A. What are the five things that you are most looking forward to about studying abroad?
1. The food.
2. The people I will meet.
3. CULTURE!
4. The trains and getting around places.
5. Shopping for the things trivialities I will forget/ not be able to bring over (school supplies, etc.)
B. What are the five things that currently worry you most about going overseas?
1. Being able to do schoolwork and talk to professors in school. So school in general really.
2. Eating the food without feeling bad.
3. Making connections.
4. Not giving up.
5. My host-families. (I have 2 since one can only keep me for 6 months.)
C. What are the five things (people, places, activities, etc.) you believe you will miss most from home when abroad?
1. My bed.
2. My immediate family.
3. Authentic Mexican food.
4. My close friends.
5. The trivialities that I cannot bring/have no use for in Germany but will randomly need while there.
D. What are the five things (people, places, activities, etc.) you believe you will miss least from home when abroad?
1. Idiots.
2. The wide streets
3. Trucks.
4. Close-minded american-ness.
5. Tornados.
E. My greatest single challenge overseas will be: being able to just LET GO and not worry over everything I do/eat/say, while still representing the USA responsibly and appropriately.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Global Student Stuff
For CBYX, we have this program called "Global Student" that we need to finish courses of. This is one of them, and there might be a plethora. Or at least several!
TOP 10 REASONS TO STUDY ABROAD
1. Meeting People. I love love love love people and everything (good and bad) about them, and I am infatuated with the idea that I will be able to meet more.
2. Learning New Cultures. Cultures excite me, and learning, no, being immersed in an entirely different one is such an amazing opportunity that I simply could not close this door, figuratively speaking.
3. My Sister. I have a sister who did this same program and came back with such wonderful experiences. Not only did I want to be like her, but I knew that with my personality and yearning to see the world I could also apply for the program like she did. She inspired me, and I just want to follow in her footsteps with this program.
4. Escaping My Town. When I first applied for this program, I'll be honest and say that I really REALLY wanted to get out of A-Town. I didn't feel like I fit in, and I never really did. This feeling has changed throughout the year, but the yearning to go and travel is too great to push away. Besides, I'll be back in a year! :)
5. My German Friends. I have been to Germany twice now, once to visit my best friend who moved there and some of my sister's friends from the Program, and another on an exchange trip. I really want to have the POSSIBILITY of meeting them again, even if for only a weekend. :)
6. Starting Over. I don't live in the biggest of towns, and so almost everyone is connected to another person somehow, even if casually. That being said, it is hard to go around and be a totally different person; I've never had the chance to really start over with a fresh start. Going to Germany with no one knowing me or anything about me (in the school at least) is a great chance to figure out just who Lilly Smith is.
7. Academics. I don't really know what I want to do in college, other than that I KNOW it will have to do with culture. So social sciences, and right now I'm thinking anthropology. I hope that going to Germany will help me figure out a tiny bit what I want to major in in college, and also give me a headstart/growing time for my brain to mature to when I come back to America.
8. Self Confidence. I have pretty darn low self-confidence, why I don't know. I don't understand it, because if you read emails or Facebook messages or anything people "love" me. I guess I just don't see why. I think going to Germany will help with that, it will give me a "love yourself no matter what you think inside your head" boot camp. P.S. I don't have a medical problem, I'm just a teen girl I PROMISE! :D
9. Maturing Time. Basically I want more time for my brain to mature, for a upper hand in school since I'll be staying an extra year. Selfish? maybe. Smart? YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
10. Experience. I want the experience of going somewhere I have no clue and speaking the language badly at first and having to order something off the menu even though you have NO CLUE what it says. I want to come back "cultured" and "open-eyed". I want to have more experiences than just a girl from a little ol' Texan town. I want to be someone.
TOP 10 REASONS TO STUDY ABROAD
1. Meeting People. I love love love love people and everything (good and bad) about them, and I am infatuated with the idea that I will be able to meet more.
2. Learning New Cultures. Cultures excite me, and learning, no, being immersed in an entirely different one is such an amazing opportunity that I simply could not close this door, figuratively speaking.
3. My Sister. I have a sister who did this same program and came back with such wonderful experiences. Not only did I want to be like her, but I knew that with my personality and yearning to see the world I could also apply for the program like she did. She inspired me, and I just want to follow in her footsteps with this program.
