The day has come!... almost

The countdown is finally over. My AFS experience has officially started. I am currently located in the LA La Hacienda Hotel and have gone through my first orientation. Pretty normal stuff I was expecting, a little boring, but definitely necessary for the company. Wow, this does not feel real at all. As I am writing this I am thinking to myself I am leaving my house and everyone I love for 5 months!  It hits me real fast and I cannot believe it for a second, but then all of a sudden I am flooded with the oddest sensation. I can not describe it, but it just does not feel like I am leaving.  When I first found out I was going the idea of me leaving was crazy and absurd, but then I got used to it and it seemed just a sort of fake idea. Three months before departure my mom asked me if it felt real yet and I said no but maybe a month before I go. A month before I left came and my sister asked me if it felt read and I said no maybe the week before it will. Well it turns out it never felt real and it still doesnt. I do not think it actually will until I meet my family and attend school for the first day. WOW WOW WOW WOW this is SO FREAKIN WEIRD!!! I do really for ready for it now though, I have been mentally preparing myself for this for a long time and here it is.

I am coming for the Land of the Long White Cloud

One week left

Time has FLOWN by. I am completely done with high school in America now! I finished all of my exams a few days ago and have off until I leave. I have even said my first goodbyes: I got to visit my brothers over the weekend who are both at college. My first stop was FSU where my 22 year old brother, Teddy, goes. I had an AWESOME 2 days there. We went to a basketball game, went out to eat, and best of all, went to an urban crowd surfing party (and yes it is as crazy as it sounds, I crowd surfed three times and was "the kid thats going New Zealand, wheres that again?"). I said goodbye to Teddy as he was pretty much asleep so it wasnt exactly emotional or anything but it was a great way to spend my last days with until I'm back in 6 months. Then it was off to UF to visit my other 19 year old brother, Peter. It was for all of 2 hours! I was supposed to be spending the night but I was also supposed to be driving friends back earlier that day and they would not stay another day at UF as a change a plans happened to have us stay an extra day at FSU. It was nice though, we went out to eat and hung out in his dorm. We said goodbye just as brothers say goodbye if one might be leaving for a couple of days, but his girlfriend, who I am pretty tight, with did shed some tears. All in all, I had a freakin awesome second to last weekend in the states.

To think about the future is weird now because things will never again be truly the same once I get on that plane to LAX. Once I leave my parents that have had kids in their house for 30 years, no kids will ever live there anymore. I am the 

youngest in the family and I am a senior that is leaving for the second semester of his senior year, once I get back, its off to college. It is really the ending of an era for me as being a real kid and living at home, and for my parents never to have kids that live with them. And this is all going to happen in just a 7 days. Its very sad to think about but things are always changing and I know everything is going to be great and my parents are going to be fine.  I am very greatly looking forward to this amazing adventure and I am thankful that I am lucky enough to participate, life really could not be better right now. Now all I have to do is decide the rest of my life while I am gone: What college I'll be going to (right now I have FSU, CU, Colorado College, and waiting to hear from USC and UF), do I want to run in college, do I join a frat, what will I major in, and these all depend on the col

lege I decide to go to.

 Now all I got to do is learn how to play rugby 

so I dont make a fool out of myself when I arrive

My brothers and I: We are very close. I also have a sister who I am very close with that lives in Ohio but I do not have a picture of her on my computer right now

Countdown: 20 days

Well the days are coming down still very fast. I only have to finish this week of school and next when we have our first semester exams. For some strange reason my school decided that we should have our semester exams after Christmas break where everyone will surely not study and forget every singly thing they have done all year. And this is the first year they are doing it too. If it was how it was last year I would have been done with school three weeks ago. But I can't really complain because I get to be with my friends at school and what would I have done with myself almost a month while everyone was in school, AND I still get about 10 days off school before my departure January 26. 

Christmas was great here. I got pretty much a whole new wardrobe because I am going to a place that gets VERY cold and I also needed new clothes for my college experience when I get back. New Years was spent in Ohio with my cousins and my sister so I could see them for the last time in 6 months. Went to a fun OSU party, hung out, ate some Skyline, ran around in the snow, ate a sandwich consisting of chicken tenders french fries mozzarella sticks cheese onion rings and "high sauce" (it was called The Fat Bitch), and watched the best show ever made, Jersey Shore. O I also received a Jersey Shore t-shirt from my brother, it was one of my favorite gifts.

