☆And then there was some news...

Great news, the Ticker works! So I now have 6 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days until I go to Japan! Unfortunately, everything else seems to be coming at such a slow pace. I haven't heard anything from the Rotary club for awhile. No news about my district... Or no news about where I will be living. Well, here I am making it sound so dramatic! It's only been about 2 weeks since the interview, so that's understandable.

Fortunately, I've met with some other exchange students on FaceBook that are also going to Japan with Rotary this year! We've been talking for awhile now; it's awesome! It's cool that I get to "prepare" and fantasize about going to Japan with other girls my age. One is from America, and the other is from Brazil. I most likely will meet the girl from America when we fly to LA for our pre-departure orientation. The next day, we'll fly to Japan together! As for the girl from Brazil... I probably won't get to meet her until I'm actually in Japan and the Rotary club there holds a meeting, which they say are held periodically (usually one to two times a month).

Also, I received an invite from one of the girls that were at the Rotary interview on FaceBook! We've been talking back and forth, and we've added all the other people that were at the interview as well, though I don't really talk to them. She hasn't heard any information either concerning which district she'll be placed in. Another person I met on FaceBook, who is going to Japan with Rotary this year as well, said that she got accepted by Rotary in mid-December, and that she found out her district the second week in January. It shouldn't be long (hopefully) before we find out our information...

This Saturday I have my BPA regional competition. BPA stands for Business Professionals of America, which is a "club" that I participate in at school. I will be doing "keyboarding" (typing) because I can type 100 words per minute without mistakes ^^" But I also have to know basic knowledge about computers. For the BPA meets we HAVE to be dressed in business attire. Unfortunately for me, I found out just yesterday that the meet was this Saturday, so I had absolutely nothing to wear! My mom picked me up early from school to find an outfit... And I wound up with this...

A bright blue and green business suit... The picture doesn't do it justice. (And yes, that is a miniature Christmas tree in the background. I feel like it really adds some warmth to my room, so I'm keeping it up! haha xD) My mom bought it because it was on sale... She said, "You can't beat this price!" I kind of like it, but a lot of times people think my tastes in fashion are... Strange... So I'm worried people might tell me I look like a Peacock or a Chameleon. D: Oh well, we'll see how it goes.

☆7 Months and 1 Day until Departure?

I found this one website called "Cultures-Shocked", which is a place where foreign exchange students (past, present, and future) can talk to each other and give advice. I noticed that several people had these countdown apps on their signatures, so I decided to make one!

I think these are so cool! You can actually choose the background of your "ticker" (and there are a lot to choose from) as well as the icon, mine being the airplane. I chose an airplane soaring through the clouds because (1) I'm a huge airplane/airport nerd, and (2) it's quite fitting.
I had some trouble posting this onto my blog, so I had to post it as a picture, though I don't know if it will "count down" like that... Unfortunately, I don't know when the exact day of departure will be, so I put in August 21st, 2012, which is the date most people usually leave on their Rotary exchanges. This day is actually on a Tuesday, so I highly doubt they'll send me then. It most likely will be on Saturday, August 18th, or the following Saturday, on August 25th. I hope it's closer to August 18th! ^^;

7 months is still kind of a long time, unfortunately, so I'm more focused on counting down the weeks of school! I have 17 left, excluding Spring Break. Our school is split up into "9 weeks" and two 9 weeks makes up a semester. It makes me feel better to say, "Next 9 weeks is the last!" but we just started this session, so... I still have quite awhile! But after school lets out I can chill during summer. I will be working so I can buy a camera and maybe a cheap laptop (I'm afraid to take my current one, the hardware is corrupt, so it has many problems. Sometimes they're so bad I can't even get on) before I leave for my exchange. The money for my exchange is due on May 1st! Ah! Suddenly it feels like I need more time ^^;

I'm going to be studying my Japanese hardcore now! I can read hiragana and katakana, and I studied quite a bit of vocabulary. My mom bought me a small phrasebook, and I'm going to try to memorize the whole thing, even the "unnecessary" parts, like going to the bank, sending mail, etc. I think it will help me in the future to know that type of vocabulary, and also it might help my Japanese progress much faster once I reach Japan!

☆I'M GOING TO JAPAN!

