Hey guys
So today I had my VISA interview in the city, and let me tell you, for a day off school you do not want to have to get up at 6:00am -_- Especially when it's me.
Anyway, so my dad woke me up at 6, I grumbled and rolled over. I then woke myself up somehow at 6:30, looked at the time and jumped out of my bed like a ninja when I realized that I didn't have long to get ready if I wanted to be on time for it all.
Brushing my teeth, doing my hair & make-up and pulling my clothes on all in record time, running down stairs to look for my shoes, finding them, pulling them on, grabbing all my visa stuff and stuffing my phone into my bag I was about to head out the door when I realized that my parents were not, in fact, ready yet.
A few minutes later we all walked out to the car and started towards the MLC centre in the city, stopping by local newsagent to ask a quick question before setting into peak hour and waiting, not so patiently for the cars to hurry up and move.
An hour later, my dad dropped my mum and I off, and he continued to work while my mum and I walked into the MLC centre and somehow managed to get to the right spot, bumping into my friend's dad, whose daughter was upstairs already waiting for her interview.
Following his instructions we got into the customs area to go through all the custom-y stuff you have to go through at airports, that's right, the whole, 'May you please take your shoes off Ma'am' 'Are you wearing a belt today Sir?' 'Please take all of your electronics out of your bag Miss'
I may also mention here that from the floor I was on up, was owned by America, so I was actually in America right now...
Anyway...So I did all that, the lady checked all my Visa forms, the guy put my mum and my bag in little pigeon hole, gave us a card so we could collect them after I ws all done and dusted. Then I joined another line, to have mini-interview with a guy in an orange shirt. After, he told me to go sit in the front row and wait for another lady to show myself, my mum, and four other people to a lift which would then take us up to the big, proper, you-fail-this-you-get-no-visa interview.
Not too long after the Lady called us, showed us to the lift, and a Welsh couple, an Irish bloke, two other men and my mum and I went up to the US Consulate floor, went through another small security thingo, then through a heavy door, to take a ticket and join the queue! Claire was waiting patiently for her number to be called, we gave a small wave, a quick 'Goodluck', and a minutes later she was called up. When I was near the front of the queue, her interview finished, and she left to go back to school, though she ended up jigging school like me.
The lady there called me, everything was okay, except my uploaded photo, it was on the side, so my mum and I had to go right to the bottom of the MLC centre, get a photo taken at a Kodak shop, wait 20 minutes for it to be printed and everything, back upstairs, through the American Accent filled mini-customs, to the front row, up the elevator, and through the small security thingo and back to the lady who was checking my application.
I then had to do a fingerprint scan, then go sit with my mum until my number was called for my real interview. Maybe, 30 minutes later I was called, answered the few questions she gave me, had a mini-freak out when I thought I had answered a question wrong, had another freak out when I realized about three groups of people had been refused a Visa ten minutes before me. More fingerprint scans, she said it was passed and it'd be in the mail within the week, back down stairs to the mini-customs/American Accent room to collect our bags and stuff said our 'Thank You's' then downstairs again to get lunch and have a look in a few shops for some extremely cold weather clothes. Found a really awesome puffy snow jacket, that I'll probably end up getting!!
On the train about an hour or two later, swapped trains, then walked home from there, Facebooking Claire and my host sister for a bit. Then home again to relax and bludge school :)
~Fin~
Ahhhh!!! It's so exciting!! It finally feels real and everything! It's definitely going to happen!!
So at about 12 today, at the end of my Geography class, my mum texts me to tell me to check my EF page, (like a mini Facebook for the exchange kids). Turning my laptop on, logging in and doing the few clicks it takes, I see that I have my host family!! I literately started to jump up and down in my seat and the biggest smile came across my face, I haven't stopped smiling yet!!
Anyway, so I've slid my laptop in my bag, and run to Claire, dumped my bag at the front of the room and started to jump up and down, screaming "I know where I'm going! I know where I'm going!!! Claire! Claire! I know where I'm going!!! I'm going to Nebraska! Nebraska!! In a little town called Randolph! Claire! I'm going to Randolph, Nebraska!!"
