Wow! These past few weeks have been SUPER busy! You'd think after school ends and all the AP tests and Final Exams are over, life would get less stressful, but that hasn't really been the case. So yeah... it's been a while since I've posted. Sorry about that. So in my last post I talked about how I was freaking accepted as a finalist in the CBYX program (!!) and about the whole interview process. Needless to say, since then a lot has happened.
So after I found out about the whole CBYX thing, I had endless meetings with my guidance counselor, who helped me figure out the whole credits and graduating deal. Unfortunately, my school district has many stupid policies that make everything much more difficult for exchange students like me. See, I was planning on taking online classes during my stay in Germany and then just getting my diploma when I came back and finished all my credits. I was figuring that my PE and German classes in Germany would transfer and would show up on my transcript. Unfortunately, that's not exactly how it happened. So basically once I'm in Germany I'm no longer living in Washoe County, so I am no longer considered a Washoe County student, so I cannot receive a Washoe County diploma, even if I finish all the requirements for a Washoe County diploma. Soo I pretty much had two options: take a 5th year semester AFTER I get back, or take summer classes and graduate BEFORE I leave. If I absolutely had to, I would do a semester when I get back, but I chose the second option. I might be regretting that choice right now. The only credits I still need at this point are Government, English, and PE. I've already finished Government, and now I'm working on English and I don't know if I'll ever finish in time. There's just a ton of reading to do, and I'm not the fastest reader, and I'd like to finish it in the next 2 weeks before I go out of town. So yeah... that's my predicament and I'm not too happy about, but it will all be worth it when I finally arrive in Germany!
On a more happy note, I have a HOST FAMILY!! I actually got my host family like 2 months ago, sorry for not telling you guys. Oops! Anyway, I've emailed my host family a little bit, and I've facebook stalked them, and they are just adorable! My host parents are Christian and Petra and they have a 4 year old son named Leo! They are so freaking adorable and I can't wait to meet them!! They live in a small town called Jülich in the very west of Germany near Aachen and Dusseldorf. I've looked up soo many pictures and it looks like a super cute little town, and OH MY GOSH the school I"m going to is LITERALLY A CASTLE!! It's called Gymnasium Zitadelle (even the name is fun to say) and it was built in the freaking 1500's!! The US didn't even freaking exist then! The school I'm going to is older than our country! I'm just a little excited if you couldn't tell :)
Also, side note, but I have also been practicing some German too. Not nearly enough, but I guess every little bit helps. I made a bajillion flashcards with conjugations and vocab and stuff and I've been practicing on duolingo and fluentu (which are awesome resources that I highly recommend). At this rate, though, I'll never master akkusative and dative endings! I'm hoping I will learn faster in Germany, and I won't make to big of a fool out of myself. I gotta say, I am hecka nervous about it.
Anyway, I think this post is long enough. Hopefully I'll actually post some things before I leave, but you never know. I have proven to be pretty bad at this whole consistency thing. Less than a month until I fly off the DC!! AHHH I CAN'T WAIT!!!
So after I found out about the whole CBYX thing, I had endless meetings with my guidance counselor, who helped me figure out the whole credits and graduating deal. Unfortunately, my school district has many stupid policies that make everything much more difficult for exchange students like me. See, I was planning on taking online classes during my stay in Germany and then just getting my diploma when I came back and finished all my credits. I was figuring that my PE and German classes in Germany would transfer and would show up on my transcript. Unfortunately, that's not exactly how it happened. So basically once I'm in Germany I'm no longer living in Washoe County, so I am no longer considered a Washoe County student, so I cannot receive a Washoe County diploma, even if I finish all the requirements for a Washoe County diploma. Soo I pretty much had two options: take a 5th year semester AFTER I get back, or take summer classes and graduate BEFORE I leave. If I absolutely had to, I would do a semester when I get back, but I chose the second option. I might be regretting that choice right now. The only credits I still need at this point are Government, English, and PE. I've already finished Government, and now I'm working on English and I don't know if I'll ever finish in time. There's just a ton of reading to do, and I'm not the fastest reader, and I'd like to finish it in the next 2 weeks before I go out of town. So yeah... that's my predicament and I'm not too happy about, but it will all be worth it when I finally arrive in Germany!
On a more happy note, I have a HOST FAMILY!! I actually got my host family like 2 months ago, sorry for not telling you guys. Oops! Anyway, I've emailed my host family a little bit, and I've facebook stalked them, and they are just adorable! My host parents are Christian and Petra and they have a 4 year old son named Leo! They are so freaking adorable and I can't wait to meet them!! They live in a small town called Jülich in the very west of Germany near Aachen and Dusseldorf. I've looked up soo many pictures and it looks like a super cute little town, and OH MY GOSH the school I"m going to is LITERALLY A CASTLE!! It's called Gymnasium Zitadelle (even the name is fun to say) and it was built in the freaking 1500's!! The US didn't even freaking exist then! The school I'm going to is older than our country! I'm just a little excited if you couldn't tell :)
Also, side note, but I have also been practicing some German too. Not nearly enough, but I guess every little bit helps. I made a bajillion flashcards with conjugations and vocab and stuff and I've been practicing on duolingo and fluentu (which are awesome resources that I highly recommend). At this rate, though, I'll never master akkusative and dative endings! I'm hoping I will learn faster in Germany, and I won't make to big of a fool out of myself. I gotta say, I am hecka nervous about it.
Anyway, I think this post is long enough. Hopefully I'll actually post some things before I leave, but you never know. I have proven to be pretty bad at this whole consistency thing. Less than a month until I fly off the DC!! AHHH I CAN'T WAIT!!!