to know my status for NSLI-Y.
Anyway, my day has been made. I love everyone who has supported me through this and I love YES Abroad!
Until I know more information,
-Katie
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The Wait
And so the waiting begins!
It has now been two and a half weeks since IPSE and there is no news. It has been three MONTHS since my NSLI-Y interview and there is no news.
I hate waiting.
Both organizations are set on finishing notifications this month. NSLI-Y is supposed to be done by next Friday which is freaking me out. YES is notorious for being late so "mid-April" may as well mean the end of the month. I have my bets set on Monday, April 16. But it could be later... it probably will be later. Every time I see a notification from the YES group or NSLI-Y group on Facebook, I immediately freak out thinking notifications have been sent out and I haven't gotten one. But it hasn't happened yet, so I suppose we will see.
As for now, I just want to remember IPSE. The fabulous weekend with fabulous people and fabulous food. All together, I am extremely grateful for the people that put all the hard work into this amazing event.
Anyway, time for some dearly needed sleep.
Until notifications! *cue freaking out*
-Katie
It has now been two and a half weeks since IPSE and there is no news. It has been three MONTHS since my NSLI-Y interview and there is no news.
I hate waiting.
Both organizations are set on finishing notifications this month. NSLI-Y is supposed to be done by next Friday which is freaking me out. YES is notorious for being late so "mid-April" may as well mean the end of the month. I have my bets set on Monday, April 16. But it could be later... it probably will be later. Every time I see a notification from the YES group or NSLI-Y group on Facebook, I immediately freak out thinking notifications have been sent out and I haven't gotten one. But it hasn't happened yet, so I suppose we will see.
As for now, I just want to remember IPSE. The fabulous weekend with fabulous people and fabulous food. All together, I am extremely grateful for the people that put all the hard work into this amazing event.
Anyway, time for some dearly needed sleep.
Until notifications! *cue freaking out*
-Katie
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Incredible People Stalking Event (aka the IPSE)
Oh what to say about the beloved IPSE? It doesn't actually mean Incredible People Stalking Event, in fact it means the In Person Selection Event, but all-in-all, it means the same.
IPSE was incredible, to say the least. After a two-hour flight sitting by a middle-aged mom and her really weird teenage son and NOT knowing who Carson was who was supposed to be my flying buddy, I landed in Denver, Colorado. As soon as I found the group, Carly (a girl from Facebook!) jumped up and hugged me before I could even remember who it was. What I love about our YES Abroad Facebook group? We know people before we even personally meet them. Win. After waiting in the hot sun for our shuttle and meeting plenty of new people, we eventually boarded our shuttle to the hotel. As soon as I got my name tag (which is now covered in dinosaur and Disney stickers), got my Semi-Finalist notebook, and my group number, I entered the room and saw Olivia's bright pink hair (another Facebook-er!). Everyone was confused on how Carly, Olivia, and I all knew each other because so many people knew nothing of our facebook group.
To spare you from minute-by-minute details, IPSE was awesome. It included of a workshop, two group evaluations (my group's tower was the best tower in the world. Not the tallest, but the best), and our individual interviews. The room was terrifying. Not the small, enclosed space for your interview, but the room where all five interviews were going at once. It looked like such:
I was in the room farthest to the right. Like I said: Terrifying.
The weekend continued with making lots of new friends, ridiculous photos, and hopefully the beginning to an amazing exchange to either Morocco, Bosnia, or Turkey. Bosnia and Morocco are definitely tied at this point. There was no talent show this year, which was really sad, seeing as how we wanted to do our Baby It's Friday drime :) There was plenty of down time to hang out in our room (Sara was my roommate, so our Facebook group hung out there often. Hence the weird photo above) or go on Facebook and add in all the members that we met. We talked and met fabulous new people and I dearly hope I will meet most of them in DC for Orientation. One can hope.
More pictures will be added as I go along. I just haven't finished editing my photos and I need to get that done.
On NSLI-Y news! The date of notifications has been moved back. Originally it was end of March. Now it is the end of April. Hopefully I'll hear back from both YES and NSLI-Y on the same day? Perhaps? But waiting will be the death of me, I swear. I just want to know my status, is that too much to ask for?
Anyway, off to much needed sleep!
Until I feel like freaking out again,
Katie
IPSE was incredible, to say the least. After a two-hour flight sitting by a middle-aged mom and her really weird teenage son and NOT knowing who Carson was who was supposed to be my flying buddy, I landed in Denver, Colorado. As soon as I found the group, Carly (a girl from Facebook!) jumped up and hugged me before I could even remember who it was. What I love about our YES Abroad Facebook group? We know people before we even personally meet them. Win. After waiting in the hot sun for our shuttle and meeting plenty of new people, we eventually boarded our shuttle to the hotel. As soon as I got my name tag (which is now covered in dinosaur and Disney stickers), got my Semi-Finalist notebook, and my group number, I entered the room and saw Olivia's bright pink hair (another Facebook-er!). Everyone was confused on how Carly, Olivia, and I all knew each other because so many people knew nothing of our facebook group.
 |
| Our beloved facebook group :) (from left to right: Carly, me, Hannah, Sarah, Olivia) |
The weekend continued with making lots of new friends, ridiculous photos, and hopefully the beginning to an amazing exchange to either Morocco, Bosnia, or Turkey. Bosnia and Morocco are definitely tied at this point. There was no talent show this year, which was really sad, seeing as how we wanted to do our Baby It's Friday drime :) There was plenty of down time to hang out in our room (Sara was my roommate, so our Facebook group hung out there often. Hence the weird photo above) or go on Facebook and add in all the members that we met. We talked and met fabulous new people and I dearly hope I will meet most of them in DC for Orientation. One can hope.
More pictures will be added as I go along. I just haven't finished editing my photos and I need to get that done.
On NSLI-Y news! The date of notifications has been moved back. Originally it was end of March. Now it is the end of April. Hopefully I'll hear back from both YES and NSLI-Y on the same day? Perhaps? But waiting will be the death of me, I swear. I just want to know my status, is that too much to ask for?
Anyway, off to much needed sleep!
Until I feel like freaking out again,
Katie
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