Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Hello, there! Wow, it has been months since the last time i posted a blog here. Actually i wanted to tell you all about my life here in Nashville, TN now today, but unfortunately i haven't told you about how i become an exchange student from the beginning. So i decided to flashback for a while to tell you how i come here from the veeeeery beginning.
This started when I was in 10th grade,which was more than 1 years ago. In the beginning of 2008 (i guess), I heard from my sister's friend(who was a returnee from Japan as an exchange student) that an exchange program named AFS(American Field Service) was starting to open the registration for 10th grade students who were interested to be an exchange student to apply for this program. At first, i hesitated because a year before my sister asked my parents' permission to apply for this program but my parents didn't allow her because they were afraid that my sister was not religious enough and they worried that my sister might be influenced by other religions if she were abroad. But I've been dreaming about being abroad someday so I was very interested to apply for this program, so I bought the application by myself without telling my parents first. I walked to the AFS office alone and I bought the application for only Rp 25,000 (It's about $2.50). I was really surprised because the application was thick and i had to copies of it. I had to copy my highschool and middle school and elementary school report cards and legalized them, i had to ask my teacher, my parents, my friends, and my neighbor to fill the recommendation letters, and many other required documents. And i had this funny experience, i was looking for my school's headmaster of curriculum to get his recommendation, but i didn't know who he is, what he looked like, i only knew his name, Mr.Solihin. So I looked for him in the teacher's office,and someone said he's inside, so i entered the office, and i asked again to a man who wore Pink shirt, "Sir,do you know where Mr.Solihin is?" And he answered,"Oh,he's not coming today, he's playing." I didn't believe him, he might be kidding me, so i asked another teacher,and he pointed to a man who sat in the back of the room. I asked him,"Are you Mr Solihin?" Suddenly he bursted with laughter. He was still laughing when he finally spoke to me,"No,I'm not mr Solihin, Mr.Solihin is the one who wear pink shirt whom you talked to just now,ahahahaha" I was so embarassed. I felt so silly that I asked to mr Solihin where Mr Solihin is.
Ok,after 2 weeks or so, finally my applications were finished and i turned them in. The first selection test was coming in about 1 week, but i didn't prepare anything. Well i read some newspaper and read some news in the internet but only in the morning before the test began. And finally, it was the test day!
-to be continued
This started when I was in 10th grade,which was more than 1 years ago. In the beginning of 2008 (i guess), I heard from my sister's friend(who was a returnee from Japan as an exchange student) that an exchange program named AFS(American Field Service) was starting to open the registration for 10th grade students who were interested to be an exchange student to apply for this program. At first, i hesitated because a year before my sister asked my parents' permission to apply for this program but my parents didn't allow her because they were afraid that my sister was not religious enough and they worried that my sister might be influenced by other religions if she were abroad. But I've been dreaming about being abroad someday so I was very interested to apply for this program, so I bought the application by myself without telling my parents first. I walked to the AFS office alone and I bought the application for only Rp 25,000 (It's about $2.50). I was really surprised because the application was thick and i had to copies of it. I had to copy my highschool and middle school and elementary school report cards and legalized them, i had to ask my teacher, my parents, my friends, and my neighbor to fill the recommendation letters, and many other required documents. And i had this funny experience, i was looking for my school's headmaster of curriculum to get his recommendation, but i didn't know who he is, what he looked like, i only knew his name, Mr.Solihin. So I looked for him in the teacher's office,and someone said he's inside, so i entered the office, and i asked again to a man who wore Pink shirt, "Sir,do you know where Mr.Solihin is?" And he answered,"Oh,he's not coming today, he's playing." I didn't believe him, he might be kidding me, so i asked another teacher,and he pointed to a man who sat in the back of the room. I asked him,"Are you Mr Solihin?" Suddenly he bursted with laughter. He was still laughing when he finally spoke to me,"No,I'm not mr Solihin, Mr.Solihin is the one who wear pink shirt whom you talked to just now,ahahahaha" I was so embarassed. I felt so silly that I asked to mr Solihin where Mr Solihin is.
Ok,after 2 weeks or so, finally my applications were finished and i turned them in. The first selection test was coming in about 1 week, but i didn't prepare anything. Well i read some newspaper and read some news in the internet but only in the morning before the test began. And finally, it was the test day!
-to be continued
Labels: AFS, Journey to the US, YES
a moment of my life, 4:09 PM.
