I'm going to Indonesia! (From IPSE and Beyond!)

That is the flag of my future home!


I can't believe it, I'm going to Indonesia!

I'm going to try to make this post sum up the past month of my life in the most timeliest of manners, so bear with me.

On Feb.28th, at around 9:40 P.M EST, while getting a new haircut, I received an email on my Nook HD. The little notification popped up and stated:
Yes Abroad: Semi Finalist Notification-ACTION REQUIRED.

I couldn't contain my excitement. I was literally shaking. The email read that to keep my semi-finalist status I had to attend the mandatory In Person Selection Event (otherwise known as IPSE), and they didn't have to tell me twice!

Within 3 weeks, I found myself at a train station, hugging my dad goodbye while clutching my brown duffel bag in my right fist. The conductor gathered my luggage and put it up in the train, waiting for me to come aboard. I found my seat moments later, and anxiously text my family that I was on the train, and had succeeded in keeping a seat all to myself.
The train ride was extremely long, but that was most likely because I was so nervous! I did message some friends thanks to AmTrak's free wifi, but time did not fly any faster, especially considering I had a 30 minute delay in Richmond.

When I arrived at D.C.'s Union Station, I was happy to see I had successfully memorized the map enough to easily find the police kiosk, where I met with the chaperones who would be leading us to the 4H center. They were really nice, and I was super excited to get this weekend started! (My introduction was a bit awkward, considering they thought I had been wandering around the station because my train was 30 minutes late. I had to explain about the delay.)

Moments later, my friend Victoria (Indonesia as well!), whom I had met on facebook before hand, appeared beside me and we shared a hug. The rest of the group started appearing, and we decided to have lunch on the other side of the station before our Super Shuttle arrived. My new friend Ama (also Indonesia!) convinced me to try Chipotle for the first time, and I was glad I did. After all, YES is all about trying new things, and Chipotle was definitely something new for my taste buds.

We arrived at the 4H center where after signing in, I ran into Lili (Bosnia) and Brandon (Thailand) whom were also Facebook buddies. I got to spend the weekend with lots of awesome people, and they helped me get through my interviews and group evaluations without a hitch. There was so many positive people, that the weekend was so great, I can't even explain it! Here's my favorite picture from the weekend:

From left to right (top row, then bottom) we have: Lili (Bosnia), Abeeha, Brandon (Thailand), Me(Indonesia!), Faber (Macedonia), Andrew (South Africa), Trecia, Victoria (Indonesia), Leah (Turkey), and Va'Trelle.

 

This group, plus Ama, were my good friends that weekend. We had so much fun together, and were all super supportive of each other! I'm so proud of all of us!

So then we had this excruciatingly long (or so it seemed), wait. The guess was we'd receive our notifications by Friday, April 11th, based off of the past years. But we were all sorely disappointed when nothing graced our inboxes.

Finally, the next morning, around 11 AM EST, notifications began coming out! Unfortunately, rejections came out first (for the first time, but the reasoning is understandable: not everyone wants to watch their friends get accepted, then wait and wait and find out they were rejected). My friends and I messaged each other nervously, and some of them were sad to find the email in their inbox. I called my mother and father, who were both away from home at that moment, to tell them that notifications were coming out, and at that moment I was in the clear.

Then around 12 PM, alternates began coming out. I suspected if I hadn't gotten a rejection, I was going to get an alternate. There was no way I was making it into the program!

I waited, and waited, and waited. Nothing came to my inbox. My mother told me she'd call me if she got an email. I waited and waited some more. Around 1 PM, a student got accepted into Bosnia. Did this mean I was in, since acceptances were now coming out? I prayed that was the case, I wanted this so bad! Email after email came out for Bosnia. Then my phone rang. I saw it was my mother, and at that moment I checked my inbox. All I could do was scream when I answered the phone. The subject read:

YES Abroad Program- Indonesia

I ran around the house without even opening the email, flying up and down the stairs and screaming to my grandmother I had gotten in. After my 15 second show, I ran back to my computer and told my friends that I had gotten Indonesia! We were all so excited as acceptance after acceptance rolled in!

Today, the day after I received my email, I sent in my acceptance forms. Now I just have to wait for AFS Indonesia to accept me, and I'm officially going to Indonesia!

I can't even explain how I feel. It's so beautiful and wonderful and I'm so thankful for the opportunity. I can't wait to begin my year (it's a whole 11 months!), and I'm so excited to be reunited with my friends at the Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO). This year is going to be rocking!


-Baillie