I have no clue how she understood me, because I'm pretty sure I sounded more like a dying animal or something like that....Didn't draw a single breath for the whole thing... So it was more like "IknowwhereI'm going!IknowwhereI'mgoing!!!Claire!Claire!IknowwhereI' going!!!I'mgoingtoNebraska!Nebraska!!Inalittle towncalledRandolph!Claire!I'mgoingtoRandolphNebraska!!"
So Randolph, Nebraska is where I'll be chilling in America, and literately, chilling...it gets down to -50 degrees, MINUS FIFTY! Freaking cold weather. I have a mum, dad and sister, no pets unfortunately, but I've Google Mapped the place, and my property is fairly large :D My school looks cool today, and the lunch menu is awesome...cookies, cake, cinnamon scrolls, tacos, pfft and all the American movies make out that cafeteria food is gross...sounds pretty alright to me! It's about 1 1/2 hours from Sioux City in Iowa, So I'll hopefully be able to visit my friend Tina who is 1 hr from Sioux City in the other direction :D
Ahh so happy!! I'm so pleased I've got my family! Makes it so much more exciting!! Probably stop here before I drone on and on about how happy I am about having my host family and everything :D
See that little coloured in red state? Yeah, that's where I'm going...Be jealous :D
So since I last posted, I had my Orientation Meeting in the city, had to be at the venue at 10 so it could all start. In the lobby, I meet up with one of my sisters friends from school who's going to Germany the same time as me, but for a year. Went up to the room I had my meeting in, found my seat at the front with all my papers, shirt and bag, and talked to my friend, Claire, who's also going to the States at the same time until it started.
Went through all the normal stuff, what to expect, what we're doing there yadda yadda yadda....then we had a break, ate some AMAZING biscuits that the hotel had made for us, met and chatted to a few of the people I've been talking to online, and talked to a returnee that had just come back in July.
We then went back in for a second half, our exchange coordinator gave us each a lolly, then set the slide show back up,m and what's it about? Drugs, alcohol and sex...lovely I know...
She did a brief, don't do drugs, we will find out...don't drink, we will find out, sex, think twice before you do it, then, think again about it, to close your door if you're going to, and not on the family lounge ;) Then she proceeded to tell us a few stories of people who stuffed up their exchange, one guy was caught drinking at a party and was sent home, one of a girl who sent a picture of herself in her underwear and was sent home, one of a girl who lied on her application and now my company can't use that area as host families because of what happened, and another of a girl who got caught doing the deed ;) while on exchange.
After that, did a bit more of the basic stuff, don't go to a party that has alcohol or drugs, don't jig school that type of stuff.
In other news, I got all my Visa papers in the mail a few weeks back, all applied, now just have to go into the city to get it approved and some questions asked by the Visa people and I'll be all set to go!
Also, my friend Claire got a host family in Kentucky!! It's a pretty small town, only 1,500 people, about the size of my school, has four host sisters and a mum and dad! Looked up her house on Google Maps, and it looks beautiful!
Haven't got mine yet, but hopefully soon :)
That's all for now :)
82 days!
So it's only about 100 days until I leave for my exchange, pretty excited I must say :D
I have an orientation day in the city next week, with all the other exchange students that live in or near Sydney, just about what to expect, finer details and all that jazz, so I'll get to meet some people I've been talking to over the past few months :)
Also! One of the guys who's also going to the US next year, set up a big Facebook page for us all, so we've just all been chatting and talking about what state we want to live in, if we'll get our American licence over there etc.
Then, one of my friends from Australia, who's going set up a smaller one for all the Aussies going :)
Haven't got my host family yet, so anxiously waiting for the phone call from my co-ordinator saying that they've found me one, super pumped for that too.
Got a massive list of everything I have to do before I leave too, and with my track record of laziness, half those things probably won't get done XD Including the top one - Clean my room.
That's about all for today :)
Cya!
Well, since it's been a few weeks since I blogged, I'll just quickly go through what's happened lately
School Holidays!!!! Chilled at home. Watched movies, saw the premiere of Harry Potter 7 Part 2! and went to the snow.
