IPSE

The event all YES Abroad hopefuls dream of, the In-person Selection Event was a weekend full of amazing moments, nerve-wracking assessments and definitely a LOT of surprises.

This year, it was held in an airport hotel in Denver from March 24-26. YES Abroad paid for me and the other semi-finalist from my state to fly from our local airport, along with every other associated expense except for travel meals and checked baggage - I don't think anyone checked anything, though.

During the IPSE, we all had an individual interview and two group evaluations. I wasn't too worried about either, and I don't want to cheat and reveal the questions or group activities, so all that I'll say is that you should be self-confident and ready to work really well with a group! I'll be making a post about study abroad interviews in general, so just refer to that one when you have questions about the individual interview.

For meals, we had a set group to sit with, which I thought was a nice idea - there was less clique-forming and a good amount of time to get familiar with the people at the table. I was in Group B, and all of us incidentally were chosen as Finalists!

From left to right, we were chosen for Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, and Ghana. A few of us chose other opportunities but we're all going abroad next year, and that's what counts!

Another big part of the IPSE was getting to know the 89 other applicants who were flown in. We had a lot of free time in between meals and evaluations, giving us plenty of time to make new friends. I found it a little exhausting, but overall it was just amazing to be in a setting where you could go up to anyone and just strike up a conversation. I know everyone went away with at least a couple of great new friends. By the end of the event, everyone was scrambling to join the Facebook group and add each other.

If I were to impart ONE tip.... definitely bring something to entertain not only yourself, but a group. When I heard 'bring something to do' I assumed that my Kindle and iPod would be enough, but it would have been nice to have had a stack of Uno cards or Bananagrams or something that a group could have fun with. And, just prepare yourself to socialize a LOT and don't be afraid to talk to anyone, 'cause nobody bit! Don't freak out about clothes either. Just wear school-appropriate clothes (nice, not-ripped jeans, clean shoes, cute shirts, etc) and bring something a little more formal (but not TOO formal) for your interview and you'll be a-okay.

Anyway, one of the most memorable parts of the weekend, for me, was getting to hang out with the four other lovely ladies who had made up the Facebook group before the IPSE. We spent idle hours freaking out and talking to each other, so we were pretty familiar by the time we got to meet in person. One afternoon we spent freaking out and running around taking pictures.

Katie and Olivia, in an accurate representation of our adventures.

Carly, Katie, and Liv looking fabulous.

Overall, the IPSE was an amazing experience, and just a little taste of all that YES Abroad can do to change your life and perspective. Even from that short weekend, I gained a lot of insight about myself and others that I've been applying to my life. With the DC orientation fast approaching, I can't help but look back on the IPSE and think of how far I've come and how far I've yet to go.

Feel free to ask me anything you'd like, and enjoy this spam of miscellaneous pictures!

95 Days

As I sit here in the darkness of our computer/guest room in a giant leather chair, it doesn't feel quite real that I'll be leaving for New York City - and then Indonesia - in just 95 days.

It's hard to believe that in 95 days, I'll have had a crazy summer, said goodbye to old and new friends, backed my bags, and be in a hotel, getting ready to leave for the adventure of a lifetime. I've seen photos of Indonesia, and I've started to study the language, but I know it won't be real until I step off the plane and feel the heat and smell the smells of my home for the next 10 months.

How do I feel? Excited. Nervous. Very tired - I just finished my Sophomore year of high school, and I'm ready to make up all the sleep I missed. And as always, I'm hungry for more information, although I have recently received a big packet from AFS in the mail and will be attending conference calls and an orientation in DC very soon.

Google has been my best friend due to my local library's woeful lack of books about Indonesia, and I'm hoping to speak to some Indonesia inbounds/rebounds more before I leave. When my bahasa Indonesia gets better, I want to find a native speaker to chat with, too. The language is easy to learn and I think it's fun - but really, I'm just glad it shares an alphabet with English.

In the next 95 days, as I've mentioned, I plan on hanging out with all my friends, reading books, watching movies, and soaking up as much of Boise as possible while I still can. I have a 'Boise Bucket List' and I do hope to cross everything off before I step on the plane to New York City! It includes visiting some local restaurants, festivals, and stores and of course, taking lots and lots of pictures to share with my Indonesian host family.

In other news, I recently received information about my flights to and from the National Pre-Departure Orientation. I leave from Boise on the 26th at 5:35 AM, have a layover in Minneapolis, and will hopefully arrive in DC at 2 PM. This makes me very happy, as there will be a lot of leeway in case I have a delay and I'll have some time to hang out with others.

When I leave DC, I'll be going through Phoenix and will arrive - again, hopefully - at 11 PM. These are the craziest flight times I've ever had, but I'm not complaining! I'm just glad to be a recipient of this amazing scholarship and to be going in the first place.

Before NPDO in DC, I hope to finally make that post about the IPSE. Look forward to it, readers. I have lots and looooooots of pictures to post.

Until next time! :)

In-Home Interviews... done!

So instead of editing my newspaper articles like a good student, I've decided to write a little bit about my in-home interviews, which I had today!

