The L.A. Ordeal

Hello again!
     So, some of you may know, but I recently had to take a trip to L.A. to submit my application to gain a Finnish Residence Permit. That sounds exciting right? I thought so too when I first got on the plane to go, but the whole thing kinda went downhill from there. First, Im not very good with flying (good thing I get too spend like 2 days getting on and off airplanes to get to Finland huh?), so I was already feeling slightly sick when I got in at 6 am. Luckily, my Aunt from San Marcos was there so I spent a few hours with her and my younger cousin catching up and doing some shopping. This seemed to dull down my nausea, so my excitement for the trip was back for the time being. After saying goodbye to my Aunt and cousin I met up with a group of seven other Exchangers going to Finland as well, and we were shuttled to the Finnish Consulate (or a small room in a big ol' bank). Once we arrived, we went through the process of having our paperwork checked and having our fingerprints scanned for our permits. We all had a good time getting to know one another and discussing our future exchanges.
     When the "interviews" were complete we got back on the shuttle bus and headed back to the airport. This is where things get ugly. Remember how I wasn't feeling well before? Well that feeling came back ten fold in the form of car sickness. So when we reached the airport, the airlines caught wind that I wasn't feeling well, and before they knew that it was only car sickness, they put me on a no-fly list. Yep, I got kicked off my flight. So there I was, stranded, freaked out, and kinda pissed off that I had no way of getting home and no where to stay over night. My travel agent Mele stayed with me, and we eventually came up with the plan that I would call my Aunt and ask her if she would drive back to L.A. (a two hour trip on the freeway) and pick me up so I could stay with her. Aunt Jane being the Saint she is instantly got in her car and came to get me.
     While she was driving I set it up with the airline that I would stay in California until the following Thursday (7 days) and then fly back home to Fairbanks. So this dramatic event ended up becoming a fantastic California vacation with my family that I haven't seen for two or three years! And on top of it all I got my Finnish Residence Permit, which was the last document I needed to get me into Finland. In the end it all worked out for the best!

 “Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect.” 

                                                                                                            ― Margaret Mitchell

Welcome! Tervetuloa!

     Hey guys! Welcome to my blog about the year I will spend in Finland. At this point I am still in Alaska, so I will start this thing off by introducing myself. My name is Katie Cadigan, Im sixteen years old and live in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fairbanks is a land locked town in the interior of Alaska. It boasts around 35,000 people, and is the second largest city in the state. Life in the 'Banks is simple, go to school, participate in sports or school activities, spend time outdoors, hang out with your friends. Its a slow and predictable routine that I have been following for six or seven years now, dreaming of the day I would get the chance to break out and see the rest of the world. Little did I know, that day was much closer than I thought.
     Just about eight months ago, while sitting in my second year Spanish class at West Valley High School, I listened to a presentation about Rotary's Youth Exchange Program. The presentation was given by some friends of mine named Kate and Robin, and I had heard about their experiences abroad, but never really gave the idea of leaving home for a year any thought. That is, until that day, on a whim I took a flier home to my dad and asked him if we could go to an informational meeting just of the heck of it. I'm not actually sure where I would be today if he had said no, and we hadn't gone to that very first meeting... All I know is that it life would not be the same if we hadn't gone. After filling out the paper work and going through the interview, I got the much anticipated phone call that said I was accepted as a Rotary Exchange Student, and thus began my journey. 
     It felt like years waiting to find out which country I would be going to. Luckily, I had three great friends in Fairbanks that were in the same boat as me; Cigne Torres, Annie Ruth, and Andrew Maxwell. We were scheduled to find out our country assignments at Winter Orientation down in Girdwood, Alaska at the Alyeska Ski Resort. As we boarded the plane, each of us knew anything could happen, and anything that did happen would be amazing. The first part of the weekend was spent getting to know the other Outbounds (people like me who are going on exchange this coming year), Inbounds (the people from around the world on exchange in Alaska), and Rebounds (the people from Alaska that just got back from their exchange). We also got the chance to learn about the different countries that we could possibly be placed in, and other general information about Youth Exchange itself. All of this led up to the main event though, the Country Assignment Banquet. 
     The night of the Banquet, I got all dressed up and made my way down to the large room where it was being held. Everyone present at Winter Orientation was there, you could feel the anticipation coming off the other Outbounds, I myself couldn't sit still! We listened to different speakers, and had dinner, but to be truthful I didn't hear most of it, I was too preoccupied imagining being placed in each of the different countries. I did check back into the proceedings when the Inbounds and Rebounds came walking into the room with the flags of their different countries, and envelopes containing the names of the new Outbound going to each of the countries walking through that door. As I listened to my new friends names being called out, and saw pictures being taken of them, I counted down the number of countries left for me to be placed in. Finally, two boys walked up on the stage, one named Kaden and the other named Ilkka, with them they carried a Finnish flag and an envelope. Kaden opened up the envelope and gave a quick introduction in Finnish, but what he said after that was the beginning of something wonderful. In unison, Ilkka and Kaden read off, "Welcome to Finland, Katie Cadigan." 

     Today I find myself at the two month mark. I am in contact with my first host family, and have three others lined up for me. My town is called Espoo, it is 15 minutes by bus outside of Helsinki (the capital), and my school is named Haukilahden Lukio. My Visa paperwork is all taken care of, and I took my trip to L.A. for my Residence Permit (a story for a different post). Now begins the game of hurry up and wait, and I have a feeling these two months will go by very slowly. But hey, every day is one step closer to my new life in Finland.