4. Escaping My Town. When I first applied for this program, I'll be honest and say that I really REALLY wanted to get out of A-Town. I didn't feel like I fit in, and I never really did. This feeling has changed throughout the year, but the yearning to go and travel is too great to push away. Besides, I'll be back in a year! :)
5. My German Friends. I have been to Germany twice now, once to visit my best friend who moved there and some of my sister's friends from the Program, and another on an exchange trip. I really want to have the POSSIBILITY of meeting them again, even if for only a weekend. :)
6. Starting Over. I don't live in the biggest of towns, and so almost everyone is connected to another person somehow, even if casually. That being said, it is hard to go around and be a totally different person; I've never had the chance to really start over with a fresh start. Going to Germany with no one knowing me or anything about me (in the school at least) is a great chance to figure out just who Lilly Smith is.
7. Academics. I don't really know what I want to do in college, other than that I KNOW it will have to do with culture. So social sciences, and right now I'm thinking anthropology. I hope that going to Germany will help me figure out a tiny bit what I want to major in in college, and also give me a headstart/growing time for my brain to mature to when I come back to America.
8. Self Confidence. I have pretty darn low self-confidence, why I don't know. I don't understand it, because if you read emails or Facebook messages or anything people "love" me. I guess I just don't see why. I think going to Germany will help with that, it will give me a "love yourself no matter what you think inside your head" boot camp. P.S. I don't have a medical problem, I'm just a teen girl I PROMISE! :D
9. Maturing Time. Basically I want more time for my brain to mature, for a upper hand in school since I'll be staying an extra year. Selfish? maybe. Smart? YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
10. Experience. I want the experience of going somewhere I have no clue and speaking the language badly at first and having to order something off the menu even though you have NO CLUE what it says. I want to come back "cultured" and "open-eyed". I want to have more experiences than just a girl from a little ol' Texan town. I want to be someone.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Bunches o' Stuff
Heyo!
Were you wondering why I haven't posted in a bit? I bet you were. I bet you were just DYING to know what's going on in my life. Wellllll get ready, I have pictures. :)
1st: ORCHESTRA BANQUET!!!
If you didn't know, I am a cellist in the A-Town Symphony Orchestra. I am also the Social Chair for both Symphony and Philharmonic, so basically I make sure everyone's happy and plan parties! One thing that all the clubs do is this banquet, where they give out awards and have dinner and all the kids and parents that come just have a good time whilst dressed to the nines! This year's theme was "New York, New York" because our orchestra went to New York for the Orchestra trip this year (which was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.). Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of the set up by itself but mainly of people. But you can still tell, right? :)
Some friends and the screen before we sit!
halo! And my best friend's signature face <3
That is my date and me. We sort of match, and we didn't even mean to! :D
That's Mr. Lopez, our orchestra conductor. He's one of my favorite teachers, and really cool! He's talking about the seniors graduating right there.
"Mr. Davis's Top 10 Reasons Orchestra ROCKS!"
The Phantom... of the Laundromat? We didn't understand either, but it was funny!
awards :)
Caleb, some other friends and I went to go eat FROZEN YOGURT afterwords, and also got our minds blown by dubstep!
2nd: PROM
Prom, the major point of many high school girls and boy's lives. "Who will YOU take? What will YOU wear? And oh God, is she wearing the same dress?!" All these I was expecting to hear tons and tons of times, but really, when my boyfriend (who is a junior so he can go) asked me I was crazy excited. I didn't care that it was cliche or girly, I wanted to get dolled up and figure out why this thing is such a big deal.
Me, in my dress... :D:D I basically cried when I first found it in the store. I had never felt so pretty wearing ANYTHING! It was a great reward for losing 60 pounds. :)
candid shot. Probably my favorite. :)
That's my BEST FRIEND! Don't we almost look like sisters? :D
There's some other friends (sophomores) that had been invited to prom! We're switching colors!
My boyfriend and his best friend, who was in the group we went to prom with. Haha, they're dancing!
He ended the night with his beautiful singing and all of us joined it sometimes. :)
In the end, my realization was that it's not the Dance itself that makes the night, but the getting ready and the people you spend it with that makes Prom so magical. I was having the time of my life with my boy and his friends (who I mostly just met) while I heard a plethora of complaints from others, mostly because their friends/dates/plans weren't working out. In a way, I was extremely lucky my first prom was that amazing, but I'll be cheesy and say that it was mostly the boyfriend who made it that way. And before you come to conclusions, NO we did NOT do anything dirty. >:( We just danced and spent the evening together. It was a very nice ending to a very nice school year. :)
That, along with school has been taking up most of my life. I'm so close to the end of the school year! I just want to be DONE. I lust for summer like a Winnie the Pooh lusts for honey. Mostly because my birthday's in summer.... and money. And it makes it that much closer to GERMANY! But I can wait. :D:D
I do believe good times and better friends make life special!
