As I wait for more instructions from AFS, I have begun to make
sure things are set here for my departure. I still have a lot to do to help
prepare for my trip, but I have begun to make sure people and things are ready
to go. With school coming to an end, and all my actives and clubs either over
or still going strong, I have had a heck of a time keeping up with everything
(including sleep). My first Skype call with my host family (Der Schneider) was
overall pretty good. Overall though, these past few weeks have been a lot of
catching up and setting up.
With school coming to a close in just a
few short weeks, I have done my best to figure out what I need to do so I can
still graduate next year. I have had a few conversations with my counselor, the
Schneider's and my principle to determine what I need to do. As of right now, I
need one year of English, one Semester of Art, and half a Semester of anything
else. I asked the Schneider's if they could talk to the Head Master at my
school in Germany to see if I could take an English class. If all goes well, I
should be able to transfer those classes and another couple classes so I can
graduate. With my Art class however, I am planning on taking that over the
summer so I can check that box with little difficulty. With so little time left
in this year, I hope that nothing falls apart.
As I grow older in scouts, I have started
to slip away. That can be due to school and other activities, but I am planning
on going back as school starts to wrap up. Also I am going to finishing up robotics
for a while, as well as venture crew. For those of you who plan on going
abroad, I would recommend getting things with clubs and other activities
wrapped up and set to go. This will help out the group a lot in figuring out
what they need to do to replace you for the year. With that I would also start
figuring out Visas if you haven't already. I personally haven't looked into any
but I am going to here shortly. Just as a reminder, AFS doesn't get you set
with Visas, but rather give you some help if you ask for it.
If you remember from my last blog, I had
my First Skype call with the Schneider's two weeks ago. I can say I am never
good with introductions. We all started out laughing and had no idea what to
talk about. It was defiantly awesome to get to see them. I'm hoping we will be
able to Skype again soon though. I also started emailing with my host sister,
who is pretty awesome person from the sounds of it. She had done a study Abroad
in America her freshman year, which is pretty awesome!
I also want to thank my Aunt Vicky for
Rosetta Stone. She has gotten me hooked up with a 6 month subscription. I got
it working today and have started my first lessons. Rosetta Stone is basically
one of the best online language learning programs around. I can't recommend it
yet as I have only used it once. However I have talked to people who have
learned different languages through this program and they say they liked it a
lot.
Again, I will be posting my next blog in
two weeks. If you have any questions, comments, or suggested topics to talk
about, leave your responses in the comments and I will do my best to answer
them!
Thanks Everyone!
Michael Steiner
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