Today, I got online to check my mail, and saw that Tuso from the Rotary meeting sent me an e-mail saying, "HEY I DIDNT GET JAPAN BUT I GOT SWEDEN :p IM GLAD YOU GOT IT THO:)"

At first I was like, "What? How did he find out that he was accepted? And what country he got? We weren't even supposed to know until March... How did you know I got Japan?!" So, I jumped onto my other e-mail and saw a message from Rotary! I opened it, and it said:

I am pleased to inform you that you have passed the interview part of your long term exchange application!
The recommendation of the committee is for you to exchange with Japan.
I flipped out when I read this message! I replied to my exchange counselor and told her, "Oh my gosh! Thank you!" (I know, not the most professional, but I was so happy that I didn't know what to say!)
Being excited, I ran into my mom's room (and crashed into the couch in the living room while doing so) and jumped into her bed and told her the news! So now we're all happy, and I'm happy and.... AH! I'M JUST SO HAPPY! I can barely sit still! I just want to run and scream around the neighborhood (but it's 10 PM and I have school tomorrow...) I have this stupid grin on my face that I can't get rid of!
***** My exchange counselor just sent me an e-mail saying:


I could hardly wait to tell you! 
I spoke with Toussaint this afternoon. He will be going to Sweden instead of Japan. He asked if you would be going to Japan and I told him you would be going. He wanted me to be sure and tell you how pleased he was that you were selected for Japan.
So now I know how Tuso knew! Tuso is so nice! Though I'm a bit upset that he didn't get Japan. I wanted us to be "J-buddies" :T But, I guess fate has a different course for us. That sounded so cheesy, didn't it? But we'll get to see each other at the Rotary meetings and still be buddies, and I hope he keeps a blog on Sweden, too. I think Sweden is also an awesome country!
I thought I wouldn't get Japan. During both interviews, I was asked, "You seem pretty serious about going to Japan. What if we can't send you to that country?" so, I told them what every exchange student told me NOT TO... "Well, if I can't go to Japan I don't think I'll go to a second country. It's not that I'm not open-minded, but I only get to go to a foreign country as a high school student once. I would try again next year." After that, they all looked at each other like, "Is she serious?" I thought I was going to die, and regretted saying that. But, after that they smiled at me and said, "I'm glad you're so serious about going! You really are fascinated with Japanese culture, aren't you?!"

Oh, Japan! You are filled with wonders!

Okay! So I need to get some sleep now! It still feels like my heart is in my throat, and that butterflies are in my stomach. I can still feel my adrenaline rushing through my arms. I don't know how I'll get sleep tonight!

☆The Interview...

Well, today I had my interview... How did it go? Pretty swell, if I should say so myself! At first, I was really nervous! I was shaking really bad, my stomach was cramping, and my hands were sweating. I was afraid that I would say the wrong thing during the interview, or while I was doing it I would mess up on words like I usually do when I'm nervous. I still did (ah, I have to learn to overcome that!) but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My mom helped me review the interview questions beforehand so I think that helped a little.

Whenever we arrived at the college where the meeting was being held, there was only one other student there, a boy and his mother. My interview was scheduled at 9:30, and his at 10:00, but my "partner" didn't show up so they pushed his interview to my time. There were two rooms filled with interviewers (I would say about 4-5 in each) and we both went into different rooms. The first room I went to had an exchange student, a boy from France, and he participated in the interviewing process (I'm not sure how old he was though! Maybe my age?) After our interviews were done, we switched rooms, and when I went to the second one I was met by an older woman who hugged me and said, "I finally get to meet you!"

I had no idea who she was or what she was talking about! So, I smiled and said, "Yeah! I'm so glad!"
Turns out, she was the person I had been communicating with for almost a year about my exchange! She knew who I was because of my name tag ^^" There was also another exchange student! A girl from Brazil! I don't know how old she was either, but she looked older than me.

So, back to the other exchange student! His name is Toussaint, but I call him Tosu for short.When we came back from our interviews, we started talking, and it turns out he wants to go to Japan, too! He also wants to go for a full year, and we both started talking about everything we wanted to do in Japan! Then, an older Rotarian (who is actually from Germany) came up to us and said, "This is really weird, but we actually have another student who wants to go to Japan as well. Usually there are NO people that want to go, so it's funny how we have so many applicants this year!"