Lilly
Were you wondering why I haven't posted in a bit? I bet you were. I bet you were just DYING to know what's going on in my life. Wellllll get ready, I have pictures. :)
1st: ORCHESTRA BANQUET!!!
If you didn't know, I am a cellist in the A-Town Symphony Orchestra. I am also the Social Chair for both Symphony and Philharmonic, so basically I make sure everyone's happy and plan parties! One thing that all the clubs do is this banquet, where they give out awards and have dinner and all the kids and parents that come just have a good time whilst dressed to the nines! This year's theme was "New York, New York" because our orchestra went to New York for the Orchestra trip this year (which was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.). Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of the set up by itself but mainly of people. But you can still tell, right? :)
2nd: PROM
Prom, the major point of many high school girls and boy's lives. "Who will YOU take? What will YOU wear? And oh God, is she wearing the same dress?!" All these I was expecting to hear tons and tons of times, but really, when my boyfriend (who is a junior so he can go) asked me I was crazy excited. I didn't care that it was cliche or girly, I wanted to get dolled up and figure out why this thing is such a big deal.
In the end, my realization was that it's not the Dance itself that makes the night, but the getting ready and the people you spend it with that makes Prom so magical. I was having the time of my life with my boy and his friends (who I mostly just met) while I heard a plethora of complaints from others, mostly because their friends/dates/plans weren't working out. In a way, I was extremely lucky my first prom was that amazing, but I'll be cheesy and say that it was mostly the boyfriend who made it that way. And before you come to conclusions, NO we did NOT do anything dirty. >:( We just danced and spent the evening together. It was a very nice ending to a very nice school year. :)
That, along with school has been taking up most of my life. I'm so close to the end of the school year! I just want to be DONE. I lust for summer like a Winnie the Pooh lusts for honey. Mostly because my birthday's in summer.... and money. And it makes it that much closer to GERMANY! But I can wait. :D:D
I do believe good times and better friends make life special!
Lilly
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Elvis ain't dead, and you're comin' back.
Yo.
Monday night, one of my favorite people in my church, and a dear lady to my heart, Flossie Long, died. I learned right after I got in the car on Tuesday.
I tend to think I deal with death quite well. I seem to push it from my mind, sometimes I'll cry and sometimes I won't. I almost cried with Flossie, but the tears wouldn't flow. I'm ok with that really, and I do mourn her. I will miss her and her family and her house and her dog dearly; but she left this world with greatness. <3
Other than that, here's my schedule this week:
Thursday: Orchestra Concert
Friday: Orchestra Banquet/ anniversary with le boyfriend
Saturday: PROM
Sunday: rapid homework!
DOESN'T THIS SOUND GREAT?! :D I'm excited and scared all at the same time! Who knows if I'll be able to get all that I need to done? What an adventurous life I lead!
Another thing, I made dinner tonight~ I usually do since my parents are working like CRAZY, but this time I actually TRIED! I made fried rice, but without the use of any oil- boss right? But I made a ton load of rice so we have a lot left over. :)
Monday night, one of my favorite people in my church, and a dear lady to my heart, Flossie Long, died. I learned right after I got in the car on Tuesday.
I tend to think I deal with death quite well. I seem to push it from my mind, sometimes I'll cry and sometimes I won't. I almost cried with Flossie, but the tears wouldn't flow. I'm ok with that really, and I do mourn her. I will miss her and her family and her house and her dog dearly; but she left this world with greatness. <3
Other than that, here's my schedule this week:
Thursday: Orchestra Concert
Friday: Orchestra Banquet/ anniversary with le boyfriend
Saturday: PROM
Sunday: rapid homework!
DOESN'T THIS SOUND GREAT?! :D I'm excited and scared all at the same time! Who knows if I'll be able to get all that I need to done? What an adventurous life I lead!
Another thing, I made dinner tonight~ I usually do since my parents are working like CRAZY, but this time I actually TRIED! I made fried rice, but without the use of any oil- boss right? But I made a ton load of rice so we have a lot left over. :)
I have yet to tell my principles I will not be here next year. Or really tell anyone about this blog. I'll need to get on that sometime. Maybe once I start posting things people might care about? :D
Hope you're having a fun time,
Hope you're having a fun time,
Lilly
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Mother's day!
