Saturday, July 28, 2012

Consulate

Tuesday my mother and I went to the Consulate in DC for my Visa application. We've been gathering the necessary paperwork since...January?, and have been silently freaking out about what to do. We arrived at the Embassy, which is a really cool building, and were greeted by a fat guy watering a pink bicycle...maybe he was undercover security or something. We were allowed inside, underwent a baggage check, and then were pointed to a window.
So, when I imagined the official term 'visa application' and paired it with the mountain of paperwork that I've painstakingly completed, I pictured meeting with a man in a suit and sitting in his office for hours at end, arguing that I didn't have the correct form. You can understand that I was a little surprised when I met Fernando, a cute eighteen year old in an abrecrombie shirt through the window. It turns out we didn't need half of the paperwork we brought, and that speaking english is not a requirement if you want to work at the embassy. Fernando would point at a form, "You need...en España...dis form en Spanish, when you en España." I got by with my minimal language skills and was able to understand a lot of what he said, but, all in all, the Visa application was incredibly easy. I've heard that it was a lot worse for other kids, but maybe the consulate in DC is less strict compared to New York and the others.
My mom and I were in disbelief when we left, and tried to get a picture of the embassy, but the camera on her phone was so horrible that I'll show you one from Goggle. I was cursing myself for not bringing my new Nikon s28000--it was my birthday present to myself. The present from my parents was a fourteen thousand dollar trip to Spain.
After the incredible relief of getting that over with, but also the terror at leaving my passport with the embassy, my mother and I did touristy things around America's Capital. We took a tour of the esteemed Georgetown University, my dream school, did some shopping, and went to Georgetown Cupcake, subject of the popular TV show 'Cupcake Wars.' We spent the night at my mom's friend's horse farm in Virginia, then made the five hour trip back home. It was a fun and rewarding trip.
I leave for Spain in a little more than a month, and I couldn't be more excited.

The Consulate in DC, a nice classic building with a giant black cube on top.

Me in front of Healy Hall at Georgetown, taken by the terrible camera on my mom's phone. (I'm not rainbow-colored in real life.)

Friday, July 6, 2012

Map

I've connected to a few other teens going to Spain with AFS through our Facebook group, and it has been really great to talk with them. Another student http://amymargaret.blogspot.com/ made a little map of where everyone so far will be going. Wouldn't it be cool to be placed in the canary islands?
View AFS Spain Placements in a larger map

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Two Months

Today is the two month mark until I leave my home town and meet up with AFS in NY. How am I feeling--devastated and regretful? Or elated and excited? Really, I just feel...impartial.  I mean, of course I'm super duper happy, but I felt like that more so three months ago.  I don't really feel anything now that exchange is so close. You'll hear students say this all the time: when you get right down to it, no amount of preparation, no number of countless imaginative hours, no measure of endlessly official paperwork can ever make you ready for going abroad.  It doesn't matter how many blogs you read, or how well you know the language, you still have no idea what Spain is like.
I guess I'm feeling conflicted.  But, too bad, because what attracted me to AFS in the first place was the fact that you would have no idea what your new life would be like.  The whole "adventuring into the unknown void" thing really appealed to me.
Anyway, my host brother leaves for South Africa on July 11th, my birthday, and will be an AFSer there for two months.