August 2009 Archives

Alright so after the plane ride from Miami to Santo Domingo on Friday we slept in a welcome home for the night. Then in the morning we went back to the AFS center and we met people from different parts of the world like Thailand, Iceland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, etc. I had to go on a bus to Puerto Plata with one of the AFS volunteers, Mario. The ride from Santo Domingo to Santiago was two hours and then we had a two hour break and ate lunch (locrio, salad, platano maduro and dominican raisin cake) and got back on the bus to Puerto Plata which was another 2 hours. Read more.

AFS offers year programs to the Dominican Republic.

LUNES: 13:00-14:00 -- Taller Optativo (elective that i need to choose)
14:00-15:00 -- " "
15:00-16:00 -- Literatura I
16:00-17:00 -- Literatura I
17:00-18:00 -- Historia Nacional
18:00-19:00 -- Historia Nacional
MARTES: 13:00-14:00 -- Materia Optativo (elective that i need to choose)
14:00-15:00 -- " "
15:00-16:00 -- Ecología
16:00-17:00 -- Ecología
17:00-18:00 -- Psicología
18:00-19:00 -- Psicología
MIÉRCOLES: 13:00-14:00 -- Taller Optativo (elective that i need to choose)
14:00-15:00 -- Materia Optativo (elective that i need to choose)
15:00-16:00 -- Filosofía I
16:00-17:00 -- Literatura I
17:00-18:00 -- Historia Nacional
18:00-19:00 -- Historia Nacional
JUEVES: 13:00-14:00 -- Programas de Extension y Dif. Cult.
14:00-15:00 -- " "
15:00-16:00 -- Ecología
16:00-17:00 -- Ecología
17:00-18:00 -- Psicología
18:00-19:00 -- Psicología
VIERNES: 13:00-14:00 -- Programas de Extensión y Dif. Cult.
14:00-15:00 -- " "
15:00-16:00 -- Orientación Educativa
16:00-17:00 -- Orientación Educativa
17:00-18:00 -- Filosofía II
18:00-19:00 -- Filosofía II
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AFS offers semester programs to Mexico.

It was hard to say goodbye to all my friends and family and I'm going to miss you guys a lot. I cried off and on during my flights, but I found a group of other exchange kids and kept conversation with people sitting next to me to ease my mind. By the time I was in DC I was feeling good and ready to go! Things here have been great! Read more.

AFS offers year and summer programs to Turkey

Something I find amusing is the amount of English music my friends know. A few can sing, perfectly, whole songs that I don´t even know the words to. And they understand them! I´m constantly being asked to explain phrases in songs... High and dry was one... Once upon a time was tough...Read more.

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

So it's about 11 am in the Netherlands on my first day otherwise known as my 18th birthday! All the travel here went rather smoothly, the flights seemed short and checking luggage went off without a hitch. Upon arrival at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam we waited for our luggage and passed through...well, nothing. There didn't seem to be any customs when you passed through the sign that said customs, only a mob of eager AFS people to greet us. I finally found the sign that said "Welkom Patrick" and made my way over to Birgit (my host mom). Read more.

AFS offers year programs to the Netherlands.

The cake is called martabak manis. it is like a sweet cakey pancake and the crust on top is really buttery and then there's a layer of chocolate and then i don't think its the same in this picture but on the one we ate there was another layer of cake and then there is more cake with cheese on top. now i know it sounds weird to eat cheese on cake but let me tell you, it doesn't even taste like cheese and it is SO GOOD. if i could eat one thing for the rest of my life until i die it would be martabak manis. Read more.

AFS offers year programs to Indonesia.

Top 5 foods that are present in the US, but different in taste:

1. Peanut Butter (in NZ there's much more of a pure peanut flavor, not sweet at all, unlike the US)
2. Chocolate (Due to there being Cadbury and Whittaker's chocolate, it's much creamier in the case of Cadbury, and much more flavorful in the case of Whittaker's)
3. Honey (not as sweet, but it really works well with chai tea. Not only that, but there's more varieties of it here, the most well-known being Manuka)
4. Milk (I'm not sure how to describe how the flavor is different, but it's quite noticable when you compare them. And I'm comparing 2 of the same type here [like skim vs. skim, etc]. Perhaps that's why milk isn't used as a beverage nearly as often?)
5. Sausages (NZ barbecued sausages are freakin' awesome! Though, it's much less common to see a spicy sausage, unlike the US) See more top 5 lists.

AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to New Zealand.

The past week has been great. I'm really starting to feel like I live here and that I'm a part of the culture, not an outside observer. I've come to appreciate the simplicity of things here and hope to bring that appreciation back to the U.S. when I return. For example, Thursday night was one of the best nights yet. I played cards with my hermanitas (little sisters) and my host dad went up the road to the pulperia (general store) and brought back a pint of ice cream and a bottle of coke. It was a really fun time, and surprisingly simple! Read more.

AFS offers year, semester, and summer programs to Costa Rica.

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AFS offers year and semester programs to Brazil.

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

The 26th was my last really normal day in Iceland... the last time I would be living in my house just me and my host family. I went to the movies that night and then watched TV and chatted with my host family a lot. The next morning was the beginning of the end of stay camp. We went to Heiðmörk (a nature reserve) and planted trees with our host families. Then everyone said their final goodbyes to their host families (except me... I stayed longer!) and got on a bus to go out to Keflavík, the airport town. There we went to the pool, talked in groups about our years as a whole, evaluated the AFS services, and then finally just chilled for 1 last time in our awesome group of some of the greatest people ever! We talked, signed our yearbooks (yeah, we made a yearbook of all the exchangers), had a dance party, hugged, played basketball... great sleepless night. About half of them left on a bus at 5AM... I never cry with goodbyes but I actually cried my eyes out! Read more.

AFS offers year programs to Iceland.

There is so much to talk about, it´s very difficult. I´ll start with ahora, or now. At this moment I am sitting in the office of la escuela (school por chiquititos, little kids, in comparison to colegio por jovenes) de mi mamá. The keyboard is very different, so I aplogize for any mistakes. Also, I´m typing with gloves on. Si, hace mucho frío :( Yesterday was my first day of school. Monday I went with mi mamá y tía y Monica de Italia to buy my uniform. I got a ton of clothes and a new pair of shoes for about $160 US... Muy bien! Here we wear a white blouse with a grey tie, a navy-blue V-neck sweater, blue pants or a skirt with grey tights, grey socks, black shoes, and a blue jacket. Read more.

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

So a week ago i turned 16 and got my driver's license, yesterday i got my visa, and i got my itinerary. On September 2nd I fly non stop from Portland to New York, then on the 3rd I fly from New York to Zurich, Switzerland, then later that day i fly to Madrid, and then after that im not really sure what happens, Im sure it will be fun. But for now im just enjoying the summer and getting ready to go to Yosemite for a week. I will probably put up another post before I leave. Read more.

AFS offers year and summer programs to Spain.

I'm hanging out with my friends a lot just before I go, I'll talk with my family in NJ when I'm up there literally JUST before I go, Maybe I'll even have a party to talk with friends before I leave. Either way, It doesn't FEEL like I'm leaving, aside from the giant duffel bag of clothes and things crowding up my floor...Which I still actually have to go through and decide exactly what I want and what I need. Read more.

AFS offers year programs to Sweden.

Me, Momo-chan, and Okaa-san walked around Asakusa in yukatas. It was actually kind of hard, since it's like wearing a dress. And the people at the hair place decided to be all, "Haha, we're going to put makeup on your face and not tell you until you're putting it on, so you can't do anything about it." Yeah. But it all turned out okay. I looked cool. Read more.

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