SF Orientation

On Saturday, May 17, I attended the non-country specific orientations for students traveling abroad with YFU. It took us quite a while to find where the orientation was set up in Fort Manson partly because we arrived too early. But nonetheless, the YFU staff came and other students arrived one by one. One person who arrived after me was a young man named Kevin arriving with his dad. We were quiet of course, shy to say anything until our parents started striking up a conversation with each other, then we followed suit starting out with questions like, "So... what country are you going to?" Turns out we're both going to Japan, but he doesn't know where specifically because his scholarship doesn't say unlike mines (which was Okinawa Peace Scholarship--Gee, I wonder where I'm going!). We turned into good friends at the orientation and stuck with each other throughout the orientation. Once all of the 15 or so people arrived (some as late as a quarter of an hour), we did icebreakers by playing a game similar to the one played in Leadership class back in Independence High School (Game: "Shuffle your buns if you..."). Thus, there's really nothing much to say because it's just like any other orientation, except that it wasn't boring like at school (*cough* like Link Crew *cough*). We discussed topics such as traveling, clothes, program rules, etc... And the extremely cold day ended with some fog rolling over the SF Bay despite it was 80-something degrees in San Jose.

--Sorry! I didn't take pictures of the orientation because it seems awkward and I didn't bring my camera.


Orientation Details:

Now yesterday (May 24, 2008), I received my second letter from YFU describing the tentative schedule at San Jose State University. You can see the schedules here (click on pictures):




- - - -Page 1 - - - - Page 2- - -


Seems fun. I can't wait any longer, but I still have to focus on 2 more weeks of schoolwork to maintain my grades. Along came with the letter were other information on what (and not) to bring, visa requirements (none needed), and other traveling informative sheets.

You can see some scanned samples here by clicking on the image:


Until then, I'm:
o Working to keep my grades
o Waiting for my Ticket (plane)
o Waiting for my host family information
o Trying to find a 3-prong to 2-prong electrical plug converter
o Planning to start packing soon
o Excited and will miss you all! (because on June 11th, I'm no longer an American!)

Please post comments, I would love to read them! But also be aware of the fact that teachers, as well as adults (parents, counselors, etc.) may be able to view them.