We never did talk to the other boy, and we rarely talked to the other exchange students as well. Everybody else was kind of quiet, and we were laughing a lot ^^" Hopefully we both get Japan! It would be cool to go to the orientations (as well as fly to Japan) with somebody I know! We actually both exchanged e-mails so we could communicate. We'll meet the other exchange students when we have the orientation camp, which will be in April, at the Moody Gardens hotel at Galveston! AH! I'M SO EXCITED! I HOPE EVERYBODY GOT ACCEPTED, AND THEIR COUNTRY CHOICES! I hope the next time we meet we'll warm up easier ^^ I also hope to have a video blog on YouTube when I go on exchange, but I don't have a camera yet :T

The dress I wore to my interview... It reminds me of something that the characters off of Zelda: Wind Waker would wear, and I really like it!

☆The Introduction-like Introduction

I shall now present to you a slightly more proper introduction~

Hi, my name is Vikka, I'm 15 years old (but I'll be 16 in March) and I'm also a sophomore in high school. I, as of right now, will hopefully be going to Japan this year, in 2012, as a foreign exchange student for my junior year of high school for a year.

Why Japan? It's hard to describe, but I know that I've wanted to go to Japan for as long as I can remember. Since I was 5 years old! I remember in Kindergarten we were studying the alphabet, and with each new letter we would learn words that started with it. When we got to "G" my teacher handed us coloring pages that had a portrait of a Geisha on it. I remember I thought she was so beautiful. I couldn't see her full outfit, but I loved her hair ornaments... She had the traditional geisha up-do, and the kanzashi flowers.. After that, I always asked my teacher for that same coloring page, even after we had moved onto different letters. After she stopped giving them to me, I tried drawing "her" myself. It... Was a major fail! ^^"

That information might not be as significant, but it's something I can look back on and laugh. I know that this "obsession" I have with Japan isn't new, but I've had it my whole life. As a child, I would always drag my mom into Asian antique stores, and Asian restaurants (the architecture is quite similar) so I could see anything that resembled Japan. I love Japan so much... I really admire how they are one of the most advanced nations, yet they've kept their traditional values. Here is a quote that I feel describes my reasons perfectly.....

"Few people in the modern world are not affected in some way by the ideas, culture, and economy of Japan, yet this country remains for many an enigma, and unsolved riddle. Westernized, but different from any Western country, Asian, but clearly unlike any other Asian society, Japan is a uniquely adaptable place where tradition and modernity are part of one continuum." -DK Eyewitness Travel: JAPAN 


I LOVE pictures like these. Just casual streets in Japan... The close-together buildings, the power lines everywhere above your head, the walls on both sides of the street... It feels cozy, and like home. I really like Japanese architecture. Even simple stuff like this:

My interview is tomorrow! I got a dress (it kind of looks like a modern twist on Greek traditional dresses). It's not too casual and not too formal, which is what I need for this interview. I'm really ecstatic! I found out that we'll be interviewed 2 at a time. My interview partner's name is Shelsy. I looked through the list of names, and to my dismay I don't know a single person from my school. My town is small, but my Rotary district includes several towns.

Well! This will be exciting!

☆Introduction

Hello! I decided to start writing a blog to tell, and document, my travels in Japan as a foreign exchange student. As of right now, I haven't been officially accepted to go to Japan, and I've yet to be "officially" accepted by my exchange program, RYE, or Rotary Youth Exchange. But worry not, my dear friends, for my interview is this Saturday! I already was interviewed by my own small group of Rotarians, and they told me that they thought I would be an excellent candidate! Tomorrow, I'm taking school off to go find a proper outfit to wear to the meeting, since this one is formal.

I'm really REALLY excited for this interview, because it's not just an interview... It's a seminar! I think that *after* the interviews are finished, a meeting will be held to talk about the Rotary club and exchange in general. But that's not the best part... I get to meet the other to-be exchange students! It feels like this exchange is starting to become more real. For years I've wanted to do this, but I wasn't old enough. It seems like I've been saying, "I'm going to go to Japan soon!" for so long that I almost started to not believe it myself. But now, everything is starting to happen at a fast pace, but I'm ready for it! I heard there is one boy who also wants to go to Japan, but for a semester. I think my mom said that my counselor sent her an actual list of the other exchange students. I'll have to check tomorrow! Maybe I know one from school?

I know this wasn't really a proper "introduction" post, but I felt like this was the best way to step into my blog. I'll make a proper introduction post later. I was just really excited to talk about this! I know it doesn't seem like it would be that exciting, but I've been waiting for this day forever. It seems like going on exchange is suddenly becoming real, instead of me just talking about it!