AFS Student Exchange Blog: February 2009 Archives

AFSer Michelle: Orange-Throwing Festival in Italy

By AFS on February 27, 2009 11:00 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This picture is of some of the many AFS kids in Peimonte from all over the world! We all met up in Ivrea for the Orange Carnival. You may be wondering why so many of us are wearing silly red hats... well, the thing about this carnival is that the entirety of it revolves around orange wars. There are many different teams that ride around in horse-drawn chariots and they chuck oranges at the crowd, and the crowd in return chucks oranges at them! Read more.

AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Italy.

AFSer Tahoma: 1st week at school in Brazil

By AFS on February 25, 2009 3:17 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Well I've made it through my first week of school! For it only being a week I feel like I've come pretty far. In the beginning I was really shy and didn't talk much, but then when this girl Jessica, for the second time, asked me why I was so quiet I realized that I needed to be more outgoing. I'm a total stranger here and a foreigner and I need to take advantage of that. I can choose any personality I desire if I want to, and they won´t know if its the "real" me or not. So I applied that thinking and I think that it has benefited me greatly. Ive made a fool of myself a few times, but that´s all part of the experience! Read more.

AFS offers year and semester programs to Brazil.

AFSer Marianna: Kite Flying Festival in India

By AFS on February 24, 2009 5:37 PM | 2 Comments | No TrackBacks

Uttarayan (Also Known As..... Kite Flying Festival) was celebrated on January 14th and 15th! It was lots of fun for me because I had never really seen so many kites, and I also learned to fly kites in a different way! The purpose of flying kites is to cut the kite strings of other people! It is a lot of fun because whenever you cut someone else's kite string you yell "LAPET" which means "reel it in!" Read more.

AFS offers year programs to India.

AFSer Eric: Reaching the Halfway Point in Turkey

By AFS on February 23, 2009 5:25 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Just got back from the Mid-Stay Camp and I had an amazing time. Seeing all (well most) the AFSers again was so great, and having to leave them again I realize how close we have all become and that it will be so difficult to leave them when my year is over.

Also at camp, a few things were pointed out to me. First of all, apparently I'm taller. I hadn't noticed but I got asked that question by about the entire camp. Secondly, it seems that I have matured as I heard from both counselors and students that I am much less annoying which will no doubt come as a relief to my regular lunch table in the US. Read more.

AFS offers year and summer programs to Turkey.

AFSer Geoff: Confronting a Sea of Sheep in Argentina

By AFS on February 20, 2009 3:22 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Traffic was at a stand still en route to Punta Arenas...

Read about Geoff's current AFS exchange in Argentina.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Argentina.

AFSer Veronica: Not-so-Pink Flamingoes in Hungary

By AFS on February 13, 2009 4:26 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

WOW! Yesterday was so awesome! So, I'm in a little village near Székesfehérvar at the moment. I got here on Friday night. I just took the bus. It's called Mór and it looks just like something out of "A Year in Provence," right down to the crazy neighbor whose name I can't remember. My host family has already taken me to so many places. We even went to Veszprém yesterday to an Állat Kert (zoo)! I also got to go to Balaton Tó yesterday, an ancient church (crypt and all), Balaton Füred, and to a funny Hungarian movie called Made in Hungaria! I don't know if its out in the US or not.

So, I now have evidence that paprika can be used for everything from food to dyeing flamingos pink. Read more.

AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Hungary.

AFSer Nic: Skiing and Side Trips from Russia

By AFS on February 12, 2009 10:37 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

So the Holidays were really nice. We went to Finland and that was really fun. It's a really beautiful country and I learned how to ski, which was the best part! We also played curling and I enjoyed that too. We celebrated New Year's there and we got back late at night on the Russian Christmas, so we didn't really celebrate that. We drove to Finland so that took awhile, about a day. We drove through St. Petersburg at night which was really beautiful but unfortunately we didn't stop.