First of all, HP was epic. Truly amazing, Claire and I went together, dressed as Death Eaters (we're cool like that), even going as fart as drawing dark marks on our left forearm, (which unfortunately, is still stuck on my arm because permanent marker doesn't come off my skin!). Heaps of people were dressed up, including my sisters friend as Voldemort, and everyone was all excited!
Sitting down in our seats and waiting for the movie to start we took loads of pictures of us in out hectic HP-style 3D glasses, pretty sure we pissed off the people behind us XD
Then, when it the ads came on their was the first excited screams and yells, going through all the trailers, one came on for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes? Not sure what it's called, but Tom Felton, (Draco Malfoy) was in it, and another chorus of screams went up.
Cut to the actual movie, there was clapping and screaming when ever someone kissed/hooked up, tears shed when you saw your favourite chacters dead, and the clapping when something finally happened.
Snow!!
Went to the snowy mountains, Batlow, stayed at my holiday house, saw my cousin and his parents, and went tobogganing, no skiing this time :( but twas still fun, plenty of pictures and videos of us coming down the mountains :P
School :?
Started back on Tuesday, only been there for four days and already looking forward to the next holidays in September? October? November?, yeah not too sure when they are but yeah. Though, it's good to see all my friends again I didn't catch up with in the holidays, and it's not too bad, I enjoy my classes.
City!
So Today, I went to the city with Claire, for an information meeting for her for exchange! If she gets accepted, she'll be coming to America with me, not her first choice, which was Japan, but then will all the disasters over there her parents weren't too keen, Then It was England, but you have to have a British passport for that, then America : )
So caught the train into Circular Quay, at about 9:30ish, had a bite to eat then went to the place it was being held and waited for the organizers to come, meet another guy and a chick also applying, who both seemed fairly nice.
Having not gone to one when I applied, it was really interesting, and actually learnt stuff about my exchange year and host family placement that I wouldn't have known if I hadn't had gone.
Then, when it was done, walked to Martin Place with her and her parents, caught the train back and went home :) Pretty good day even though I woke up at 7 for it.
Cya
By the way, if my writing is really bad today and doesn't make sense it's because I wrote it about five minutes :)
This time last week, my school's production, Les Miserables, finished. After four nights of ushering people to their seats and having to deal with some rather opinionated people, it ended with a bang and all was fun.
After, all the cast and some of the crew stayed back to help take it all down, set, props and lighting. Me and two of my friends also helped the costume guy sort his stuff, which also included trying on hats and feather boa's, and fawning over gorgeous corsets.
At about midnight, we stopped and chilled for pizza, soft drink and cake. Think we ordered about 70 boxes and they were all gone with in about 45 minutes, along with the bottles of drink. Pretty sure that would have been the biggest order Eagle Boys has ever had :P
Then, the teacher who has organized it all, said that on the Tuesday, it could be Les Mis Shirt Day, where we could all wear our shirts to school with jeans or whatever to show we were involved. Having not got one, my friend and I went to go ask to get one. After he'd said yes and left us in the room to try on the sizes, we locked the door to the storeroom. Got our sizes and went to open the door.
But it wouldn't open. -_-
Only us could get stuck in a hall storeroom at one in the morning with only about twenty people still about. In between laughing so hard we cried, having one of the main guys walk past the single window singing at the top of his lungs and not being able to hear us, knocking on the door and yelling out for help, the deputy principle finally heard us and came over to us, saying 'It's alright girls, calm down, we'll get you out. Just gone to get the key'.
Ten minutes later, we were out, still cracking up whenever we looked at each other and laughing about how it could only ever be us to get stuck in a storeroom together.
Definitely not one of our brightest moments. :D
On a side note, Claire, now has a blog! http://www.ISwearImSane.blogspot.com
Nothing is really happening at the moment, my school has its production next week which I'mm helping out with the props and stuff backstage. Kinda exciting, helping with a musical instead of just watching from the audience, be a nice change :)
Also getting my stitches out tomorrow! After two weeks of being on crutches and wearing ugg boots to school!
Haven't heard anything new about my trip but I've been talking to a few people who are also going, who seem pretty nice.
In other news, got a book I've been waiting for, trying to pace myself through it so it lasts longer than four hours : D
And that's about it.
Cya
