---> AFS chapter meeting

It's been a while!


The weekend before last I had another AFS chapter meeting. It consisted of the four inbounds talking about their countries.
We had:
Iceland
Switzerland
Spain
Finland

The talks were all very interesting, but the best part of the meeting is, as usual, THE FOOD!
That weekend I had the Spanish inbound stay at my house because she lives out of town and needed to get to the meeting. We made chocolate brownies-YUM!
After the meeting I talked with the Italy outbound
We have outbounds heading for:
Italy
Chile - me!
France (methinks)
USA
Japan

School has finished now. It was kind of weird the last day at school - my two best friends didn't come, and I had Concert Band rehersal at lunchtime (it was good to see the Concert Band again, as we are from my school and the boy's high school). During the prizegiving, the Head Girl gave an excellent speech. She started crying though, and lots of the Year 13's were crying as well. It must be hard, leaving a school you have spent five years at.

I've looked back at this year, and discovered that I've probably changed the most. Many of my values have changed, as has my personality, my goals, and my hair.
Last year I was what you might call a 'hard-out' at school - I always strived to be the top. I had my group of friends, we had the occasional spat and I didn't have much of a social life.
But this year, I have changed groups of friends, I have about 13 friends, 11 of which I spend lunchtimes with, and my best friends who are in my old group of friends. I have my class friends, I'm a lot less hard-out, I've got no braces, I'm happy with myself, I seriously look back at how far I've come and how much I've changed. Some of the changes are more subtle, and I definitely learn from my mistakes.
And truth be told, I'm positive I'll change even more next year, on exchange! It's hard saying goodbye to everything here, all the people I won't see again, but I'll do it, and that's life. I have regretted things I've done, oppurtunities I've missed, but I realise there's you can't change your past, but the future is in your hands.

I wonder what the future will bring . . .

---> Visa stuff!!!

On Monday, I was heading out home to my Speech and Drama exam with Mum and I spotted a brown A4 envelope in the mailbox with the AFS logo on it! So for the next hour I forgot about it but when we came back home again I made Mum stop on the driveway so I could get the mail. While she went into the house to get the stuff for the bank (to get the deposit to send to AFS) I tore open the envelope. At first I thought they sent the same stuff again because the folder was the same, but I opened it up and it had a ton of paper - brochure "AFS Chile Welcomes You", a Passport to Healthy Travel, Chile Bulletin, um... a sheet of paper on AIDS, travel stuff, and VISA STUFF. And Mum has already booked two appoitments - one for the medical check and one for the Notary Public which Mum, Dad and I have to visit on Tuesday.

But, more importantly still.  .  .

A DEPARTURE DATE!!!

26 February (Thursday). Depart Auckland Airport at 1725 (5.25pm) and arrive Santiago Airport at 1245 (12.45am) I'm guessing in Chile time.

I was so stunned I actually knew when I was going . . . School starts for the year around the 2nd February, so I might go back to school for a bit or work. 

Four months left. That's like a 3rd of the time I am in Chile, so I don't want it to go too fast because I don't want my year overseas to whizz by.

That's all for now.

Nobody  actually knows about this blog I think, so if you're reading this you're probably a) a creepy stalker or b) reading all my entries because I've told you I have a blog or c) a hopeful exchange student.

If you're 'a)' you can buzz off. Please.

But for everyone else - Thanks for reading this!

Here's a pic of all the stuff.

I try to put pics in my blogs, as unexciting as my entries are at the moment.

---> Accepted by AFS Chile

I went on the computer to check my email this morning, only to recieve one from AFS NZ to say that I had been accepted by AFS Chile.


That means that my next payment is due, and once it has been paid they will begin to find me a host family. I don't want to get my hopes up, but it would be awesome to be able to answer the question of "Where in Chile will you be?" with an answer other than "I don't know yet."

I've also been looking at a Lonely Planet for Chile, I don't know why but I have an obsession for the population size of places, and ANY of the cities/towns/villages there look wonderful. Mum tried to discourage me from Wikipedia-ing places in Chile, because 'I might be disapointed if I don't end up in a place that I like' but that is so not me! I like all of Chile at the moment. Once I find out my host family I might become slightly biased . . . but who knows? I'm just happy to know that AFS hasn't forgotten me.

I'm going to Chile! Yay!

PS. If anyone knows how to get my banner centered, I would be forever grateful. It's a bit crooked which annoys me slightly =D

---> Travel vaccines

I've just returned from the medical centre with a very sore arm because I have had two injections. Yup, I've just had my travel vaccines done! 

^My vaccinated arm^

Because I'm going to Chile, I needed these vaccines:
HepA
HepB
Typhoid
I had two injections, one was HepA and Typhoid, the other was HepB. I was immunised against HepB as a baby but the blood test I had last week showed immunity had worn off.

I have to visit the doctor's again in a month to see if I need a booster for HepB.

If you are traveling, it is important to book and appointment as soon as possible, because in the case of one of the Hepatitus shots (shots=vaccines), you are supposed to have two done, 6 months apart, for full immunity . . . and since I am leaving in 4 1/2 months, I left it a bit late. Luckily what I have now will protect me. Mum is a doctor so therefore I am a strong believer in vaccinations. I have had all the shots that are possible to get courtesy of the government (in NZ there is a free childhood vaccination scheme). By far the most painful were the three Menz B shots that everyone had a few years ago. I could barely lift my arm after them! But I would rather have a painful arm than catch any of the diseases.

And right now my arm IS a tad sore. The nurse said not to go for a run - I was actually planning to but oh well. If I do, then it will speed up my metabolism and cause the side-effects to be amplified. Which I don't want!

I'll say this again, that it is very important to see a doctor as soon as you know where you are going, for a travel appointment. Doctors don't like it when people book in at the last minute, and you might not get all the coverage you need. Blood tests and vaccines also cost money, so be prepared to pay. But I'd rather pay for a vaccine than suffer from illness while on exchange!

---> Introducing me

<--- an unintentionally HUGE photo of me 

This is my first blog on my Blogger blog. I already have a Vox blog but I like blogger because it's more customizable.

So, my name is Anita.

In February next year I'll be going to Chile with AFS.

I'm 16.

I'm from New Zealand

And I can't really think of what to say at the moment!

I'm sure I'll update more as time moves on.

¡Hasta la vista!