One Month Mark!

Wow, it’s so hard to believe that I said goodbye my family in a hotel lobby one month ago. In some ways it seems like it’s been way longer than that, but it’s difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I’m already at the one month mark. I have to apologize for my lack of posting. Language camp was an AMAZING experience that I can’t even begin to describe. Honestly though, for any future CBYXers you’ll meet INCREDIBLE people and have the time of your life. Although three weeks may seem like a long time, it flies by SO quickly. I didn’t post while I was at camp, because I was always busy with classes and stuff like that. But, in some ways I think language camp should be an adventure and that you shouldn’t know what’s going to happen ahead of time. The mystery of it all is what makes it so much fun and brings you close together with so many great, life-long friends.

Language camp nostalgia aside, my host family is amazing. I honestly can’t imagine a more welcoming, friendly family, or a better match to me. Just like me, my host family is quirky and they LOVE to have fun! I’ve only technically been here for a week, but I feel so much like I’m part of the family. I know it’s only been a week, but feels like I’ve been here for so much longer. They are so welcoming, like I said, and so supportive of me. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have been blessed with such a great family!

Now, school. School has been a bit rough for me. I’m currently at a bilingual school, where I’m taking Math, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Politics in Englisch, and then German, History, Drama, Spanish, and Religion in German. At mid-term in January, I’m going to switch to all German classes. Not knowing any German, and sitting through a class not understanding a word is definitely a bit discouraging. I know that the language won’t come overnight, but I definitely wish it would come a little faster(: Thankfully though, my host mom is AMAZING and has been working with me a lot. For any CBYXers who are starting off with no German, it’s important to realize that you CAN do it. It will be tough, and you won’t understand much of anything, but it’s important to keep working at it, and celebrate the little milestones. Today, I was at an auction and I couldn’t understand anything, EXCEPT for the numbers. That’s a start, and I definitely was excited about it(:

 

It’s still so crazy to think that that one month ago I left my family and friends behind and started to meet some of the best friends I could have imagined. So much has happened since then, and I can’t believe how much I’ve changed in the course of 30 days.

As always, if anyone has any questions about my experience, or the program feel free to email me at mariaingermany@gmail.com!

16th Birthday and Update

So, today was my 16^th birthday! I had a great time with my family and it’s so crazy to think that I’m going to leave them soon. I’m going to miss them SO SO much and I’m so lucky to be blessed with such a loving and generous family. I know that in Germany I’ve been blessed with another incredible family and every day I wonder how I can be this lucky.

I definitely recommend focusing more on spending time with your family and friends the summer before you leave than how many shirts you’re going to pack or what suitcase you’ll take. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t plan ahead, but don’t focus too much on all the preparations and what ifs. Remember to take time to enjoy the present, because soon enough the future will be here and you’ll looking too far ahead to enjoy it(:

Anyways, mushy-ness aside, in terms of preparing for departure I’m still in the “denial stage”. That makes it sound like I don’t want to go to DC for Pre-Departure Orientation, which is not at all the case, but I’m trying not to think about that too much because I really just want to enjoy the time I have with my family and friends. For any future CBYXers I suggest picking out a suitcase soon after you look into luggage rules and to do a couple trial packs (Not that I’ve done that yet. Yeah, I’m actually a terrible procrastinator) just to get a feel for everything. But I wouldn’t suggest packing everything ahead of time and just sitting there staring at your suitcase waiting for the calendar to flip over to your PDO date. I know everybody realizes they’re going to miss their family and friends, but I don’t think it’ll sink in for anyone until they’ve actually left. Also, one last piece of advice for getting everything ready in terms of luggage and clothes, is don’t buy everything you think you’ll need as soon as you find out you’ll be going to Germany. I know it’s exciting and that shopping for it makes it feel more like reality instead of your wildest dream, but trust me, if you buy everything at first you’ll be going through the summer saying wow, I wish I’d bought this jacket instead of that one. Just a reminder, this is my advice, and everyone is different, so do what feels best for you, that’s what I did and what I keep doing(:

I know I haven’t updated this since I found out about my host family. So, an update on them is in order. My host family is INCREDIBLY amazing!!! I’m SO lucky to have been paired with them and I am more than super-duper-extra excited to meet them in person and spend my exchange year with them!!! I’ve been emailing my host mom and she’s so wonderful! My family is so welcoming and Experiment did an incredible job of matching us up. To any future CBYXers, I know it’ll be difficult, but just be patient when it comes to receiving your host family assignment. There’s nothing wrong with you or your application if it’s taking a little longer for you to receive your assignment than everyone else. I told everyone who asked me about how I was enduring the wait that I would rather wait until the absolute last minute to get a compatible host family than receive an early assignment with a host family, that I’m sure would be wonderful, but just not compatible with me.

Lastly, I 100% recommend joining a facebook group or something with other CBYXers if you’re participating in the program. A lot of the questions and concerns you have are shared and most of the time there are alumni in the group who are amazing and answer all your questions. It’s also good to get to know everyone a little bit before PDO and language camp and it’s always fun to have a group of people to talk to when all your friends are tired of hearing about your struggles to find just the right host family gift and what not.

 

I want to point out that this is only my advice, and that above all I recommend that you do what makes you comfortable because if you’re going for an exchange year you should be having fun not stressing over every little shirt and pair of socks(:

 

If you want to contact me with questions I’m more than happy to answer them as best I can! Just email me at mariaingermany@gmail.com!

Host Family Assignment!

Today, while at Panera with my mom after school I got a text from my dad saying “Host family!!” I hadn’t been home yet and as such had not seen the email yet either. I jumped up and down like a mad woman while anxiously waiting for my mother’s phone to load my email. When it finally did and I saw my host family, I couldn’t believe it! Next year I will be living with Inga and Rainer as well as their two daughters Malisa, 13 and Hannah 11 in Ober-Ramstadt  near Darmstadt!

When I first looked at the included pictures, I honestly couldn’t believe it. Going to Germany next year had just become that much more real. Up until now, as cheesy as it sounds, I felt like I was in a dream. But after today, it starting to feel more and more real. Studying for finals just got SO much more difficult(:

Pre-Departure!!!

My pre-departure package came in the mail!!! Ignore the bite marks on the pages. I guess my dog doesn’t want me to leave for Germany(: I can’t believe I have just about two months before I leave. It’s been so hard to stay focused these past few weeks on school, and even harder to stay focused enough to study for finals! Speaking of finals, I should probably go study…. I’ll be sure to keep this blog updated as I get closer and closer to departure!!!

CBYX

Hey everyone! My name is Maria Arleth and I’m 15 years old. I will be studying abroad for the school year of 2013-2014 in Germany through a scholarship from the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program. To learn more about CBYX follow this link http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org/about/ . I have been interested in this program for the past four years, after speaking with an alumnus about her experience, and am more than excited to have been selected. CBYX is a very unique program which I encourage anyone who wants to study abroad to look into, even if you don’t know German! While I study French and Spanish in school, I know absolutely no German, and this program doesn’t require you to!

 I look forward to all the ups and downs of my exchange year as well as meeting so many new people and learning about the German culture. I leave to meet up with my fellow CBYXers in DC on August 8^th, and then August 10^th I fly to Frankfurt.  Once in Frankfurt, I’ll travel to a three week language/culture immersion camp before meeting with my host family whom I’ll be living with for the rest of the year. Feel free to email me with any questions about the program or my experiences at mariaingermany@gmail.com !