In other interesting news, on the 20th we are going to the city Kazan for 5 days because there are mountains to ski and it's supposed to be a really cool city so that should be a lot of fun. It will take about 5 hours to get there by car. There they have an indoor water park and they just built one of the biggest movie theaters in the world so I can't wait to see all that! Read more.

AFS offers year and semester programs to Russia.

AFSer Michelle in Italy: "I Love it All!"

By AFS on February 9, 2009 12:10 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I have been here for a week, and it has been the most exciting week of my life! Basically, I love it all:

I love the food.
I love the language.
I love my host family.
I love Fossano.
I love my class.
I love the sidewalks.
I love the coffee.
I love the other intercultura kids in my local chapter.
I love the Alps that you can see any direction you look.
I love the castle in Fossano.
I love Via Roma (a street)
I love the snow.
I love the victory of communication.
I love speaking full sentences in Italian with correct grammar!
I love the bread.
I love the pasta.
I love the cheese.
I love the fake Mexican food my host family and I tried to piece together.
I love the snack between 4 and 5 O'clock that has it's own name.
I love my friends.
I love setting the table and clearing the table for dinner.
I love my house.
I love the little socks with sticky things on the bottom that we wear in the house.
I love Cuneo.

I love my routine.
I love walking home after school.
I love the neighbors dog.
I love teaching my friends weird English phrases.
I love the cobblestones of the main street here.
I love the tiny little shops.
I love olive oil that the neighbors make and give to us.
I love my life in Italy!

AFSer Patrick: Chinese New Year in Hong Kong

By AFS on February 6, 2009 4:21 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Chinese New Year is serious business around here. There is a massive street fairs going on in Causeway Bay and Victoria Park. They have all sorts of different flowers, each supposed to bring their own brand of luck in the New Year. There are thousands of orange trees lined up everywhere, they are all for good luck as well. There are pin wheels that are supposed to change bad luck to good and red everywhere. This up coming year is the year of the ox. So there are all sorts of things floating around that are cow related. I bought a pack of cards that looks like a chocolate milk package. Read more.

AFS offers year programs to Hong Kong

AFSer Jessie: "I am in Ecuador!"

By AFS on February 5, 2009 5:29 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

I am in Ecuador! I am only several days into my AFS experience and my perception of America, Spanish speaking countries, education and life in general have significantly changed. I am writing this e-mail on my new friend's laptop. His name is Adrian and were are incredibly similar, it is as if we have know each other our entire lives. I have observed that the AFS experience attracts people of the same kind, no matter what language they speak or their country of origin. Read more.

This student is a Global Leaders Scholar. Learn more about this scholarship opportunity.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Ecuador.

AFSer Sydney: Reflecting on 6 months in Argentina

By AFS on February 3, 2009 1:51 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Tomorrow is exactly 6 months since I first arrived in Argentina. Wow, so much has happened to me. I have grown up so much. Now that in one week I'm turning 17, I'm starting to look back on everything that has been going on. Although some things have made me learn my lesson the hard way, I don't think I regret anything. I am just that much stronger. It's hard to know exactly who I am. No, I can't think about it or write it down. Sometimes I feel dumber, but I know I definitely am not. I have learned that people are people, all capable of love and hate; it doesn't matter the color of your skin or how much money you have. Read more.

AFS offers year, semester and summer programs to Argentina.

AFSer Marissa: Tribute to Norway

By AFS on February 2, 2009 3:46 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

AFS offers year programs to Norway .

AFSer Francine: Ministay in Denmark

By AFS on February 1, 2009 12:59 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Every year, AFS Denmark arranges a ministay for all exchangies. A ministay is where you live with another family in another part of the country for a week. So exchangies can see more of Denmark and experience another lifestyle, and potential host families can try having an exchangie to see if it's something they would be interested in doing for a year. I went to Næstved, a town in southern Sjælland along with Daiki, Francesca, and Veronica. It was really great! Read more.

AFS offers year programs to Denmark.

February 2009 Archives