Today pretty much consisted of me waking up at 6:20 missing first period of school so I could run a track work out. It was 28 degrees outside which is INSANE for Florida. I cannot reiterate that enough, it was INSANELY cold. Everyone at my club was wearing full running winter outfits which I don't own. One guy had ear warmers and the full ski mask with only eyes and nose cut out. All I had were my shorty shorts and a t-shirt.  When I was in Ohio I did not run at all because of the snow so I don't think I was ready for this one. I puked before I even finished the workout (I did finish it though) and my hands hurt so much from the cold I could not untie my shoes. I have not puke from running in four years, so it was actually kind of embarrassing. Also, I know a lot of people have the perception that all runner are all small skinny weak kids, but my running partner for the track workout could not be a better example of the opposite. He is a personal trainer and freakin huge and very hard to keep up with at long distances. Sorry I just got to say that cause I get some crap for distance running being a weak sport, even though now I think I have gotten more people that know me see it differently. 

The rest of the day was spent at school trying to sell our senior calendar, not an easy task at all. No seniors really want them except for the parents which never hear about the calendar from their son or daughter, so my plan of attack was to go after the teachers. I made three sales, and I still have 11 more. If I don't sell them I have to buy them. Anyway, back to the selling. So going to each teachers door in the middle of their class is not fun. Some get pissed, some flat out just deny it, but sometimes you get lucky. I had this one teacher in his room by himself not even look at me when I asked him.

And the day was rounded off with me making a facebook status about 20 days until I leave. It does not seem real to me at all right now. Sometimes I am like wow 5 months isnt long at all, but then I am like WOW 5 months is SO frick a lickin long! Anyways I am pumped even though I dont even really know what I am pumped for besides it is New Zealand. I am going to have a life there that I cant even imagine what it is going to be like now: the friends I make, my new family, my school, my new running club, the stuff I'll do, my accent might change, the way people view me, etc etc etc. Is New Zealand anything like Flight of the Conchords tells me it is? 

A little over a month...

Time is ticking down actually a lot faster than I expected.  Only about a month and ten days till I leave... well hopefully. There has been some Visa mishaps but it all seems to be working out, but if worst comes to worst I will leave a month later than planned (and that will be the absolute worst!) Anyways, a lot of NZ (pronounced N Zed there) stuff has been happening since my last post. About three months ago my host mom informed me that my host brother said another American attends the high school that I will be attending when I arrive. "Probably from one of the Carolinas," she said. Well since then about two months ago I made a thread on an AFS discussion board on facebook seeing if anyone else would be going to NZ the same time as me. Six girls from Finland said they would be going, a guy from Argentina, and one girl from Latvia. I thought that was pretty cool, but then later I got a message from a girl that said she lives in the city I will be moving to, but that she is currently on an exchange in Argentina with AFS. So we became friends on FB blah blah blah. And then last week (a point is coming to this story I swear) I got a random girl to friend request me on FB with a message that said that she was also from Invercargill (my host city) and heard from another girl that I was moving there. Turns out both of these girls are in Argentina and they both are from my host city and are friends. She then goes on to say that her family in Invercargill is hosting an American kid also and he goes to Southland Boys High School. That is the same school I am going to, and that is the same kid my host mom was talking about from three months ago. That story may sound COMPLETELY pointless and stupid and boring, but I just thought how completely crazy it is that I became friends with someone from a girl that had been messaged by another girl who are both in different countries from seeing a thread on some sight from an American (me) that had heard about this other American kid randomly from my host mom's 13 year old son.  The point is, the internet is crazy to me and as much as I don't really like it or want to use it, it has helped me connect to people from all over the world (to me that whole American kid thing was like a big circle and I just could not believe I came in contact with him through a girl in Argentina) and helped my exchange progress into something I would like it to be. One of the girls from Argentina gave me the name of a girl in Invercargill that participates in a running club, and I have now contacted her and have received info all about that. This will surely help my running and definitely make my experience a whole lot better since I think that sports can really help in socializing and also just help because I love to run and it will make me happier.

