After another failed round of sending papers to the Brasilian Embassy for my visa, Theresa at the travel agency determined that it isn't worth going through all the trouble we've been going through to get the visa. Which means no Brasil visa.
That's a good thing, unless I want to travel to Brasil with a host family. But if that's the case, we can try again.
So what now?
Now I get to work on getting my flight organized!!
I'll be leaving between August 4th and 6th, out of Minneapolis.
That's pretty close. I should start packing.
*Procrastinates*
But seriously, I think I'll start in a few days. Pretty sure I'm going to try to put a suitcase inside of a suitcase. That will prevent me from taking too much "stuff" that I won't need. Those of you that have flown before, is that a legal move?
Friday, July 26, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Are We There Yet???
No.
Will we (I) be there soon?
..hopefully!
Originally, my date of leaving was supposed to be somewhere between July 19 and 24. I was really nervous that I wouldn't receive my guarantee form and my Brasilian visa before then.
I got my guarantee form a few days ago, which was super exciting!
But what about the Brasilian visa?
I still don't have it.
But it's okay! *Insert one of Mr. Fritz's bandroom smiles here*
There's been a little bit of trouble with my paper work and needing different documents. In the time that it took to acquire the papers that I now know that I didn't need, the application for my Brasilian tourist visa expired. Yep.
*Insert another bandroom smile here*
An important part of being a Rotary Youth Exchange student is PATIENCE. I'm still learning how to let go of the steering wheel and be patient with all of this, but that definitely has been my biggest challenge in my first year of exchange.
First year? What? You mean there's more than one?
Kind of, yes. There is actually three.
The first year is the one I'm almost finished with, which is signing up for the exchange and filling out paperwork. Patience is SUPER important here because everything takes TIME and TIME is something that we have plenty of. (Until it's three days before you're supposed to leave. Smile!)
The second year is the actual year of exchange, the one that everyone knows and talks about.
The final year is the year when you return to your home country. I've heard its a hard and confusing year.
I'll send news here soon as soon as I receive it myself!
Will we (I) be there soon?
..hopefully!
Originally, my date of leaving was supposed to be somewhere between July 19 and 24. I was really nervous that I wouldn't receive my guarantee form and my Brasilian visa before then.
I got my guarantee form a few days ago, which was super exciting!
But what about the Brasilian visa?
I still don't have it.
But it's okay! *Insert one of Mr. Fritz's bandroom smiles here*
There's been a little bit of trouble with my paper work and needing different documents. In the time that it took to acquire the papers that I now know that I didn't need, the application for my Brasilian tourist visa expired. Yep.
*Insert another bandroom smile here*
An important part of being a Rotary Youth Exchange student is PATIENCE. I'm still learning how to let go of the steering wheel and be patient with all of this, but that definitely has been my biggest challenge in my first year of exchange.
First year? What? You mean there's more than one?
Kind of, yes. There is actually three.
The first year is the one I'm almost finished with, which is signing up for the exchange and filling out paperwork. Patience is SUPER important here because everything takes TIME and TIME is something that we have plenty of. (Until it's three days before you're supposed to leave. Smile!)
The second year is the actual year of exchange, the one that everyone knows and talks about.
The final year is the year when you return to your home country. I've heard its a hard and confusing year.
I'll send news here soon as soon as I receive it myself!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
To Contact Me. . .
Today I got to thinking: my current cell phone won't be active when I leave. Many people have asked how they can contact me while I'm in Paraguay, so here's the best ways.
FACEBOOK:
If you haven't already added me on Facebook, my name is Catrina Bruns. (Obviously.) I'll check Facebook when I get to a computer and feel like checking it. You'll be able to contact me, but I don't know how often I'll get on to talk.
SKYPE:
I do have a Skype account. The name of that is brunscatrina . I probably will use that primarily to video chat with my family but feel free to add me.
OTHER WAYS:
I have Snapchat on my phone. It will come with me to use in internet areas. I also have Instagram, which I might use for photos because I don't know how compatible this blog site is for pictures. It'll be best to check Facebook and Instagram for photos. My username for both Instagram and Snapchat is trina2317 .
And most importantly, this blog. My blog will be the place where you can read about what's going on during my exchange. I'll try to update it whenever I can!
