Friday, August 12, 2011

Good news!

I'm definitely leaving on the 17th! After a very very slow week of waiting for a call or an email, I was losing hope that I would be leaving for NYC next Wednesday with my fellow Belgium-bound exchangers. So today (which was basically the deadline for getting a family), I decided to call Janelle again to see if the delay was finalized. She said she had a meeting in twenty minutes with the international board who said they had good news for me! However, she didn't know anything yet, so she was going to call me back in an hour when the meeting was over.

One hour and 17 minutes later...I get a phone call. (I should really write horror novels. I bet you're just dying to find out what she said, but you're still reading this which is only building the suspense. And wait, it gets worse.)

She said she had a choice for me to make. AFS Belgium has a family that they are "very confident" about, but they have only just put in their application, and their in-home interview isn't until next week. Since AFS (understandably) wants to do a thorough check of the family before saying okay, they aren't able to finalize my family or tell me anything about them (except that they are friends with another family that has been very involved in AFS and has hosted many times). SO, I had the choice of leaving on the 17th and possibly not getting to speak to them at all before I left or before it was final (and possibly getting a welcoming family if it didn't work out), or leaving on the 30th with a definite placement and more time. Can you guess which one I chose?

Before today I was trying to accept that I was most likely leaving on the 30th. It wasn't ideal, but I was almost sure it was going to happen, so I didn't want to start packing because it would get my hopes up. Now I'm slightly panicking, because I'm definitely leaving in five days! I guess tomorrow I'll start packing (maybe I'll become fluent in French tomorrow too...) and preparing for my orientation and my year abroad! I couldn't be more excited, and I'm SO happy that I don't have to miss the normal orientation!

That's all for now, maybe in my next post I'll actually know where I'm going? Ha, I say that every time.

4 comments:

  1. Congrats Olivia! So excited for you : ) Can't seem to sign up as a follower so I can "travel" Belgium with you. You could also add on your blog "follow by email" link. I have it on my blog... www.paintedcookiedesigns.blogspot.com

    It was wonderful to see and your family after these few years. Safe travels to you!

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  2. It was great to see you guys too! And thank you for reminding me, I keep meaning to add a "follow by email" link to my sidebar, but I always forget. It's there now though!

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  3. "You go girl". What a fabulous year of endless adventure you have waiting for you across the mighty sea, sea, sea. We will be following your journey from Minnesota too. "You betcha then" Uncle Eric

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  4. So glad I checked your blog again! Glad you added the follow by email, don't want to miss anything! Hope your flight was good and you are settling in and enjoying touring with your family!

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