Oh yay it's Mother's Day! :)
This isn't so much a "hey look what I heard about Germany today" post more of a "OH MY GOSH MOTHER'S DAY!" that made me realize... this is the last mother's day for a whole year with my mom. :( And she has to work most of the day... why? Because this really important thing is due really really soon and she isn't getting the results that she needs to turn into her boss. I wanted to make this Mother's Day extra special! :)
So my family has this sort-of mascot... SOCK MONKEY!
That's (a) sock monkey! Isn't he the coolest? Yeah, he really is. :)
Anyway, here is the story that I made for mom. I really like to bake too, so what I made her was a picture book (that I colored and everything) about Sock Monkey, Daddy and me making m&m and nut cookies! Enjoy!
Oh look! Sock Monkey is going to bake some M&M and Nut cookies for mom for Mother's Day!
OH WOW he is working hard!
*gasp* Sock Monkey! Don't eat all the M&Ms!
Looks like he'll need some help from... Lilly!
Now he's back to working hard!
And Daddy is working hard at being the taste-tester! :D
Look at all the cookies Sock Monkey, Lilly and Daddy made!
Awwww it says "Love you"!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!!!
I hope everyone who sees this has a wonderful Mother's Day, and even more wonderful mothers. :)
Lilly
This isn't so much a "hey look what I heard about Germany today" post more of a "OH MY GOSH MOTHER'S DAY!" that made me realize... this is the last mother's day for a whole year with my mom. :( And she has to work most of the day... why? Because this really important thing is due really really soon and she isn't getting the results that she needs to turn into her boss. I wanted to make this Mother's Day extra special! :)
So my family has this sort-of mascot... SOCK MONKEY!
Anyway, here is the story that I made for mom. I really like to bake too, so what I made her was a picture book (that I colored and everything) about Sock Monkey, Daddy and me making m&m and nut cookies! Enjoy!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!!!
I hope everyone who sees this has a wonderful Mother's Day, and even more wonderful mothers. :)
Lilly
Thursday, May 5, 2011
OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD YOU GUYS!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!
PI/ Anne Holder FINALLY sent me a confirmation! No more secret blog! No more secret tumblr! No more "Oh noes do I secretly have a horrible fiend of a *insert distant relative here* that is hindering me from being able to go?!"! And most importantly... NO MORE CONFUSION! Now I just get to wait till they find a host-family, which will hopefully be soon!
Then again, know my luck, I'll find out 2 days or so before I legitimately meet them. ;)
I'm happy.
In other news, I have an AP US history test (that I think I will bomb), English timed writing (that I will have to take after school), Chemistry test (that she hasn't taught us about) tomorrow. And on saturday I have a cello competition. I felt like crying 3/4 of the day at school. I love life! <3 At least school is almost over. :D:D:D
Back to being diligent! :)
Lilly
PI/ Anne Holder FINALLY sent me a confirmation! No more secret blog! No more secret tumblr! No more "Oh noes do I secretly have a horrible fiend of a *insert distant relative here* that is hindering me from being able to go?!"! And most importantly... NO MORE CONFUSION! Now I just get to wait till they find a host-family, which will hopefully be soon!
Then again, know my luck, I'll find out 2 days or so before I legitimately meet them. ;)
I'm happy.
In other news, I have an AP US history test (that I think I will bomb), English timed writing (that I will have to take after school), Chemistry test (that she hasn't taught us about) tomorrow. And on saturday I have a cello competition. I felt like crying 3/4 of the day at school. I love life! <3 At least school is almost over. :D:D:D
Back to being diligent! :)
Lilly
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Partnership International
Hi.
So, I still haven't gotten a letter from Partnership International, the German company that needs to a-ok me before I leave. I have to admit, I'm STARTING to get nervous as everyone around me are adding onto the list of "in-kids". I mean, what if it's August 10th and then I get the letter? Well.... that would Stiiiiiiiiiink. But I just need to stay positive! :D
Good thoughts from a town,
Lilly Smith
So, I still haven't gotten a letter from Partnership International, the German company that needs to a-ok me before I leave. I have to admit, I'm STARTING to get nervous as everyone around me are adding onto the list of "in-kids". I mean, what if it's August 10th and then I get the letter? Well.... that would Stiiiiiiiiiink. But I just need to stay positive! :D
Good thoughts from a town,
Lilly Smith
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