Oh My Goodness...

    I know I haven't really been giving the best detail about how all this has worked out, so I'll fill y'all in.
    I did a three week exchange with my school to Chemnitz, Germany with the GAPP program. Loved every second of it. I fell in love with the city, the people, the school, just everything there. While I was there, I met someone from America at a park by pure accident! She said she was there on the CBYX scholarship. Huh? A scholarship for a whole year in Germany? SIGN ME UP!
    I came home and looked it up. It looked fantastic! I waited for applications to come out. Once they did, I filled it out, got all the school work done, and sent it in. There was a lot to do. But we were given a good amount of time and really good instructions on what we needed. My tip here is to keep up contact with your school counselor!! He or she will be the biggest help whenever you are in need of any information from school and home.
    I received an e-mail a little later saying I made it to interviews! Oh my goodness... I jumped right out of my chair and ran to my teachers who wrote recommendations. They were so happy for me!
    So I went to my interview in Atlanta. There were maybe 25 other people there. Interviewers took kids back one at a time for a 30 minutes interview while the rest did group activities. It was such a great time. (I talked more about it before so yes (: )
    Eleven days later, I got an e-mail saying I received the scholarship, as I posted earlier... I cried instantaneously..
    So now, I'm in the process of planning. I'm filling out the secondary application for host family placement, practicing my German, and really thinking about how to pack.
    So yes, I have been taking German for 2.5 years at school (with an AMAZING German teacher). It's still difficult to have a conversation but I've been doing my best to practice. I'm hoping this makes it better. I mean, HAVING to speak German for a year must help somehow, right? :D
    I'm 16 going on 17 and will be spending senior year abroad. Yeah, senior year. Everyone always looks forward to that year.. But I'm just not attached to my school. Taking senior year away from school isn't for everyone. You might rather take sophomore, Junior, or even a Gap year and not worry as much about school work. So really think about if you want to take that particular year abroad. REALLY consider it.
  Here is where I plan on posting most of my updates and pictures!
   So yes, any questions? Don't hesitate to write me! (: (you can e-mail me, comment, add me on Facebook with a little message. Whatever floats your boat!)

I've Been Accepted into CBYX!

Y'all, I got the scholarship! Now I'm working on a secondary application to help place me in a host family and waiting for orientation (:

    The secondary application has been going alright. It's 23 pages that really ask about your life, your school, your health, and all that needed stuff for an exchange. It's really important to be as honest as possible here. It's really easy to really wish to be in one place of Germany and try to angle your answers to make it more possible to be placed there. But that is a really bad idea in the long run. That way, it's more likely that you get there and realize you really have no interest in being in that part or with those kinds of people. If you're honest, you're more likely to be placed with a great match!
    I even caught myself a couple times trying to make myself really appealing to Chemnitz. I do get something almost like Homesickness for this city. But I need to branch out and try something new; leave myself the opportunity to be placed somewhere else with people who will really be supportive and caring.

So keep that in mind, my followers! As I said before, when it gets closer to application time, I'll post more tips and answer questions if anyone needs anything. Don't hesitate to ask, please! I hope the best for you all!

~Katy

Interview for CBYX

So, I made interview for the CBYX program and interviewed at the Atlanta location on March 2!
A little about that:

• It was so fantastic! We came in, did some group games and introductions. The interviewers took in the kids one by one to interview. I was one of the first to be interviewed.
• My interviewers were so nice! They were so interested in everything I had to answer and I felt really comfortable with them. It was very low stress! Best interview of my life (:
• Some types of questions to really think about if you want to apply,
• Why Germany?
• What would you do in bad situations? For example, if your host family stopped talking to you, or if one of your best friends was going to a party and really encouraged you to take part in their "bad activities". Stuff like that
• Could you live without writing and skyping your family back in the States for so long? How do you know?
• As it gets closer to interview times for the next group, I'll gladly post more tips and help for the interview!

Tomorrow, we find out who is accepted as a finalist! Keep your fingers crossed!