Time w/ My Host Family [Week 1]

These past five days have been exciting. This family is very active. By that I mean that the family does a LOT together. They treat me so well. A little too well because when I would emphasize how good a dish was, we would begin eating it everyday 😅
My host mom (妈妈）would offer to take me everywhere! Work for both parents start on Saturday though, so I'm not gonna be used to not being able to hang out with the family all day.
I remember when I first joked around with my host dad. I looked up at the ceiling of our house and thought I could touch it. I was all smug when I said 哇，我好大！我太大了！I then proceeded to put my hand over my forehead, pretend that I couldn't see my host dad, and say 你在哪里？ 😁😂
Putting down the tea cup he was holding, he told me to stand next to him back-to-back and ask 妈妈 who was taller. I bet you can see where this went. 😁
I remember the moment clearly, since it just happened last night.😝
My host family and I are a good fit for each other! I would have been satisfied with any family being kind enough to welcome me into their home for such a long time but my family really makes me feel at home.

Arriving In My Host City

你好！我姓朱。我叫朱铃。朱古力的朱，铃声的铃。我会住在中国的常州一个年。从上海我们在2018年8月24号去了常州。
At around 11:30 PM on August 24, 2018, we NSLI-Y students arrived at our host city, Changzhou! Most of us fell in love with the city right away! The view from our hotel room was beautiful.
At the hotel, I shared a room with Haylie. How fun! With jetlag keeping us awake, we spent the night speaking in Mandarin Chinese. We somehow got on the topic of studying for the HSK. The amount of fun that I had that night/morning made it one of the most memorable moments during the transition period.
Speaking of memorable moments, I cannot go without mentioning the our cultural excursion to the Tianning Temple in Changzhou with AFS China. The view at the top of the temple was beautiful and the breeze was pleasant. A picture says 1000 words but it really can't compare to the feeling you get when you're on-site and in the moment.
It's only been a day and at the moment, I was already falling in love with my city.

From America to China

 

On August 23, 2018, the NSLI-Y Changzhou Academic Year students departed from Newark-Liberty International Airport at 10:45 AM.
After 2 days of Pre-Departure Orientation, the six of us woke up on Wednesday at 5 AM in the morning and left for the airport at 6 AM. for some of us, this was crazy exciting! For others, the fact that we would be living in China for 10 months still hasn't set in yet. For some, even as we sat in the airport in Shanghai, the fact that we were in China was STILL surreal.
You could almost taste the excitement in the air as we boarded the plane. And we knew, there was 14 hours in the air to feel excited. Especially if you had the middle seat . . . Sorry, Mac. 😛😜
Nonetheless, that didn't stop me.
With my new camcorder, and SD memory card that I bought just hours before, I set to document my memories. Sure, I'd be missing all the fun events that high school has in store for seniors but I'd also be stimulating my passion for learning foreign languages! (Thank you, NSLI-Y for the opportunity!)
Of course, the weather in Shanghai the day we arrived was the most humid day of the week. Pennsylvania has rarely seen such humid days. I felt attacked. However, that feeling was quickly overridden by anxiousness. Even though our AFS chaperone, Georgia, and her husband were precious beings, I couldn't wait to meet the volunteers from AFS China. I was ready to start speaking Chinese right away! Fatigue had nothing on me. 😃

NSLI-Y Chinese Academic Year Finalist

As a recipient of the NSLI-Y scholarship for the 2018-2019 academic year, I am quickly becoming an advocate for the scholarship. Not only has it only been three days since I arrived in my host country, but the experience just as quickly been integrated to my lifestyle.
A full scholarship to live in a language immersive environment, learn about a foreign culture, engage in the local community, and endless opportunities to be a citizen diplomat as a high school student seems way too good to be true!
But I reassure you, that although it is too good of an opportunity to pass up, this opportunity is 100% real for American citizens.

Let's actually discuss the NSLI-Y scholarship and program:

What is NSLI-Y?
The National Security Language Initiative for Youth is a government-sponsored scholarship and program that invests in sending abroad approximately 600 high school students on summer and academic year programs to develop proficiency in one of eight less commonly taught languages that the U.S. government deems to be critical: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin),  Korean, Persian, Turkish, Russian, Hindi, and Bahasa Indonesian. The scholarship is part of the National Security Language Initiative.

What does NSLI-Y cover?
All expenses, excluding pocket money and the fee for passports (i.e. passport renewals).

Who gets chosen to receive a NSLI-Y scholarship?
American Councils has consistently shown a preference for applicants that demonstrate maturity and passion for learning languages and culture. There is not a language preference. Complete beginners to advanced learners are chosen each year to participate in a NSLI-Y program.

To review your eligibility for the scholarship, check out the official page: www.nsliforyouth.org

2019-2020 Applications are closed!!