On a final note, I learned who my first host family will be. I won't post their names on here for the sake of privacy, but just know that I'm now about 500x more excited!!
FACEBOOK:
If you haven't already added me on Facebook, my name is Catrina Bruns. (Obviously.) I'll check Facebook when I get to a computer and feel like checking it. You'll be able to contact me, but I don't know how often I'll get on to talk.
SKYPE:
I do have a Skype account. The name of that is brunscatrina . I probably will use that primarily to video chat with my family but feel free to add me.
OTHER WAYS:
I have Snapchat on my phone. It will come with me to use in internet areas. I also have Instagram, which I might use for photos because I don't know how compatible this blog site is for pictures. It'll be best to check Facebook and Instagram for photos. My username for both Instagram and Snapchat is trina2317 .
And most importantly, this blog. My blog will be the place where you can read about what's going on during my exchange. I'll try to update it whenever I can!
On a final note, I learned who my first host family will be. I won't post their names on here for the sake of privacy, but just know that I'm now about 500x more excited!!
Sunday, July 7, 2013
The Most Asked (and Disliked) Questions
Seeing as my exchange is approaching faster than I can fathom, I've had to make conversation with quite a few people about it. Which means answering the same questions that everyone has. I'm going to share those questions here so that maybe I won't have to answer them quite as many times.
"So you're going to be an exchange student?"
-Yeah.
"For how long?"
-About a year.
"Where are you going?"
-Paraguay.
"What's that?"
-Its by Brazil.
Those are the basics, the most frequently asked. Then I usually get more questions that are less factual.
"Aren't you gonna miss your family?"
-Of course I am, but its not like I'll never see them again.
"Have you heard from your family yet?"
-No. Also I'll probably have three or four families.
"Really? When are you leaving?"
-Between July 19 and 24. (Around 2 weeks from today. YIKES)
"What school are you going to?"
-I don't know.
I haven't heard a lot from my club yet. They sent me the rules of the club and the dates they want us to arrive between, but not much other than that. I'm eagerly waiting for more.
"So what language do they speak there?"
-Spanish.
"You're fluent then, right?"
-Um...no. But it'll come with being there for a year.
Get ready. Here comes my favorite question. (A bit of sarcasm if you didn't pick up on that.)
"Is your sister going with you???"
My real answer: No.
What I want to say: Why would she? Have you ever heard of two people exchanging together??
"What is she gonna do while you're gone?"
My real answer: I'm not sure.
What I want to say: Ask her, not me.
I get these questions waaay too often. But I guess people are just naturally curious.
On another note, I'm having a going away party next weekend. It'll be on July 14th at 11 I believe. The details are on facebook. If you don't have me on facebook, too bad.
Just kidding. I'll fill you in.
"So you're going to be an exchange student?"
-Yeah.
"For how long?"
-About a year.
"Where are you going?"
-Paraguay.
"What's that?"
-Its by Brazil.
Those are the basics, the most frequently asked. Then I usually get more questions that are less factual.
"Aren't you gonna miss your family?"
-Of course I am, but its not like I'll never see them again.
"Have you heard from your family yet?"
-No. Also I'll probably have three or four families.
"Really? When are you leaving?"
-Between July 19 and 24. (Around 2 weeks from today. YIKES)
"What school are you going to?"
-I don't know.
I haven't heard a lot from my club yet. They sent me the rules of the club and the dates they want us to arrive between, but not much other than that. I'm eagerly waiting for more.
"So what language do they speak there?"
-Spanish.
"You're fluent then, right?"
-Um...no. But it'll come with being there for a year.
Get ready. Here comes my favorite question. (A bit of sarcasm if you didn't pick up on that.)
"Is your sister going with you???"
My real answer: No.
What I want to say: Why would she? Have you ever heard of two people exchanging together??
"What is she gonna do while you're gone?"
My real answer: I'm not sure.
What I want to say: Ask her, not me.
I get these questions waaay too often. But I guess people are just naturally curious.
On another note, I'm having a going away party next weekend. It'll be on July 14th at 11 I believe. The details are on facebook. If you don't have me on facebook, too bad.
Just kidding. I'll fill you in.
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