So now I know a few people from NZ, so I won't be completely friendless when I arrive lol. Hopefully making friends won't be too hard and hopefully this running club will help with this. The first day of school will definitely be hard for me, I am not shy at all but when it comes to knowing no one in a certain place, its hard for me to make the first move to talk to someone.  I also don't really want to worry about anything though because that will get me nowhere, so I am just trying to think of ways to make the experience awesome. Like when I do my running club, I don't want to just do it just for fun, I want to really compete hard. I got the school record at my high school here for 5k and I would for sure like to try and win a few races and maybe beat some fast kiwis (what new zealanders call themselves). I love to compete and I love a competitive atmosphere. And talking about running, most host sister signed me up for the Motatapu marathon 

look it up at www.motatapu.com

This is not just a regular marathon, its more like survival. The race directors are still unsure of letting me run the race because they dont normally let under 20 year olds do it. I have to have my coach send a letter of recommendation and also have to have a list of races and times I have run and wether they were on road or off road. It feels like applying to another college which I am already so sick of lol. The course runs through the beautiful southern region of NZ on a piece of property Shania Twain bought a while ago. This land is only open to the public once a year for this marathon and bike race. You have to run through rivers and across some crazy terrain. This is not a go for a fast time race, but more of a just try and finish it. I gotta say I am pretty nervous for it, but I have never been more excited for a race in my whole life!  

As you can see by the pics above, this race is no joke but the scenery is completely amazing!!

Confirmation

So, it is finally settled. I am 100%, absolutely, positively, most definitely for sure going to New Zealand for five months of my life!!! The process of getting my parents approval, hours in the guidance office, classes online over the summer, applying, waiting, interviews, applying again,  and waiting again, have finally paid off. Its happening! I have received confirmation that I am indeed going to Middle Earth and that I will be living with the Ryan family in Invercargill (The most southern city in the country).  The Ryan's are friends with one of my good friend's parents.

Sharri Ryan (mom) did an AFS exchange to the US when she was in high school and stayed with my friend's dad. They became great friends and since then he has visited them in NZ and has even taken his family to visit. It may seem as if I will be living with some friends there, but I still know very little about them besides that they are very kind, very outdoorsy, and very fun. They seem completely awesome and I have contacted them some via the all amazing and universal Facebook and e-mail (which happens to not work three quarters of the time). The family consists of Sharri (mom), Pip (dad), Emma (sister), Libby (sister), and Liam (son). Emma lives in Auckland, and Libby goes to university in Dunedin. So its going to be me, mom, dad, and 13 year Liam, who also will be going to my same school.  I will be attending Southland Boys High School, which will be a HUGE transition for me because I will be going from a coed class of 560 to an all guys class of I think less than 100, maybe even a lot less. But not to fear, because there is also a Southland Girls High School there, which I assume is close by. My host sisters attended there and Libby assures me that they are always hanging out together at parties and such. They play a lot of rugby there and I'll try not to embarrass myself. I'm not exactly jacked of my mind or anything (high school cross country runner here) but I do try to get a little swoll at the gym every now and then. Another huge adjustment will be the fact that I am from Florida where our temperature in winter will most likely be the summer temperatures of the place I will be living.  Invercargill is not that far away from Antarctica if you look at a world map. When I use the words transitions and adjustments, I definitely don't mean those in the negative sense at all though. I love experiencing new ways of life, culture, etc. I also am VERY excited to be living where it actually snows! My friend tells me that they go skiing very often! I also got an e-mail from my host mom saying that they plan on going scuba diving in the north someplace over Easter, and that my host sister has signed me up for a marathon. My exchange is already starting to look completely amazing and I am still 2 months from leaving. O, I will be gone from January 25 through July 7. I will update this as much as I can throughout my experience and hopefully will be able to post lost of pictures and videos. Also, my goal is that eventually my blog can make it on to the famous AFS USA blog home page. That is where I read all of the other AFSers cool blogs, and maybe mine might be as good to possibly get on there. I'll keep my fingers crossed but I seriously doubt my writing skills on this one, but whatever

The pictures above are first of NZ with the most southern part highlighted being Southland the region I am going to live in with Invercargill being on the coast just north of the little island, second of my host city, third is the Milford Sound which is in Southland, and fourth of my school.