Ya Hace un Mes!

It´s been about a month since i first arrived here in Spain, and I have so much to write about!!



ARRIVAL: All of my flights and orientations went smoothly. I made plenty of new friends in New York and Madrid and, of course, didn´t sleep a wink from the time I left New York until I got to my new home. For the orientation in Madrid, we stayed at a youth hostel and had a surprisingly fun orientation. After a 5-hour bus ride the next day, I arrived in Bilbao, said temporary goodbyes to my new friends, and met my new family.

THE FIRST WEEK: The first day I arrived, I wasn´t very tired (even though I hadn´t slept for about 3 days...) so my family and I walked around Bilbao and I got to see some of the sights. I was glad to be shown around the city right away because I had no idea what it was like. The next day, we went to Santander, a city about 30 minutes away, to walk around and see the sights there as well. Within the first week I also registered for school, learned how to take the metro to school and home, ordered my school books, took a day beach trip with my family to nearby Castro, got a cell phone, and met with my liason AFSer. I admit, in the first couple of weeks, I didn´t speak much spanish because I was afraid that I wouldn´t be able to communicate well enough. But after the area orientation in Bilbao, I wanted to speak more spanish in order to learn faster!

THE PAST FEW WEEKS: I started school, which was quite awkward at first but now I have friends and understand more of what the teachers are talking about. I met up with all the other AFSers in my area at the orientation, which was great because I could guage how they were doing with their families, schools, etc, and then compare it to what was going on with me. I have also traveled around locally with my family a lot, which I am grateful for because it lets me see more of what´s around me. I have been spellunking in a cave with my friend from Germany, stayed overnight at my familie´s other apartment in Castro, celebrated 3 family birthdays, and met a lot of new family and friends. All in all, it has been a great first month!!

I have to go now but I will try to update this in a couple of weeks or in another month. Ciao!!

4 DAYS!!

4 DAYS


There's so much going on but I'll try to get everything up-to-date. I'll start at the beginning. I was accepted to go abroad as an AFS student to Spain for a year. A few weeks later, I received some scholarships, which was awesome, and then I finally got my family. It seemed awesome because they live in Ceuta, an island across the Strait of Gibraltar. But AFS called me a few weeks ago and told me that the family I was supposed to live with couldn't host me anymore, so AFS would find me a new family. I was nervous at first, but AFS found me a new family in a couple weeks!


THE FAMILY: I live in Bilbao (basque region) with a mom and dad and two children; Marco (9) and Sandra (14). We live in an apartment in the city, which will be cool for me because I have lived in the country my whole life. I've already talked to my family via email and I'm getting more and more excited because they seem like a really awesome family! Sandra is only 2 years younger than I am, so we will share a room and she has offered to show me around the city and introduce me to all her friends.


THE CITY: Bilbao is a city of approximately 500,000 people, and is located on the northern coast of Spain in the Basque region. Probably the most famous thing about Bilbao is the Guggenheim Museum, which is a crazy huge silver art museum. Bilbao is the largest city in the Basque region and is the capital of the province of Viscaya (Bizkaia in Basque). Bilbao was and is a major industrial seaport, but in recent years it has also become a popular tourist city, what with its great museums and beaches and architecture. Here's a picture of where Bilbao is in Spain (left), but I'm not sure what the green map means...

THE ITINERARY: Next wednesday (Sept. 2) I leave from milwaukee around 10 AM and arrive in new York around 1 PM. Then I go to the hotel and wait for all the other AFSers to arrive and make friends yadda yadda yadda. We all stay overnight for orientation and then leave New York the next night around 9 PM. We'll make a little pit stop in Zürich, Switzerland, before continuing on to Madrid. Arriving in Madrid around 3 PM on Sept. 4, we will stay overnight for another orientation. On September 5, a few others and I will take a bus or train to Bilbao! That's all I know so far...I'm not sure when I start school yet.

I will try to update this every once in a while but I'm not making any promises...I know I won't update it at least until I'm safely at home in Bilbao.

Until then!!

Getting Things Started

My name is Anna, and this summer I'll be leaving the country to study abroad through AFS.  Hopefully, I will be going to Spain, Argentina, or Chile.  I have wanted to travel with AFS since I was 3 years old and my family hosted its first foreign exchange student from Brazil.  I was also inspired by many other students we hosted from Japan, France, Denmark, Mexico, Indonesia, Paraguay, and Thailand; however, the biggest influences I've had to travel to another country were from my brother and sister, who were exchange students to Costa Rica and Paraguay.  They brought back so much information, understanding, and culture from their studies.  I hope to gain this same kind of maturity from my AFS experience.  At the same time, I want to represent my family, my community, and my country with dignity.  I wish to eliminate beliefs that Americans don't care about the world around them.  I also want to dispel any negative thoughts about Americans being selfish and narrow-minded.

It has basically been assumed by my family for most of my life that I would become an AFS student when I was old enough.  My parents are used to exchange students coming and going, as well as their own son and daughter leaving for travel abroad.  My family has always been open-minded and supporting of my dream to become and AFS student.  My friends are also very accepting of this fact, and although many of them tell me not to go because they will miss me, I think they need me to bring back cultural experiences to them just as much as everyone else.

When someone wants to become an AFS student, they have to go through many steps and pass many barriers.  I was fortunate in this area because I experienced few, if any, detrimental obstacles.  For example, I already knew how most AFS programs work because I have experienced it so many times.  Also, I had no trouble finding an AFS coordinator because there is one at my school part-time.  Although, one problem might be that this year, my parents will be paying for both my brother's and my sister's college educations, as well as host an exchange student while I am abroad.  We all know an AFS trip can be very expensive, so I applied for a scholarship.  I was very excited when I found out I had received an $800 scholarship to be applied to my tuition costs!  I also plan to work part-time this summer and save the money I earn for my travel expenses.

An AFS trip can seem daunting, too expensive, too far from home, or just downright scary. But I am looking forward to my international stay, and wish to gain many happy experiences and memories from it.