Waiting, waiting, and more waiting.

So, the organization that I applied through is called YFU. I've been talking to some other people on this website called Cultures-Shocked and people from other organizations have been beginning to find out whether or not they are finalists.

So I decided to send YFU Admissions an E-Mail and ask them when I could possibly be expecting to find out whether or not I am a finalist. I got an E-Mail back saying that they hoped to notify us be the end of April.

So moral of the story is, that YFU is slow.

Also, on Friday while I was at school I got another E-Mail from YFU saying that they hadn't received my entire application and that they were missing one of my teacher recommendations. So I was able to print out another recommendation sheet and give it to a teacher (had to be done then, not school Monday, and was due on Wednesday) and got it filled out before I left school on Friday. When I got home I called YFU to ask them about it and the lady that I talked to pulled up my application and told me that they were not missing any of my application documents and that I was "good to go". So I'm glad they had everything, but also angry since they told me that they didn't have something that they needed from me, I did a bunch of extra work to get one to them on time, only to find out that they indeed had everything.

Today, Monday the 15th, I received a large envelope from YFU, I was hoping it was a finalist notification letter, but no such luck. It was however a German Proficiency Test.

Not quite what I was hoping for but it's good to know that YFU hasn't forgotten me.

What is CBYX?

CBYX, the entire reason for my life...but what is it?

CBYX stands for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program. In which every year the United States(and German)government awards 250 high school students a scholarship to live in Germany for a year, for close to nothing.

The program began in 1983 as a way for the US government to help build relations with Germany as "youth ambassadors". What the students get out of it is a life changing experience, and a global perspective of the world, as well as learning about German culture while teaching about American culture, and essentially helping to get rid of stereotypes. I see it as a way to become more independent and understand the world on a global and international level.

That's all fine and dandy, but what exactly will I be doing with this scholarship?
Well, assuming that I actually get the scholarship, I will live with a host family who I've never met, I know some people think that's crazy, somewhere in Germany for 10-11 months while attending a German high school, learning about the culture and the language. I get to take some trips in Germany and I get to take a trip to the capital of Berlin. This scholarship pays for almost everything, it doesn't cover, spending money, domestic airfare, and my travel expenses(i.e., to school) once I get to my host home. The best part of this scholarship is that I get to learn a language in the greatest way imaginable, total immersion.

I found out about the scholarship last February(2009-not long after the deadline!!!) and I've been waiting for my chance to apply for it ever since. Now having applied and having had my interview in late February, I'm just waiting, not so patiently, to hear back about what the next step in the process is.

So that gives you a basic background on what CBYX is.
There is more information at the official CBYX website .