As I have mentioned once or twice, I'm going to Indonesia next year - the program for Indonesia is implemented by AFS, which means even we YES Abroad students participate in in-home interviews! Basically they're to get more information about you so they can place you in the host family that will fit you best.

It was an interesting experience. My interviewers, my mom and I sat in our living room and they asked us a lot of questions about our home life, my hobbies, and my personality. It was a little nerve-wracking, making sure I worded everything just right!

The interview lasted an hour and it was pretty low-key. If I had any tips to offer future outbounds, about this and all other interviews, it'd be to just reeeelax, and prepare to laugh a lot and make light jokes and stuff. My mom always tells me to put a positive spin on whatever I say but not to sugar-coat things so much as to seem just unrealistic, and that's good advice. Always have good posture, look your interviewer in the eye, and remember that they're there not to judge you, so much as to learn more about you. So get ready to talk a LOT about yourself!

Overall, I find interviews pretty fun. I've done 4 exchange-related ones so far if you don't count my group evaluations at the IPSE! So I'll be pretty well-prepared for even college and job interviews in the future.

Aaaand that reminds me! I've already started making the plans that will shape my summer. Along with going to DC June 26-29th for the YES Abroad Pre-departure Orientation, I'll be applying to work with a local group, developing teen programs and awareness for relationship abuse. How cool is that? Along with doing things with my friends and maybe even volunteering for a summer food program. I am so pumped for the school year to be over. Only 20 more school days and then I'll be FREE!

Anyway, I really need to get started now. So, until later!

Exchange, for free!

I applied to all three major study abroad scholarships - CBYX (to Germany), NSLI-Y (Arabic Year) and YES Abroad. I was rejected for CBYX about a month ago, but I definitely expected it. The four other kids there at the interview all had German experience, and were almost all older than me. No bad feelings there!

Then I was accepted as a semi-finalist to YES Abroad and got to go to the IPSE in Denver, which was an amazing experience in itself. About three weeks later, I was accepted to Indonesia!!

I just got to check my email after an afternoon out with my friends, and unfortunately I was rejected from NSLI-Y. But, again, no bad feelings - I'd go with YES no matter what! I love the sense of community and emphasis on culture YES Abroad has to offer, and besides... how many people get to say they studied abroad for a year in INDONESIA???

Anyway, I'd like to take a second to list all the scholarships and programs future outbounds should explore. If there are any wrong facts or biases in here, please excuse me. In fact, take this all with a grain of salt and remember to DO YOUR RESEARCH before choosing scholarships and making assumptions! A really great place to start is Cultures Shocked. Trust me... I've spent a lot of time reading threads there. ;)

CBYX, or Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange, sends American students to Germany, and vice-versa. Five different organizations (AFS, YFU, ASSE, CIEE, and one more that I can't remember at the moment :P) take applicants from a certain area and handle their applications and interviews. CBYX doesn't pay for airfare to your domestic gateway, and no stipends are given either. But everything else (international airfare, tuition, cultural excursions, insurance) are paid for. It's an AMAZING opportunity to see Germany and Europe! Learn more about CBYX

NSLI-Y, or National Security Language Initiative for Youth, is a program that focuses mainly on learning languages that the US Government finds most useful. Those are Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, Hindi, Russian, and Persian. There are summer and year programs which you can apply for, and EVERYTHING is paid for, including domestic airfare and all your classes. There are generally a lot more spots for summer programs, but those are also the most competitive - in fact, NSLI-Y in general is a very competitive program. Learn more about NSLI-Y

And finally... YES Abroad, the program that has brought me the opportunity of a lifetime... to study abroad in a Muslim country! That's the focus of YES Abroad - to send students to spend a year as cultural ambassadors in Ghana, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Oman, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Morocco, and India. If you're selected as a semi-finalist, you get to spend 3 days in Denver to do interviews and group evaluations; if you're a Finalist, you get to go to a Pre-Departure Orientation in Washington, DC and then to your country - completely for FREE. I'll be making a full post about YES Abroad later, so stay tuned! Learn more about YES Abroad

Those three are the big, main scholarships which are sponsored by the US State Department and have no fees whatsoever to apply. There are also plenty of scholarships through individual organizations that are well worth checking out! I'll link to all of the ones I know of here, and offer a little description.

ASSE - there are a couple of 90-100% scholarships available, but generally ASSE is cheaper than AFS, YFU, and other organizations.

AFS - AFS doesn't offer many full-ride scholarships on their own, but there are lots of partials, and they implement some of NSLI-Y, YES, and CBYX programs. 

YFU - YFU offers some full ride scholarships and a lot of partial. They also have a unique program called the Art Year, which is like an exchange - you go to school, have a host family, and etc. But you also get to participate in the arts like music, visual arts, dance and more! It's definitely worth checking out.

CIEE - Unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with CIEE, but it looks like they have a couple of scholarships available! 

If you're looking for a Gap Year abroad, there are also non-exchange opportunities that could come cheap, like being an au pair, doing Workaway, and MANY many more. That's something I might talk about later, but they're worth looking up on Google or CS. Go crazy! :)