Hedersleben Fire Department

Today, August 28th 2015, we got to meet the Hedersleben fire department. Language camp is a lot of work and learning, but there are also a lot of fun times!

Here we got to go up 29 meters in the bucket of the fire truck ladder. Great time! (sorry it is sideways!)

Hey all, sorry for not blogging much I just have been sooooo busy doing homework.

Magdeburg was really cool! The staff here allowed us to explore the town a little bit. We learn about the political  structure of Germany. We also went to Leipzig a few days ago.

I'm currently working on language skills. All of you guys who have made it to the finalist group. Practice  your German it will help. The classes are split by time of practice. Advanced is like they were from Germany. Intermediate is basically a bunch of people with mixed skills from good to decent. Beginner is you are new to German. I was put in intermediate but I dropped down to beginner.

I can't wait to finally meet my host family. In Hedersleben we do have WiFi just not in the rooms. I am now in 2 weeks into language camp. It's been really fun! The group here was very open and friendly.

Other bloggers

 To make it easier for those who want to learn more about the CBYX experience, I'm collecting other bloggers' urls here. Hopefully it helps you learn more with less work.  (Shout out to Dana from ASSE)



ASSE: https://asse.com/home/
Libby Allen: libbysabenteuer.wordpress.com
Dana Baughman: danasdeutschesabenteuer.blogspot.com
Mila Butler: wanderingrabbitindeutschland.wordpress.com
Kacey Johnson: cosmopolitanperegrination.blogspot.com
Karissa Noragon: aworldwideadventure.blogspot.com

AFS: http://www.afsusa.org/
Kaitlin Caffrey: kaitlingoesgerman.wordpress.com


CIEE: http://www.ciee.org/
Stay Tuned!

FLAG: https://www.flag-intl.org/
Zachary Best: zacharyingermany.blogspot.com

YFU: http://yfuusa.org/
Riley Miller:  oncetheplanelanded.wordpress.com
Sarah Sirna:   deutsches-abenteuer.blogspot.com


- Zach

The Gastfamilie

Sorry everyone for not posting in a while, I have been busy trying to learn German.

Anyways I have finally "met" my host family! I will be staying near Cologne in Weilerswist! We're communicating using the "WhatsApp" app. It's a great way to text people internationally without incurring charges to your phone bill. After one year it costs 99 cents, up until then it is FREE!

You can snag it here: https://www.whatsapp.com/   I will be also using the app for when I'm in Germany and want to text my parents and family. I think it makes my mom and gogo (nick name for my grandmother... long story) feel a lot better.

I'm really excited to go to Germany! Just fourty more days! Not only am I going to Germany in August im also turning fifteen or in German, Fünfzehn.

I made it!

Just found out today that I am going to Deutschland! I will be doing a few Skype Conferences between now and then. I am really excited for August 8. Why?? August 8 is when we leave to go to Germany.

Interview Time with FLAG and CBYX

I've been waiting since Feb 21st or so for March 10th to finally get here! I've thought of what questions might be asked, I googled CBYX/FLAG and others to see how other people dealt with the interview process.

My parents helped me think about what to expect and a good friend of theirs even gave me a mock interview. He also gave me some pointers to think about, but said I did great. Coming from a man who has a prestigious background and interviews students for Brown University, that meant a lot to me! Thank you, Mr. H!! I wanted to call him Mr. Bill, but that sort of reminds me of the little clay character that was always getting smashed, so I choose Mr. H.

I decided I wanted to make a good impression so I wore some nice slacks, button down shirt and a tie. I like to look nice and people tend to remember you for negative reasons if you under dress.

So, the morning of the interview I think my mom was more nervous than me. We left the house early to get into Albuquerque, allowing for possible traffic problems. We got to the hotel at like 0925 and my interview was not supposed to begin until 1000. So I had time to relax, remember to breathe and thought about Germany and how cool it was going to be!!

Finally it was my turn and my parents talked with one lady who actually works with the FLEX program of FLAG. I talked with two ladies. One was representing FLAG and the other represented CBYX.

The interview was more like a conversation. I was expecting something like a job interview or something. The ladies were very nice and easy to talk with. They asked many different questions and I'm sure they change them up for each round.

The main things to remember are:
1. Be Yourself!
2. Relax, they're not going to eat you!

My parents said that their chat with the person from FLEX was really helpful and informative.

After my portion with the two reps was over, my parents went to talk with them and I hung out with the FLEX rep and another applicant. We talked, I gave out my email address, too. We didn't have a group project as I had read about with other years. I'm not sure if that's something they changed or if we had too small of a group.

I feel good about my interview. I was open and honest. Being the youngest applicant, I do have a worry that my age could go against me. I won't be 15 until August 6, we leave August 8. You have to be 15 the date of travel. I don't know if I'm the youngest applicant to date, or just this year.

We all find out April 1st... April Fools day! They did promise not to prank us though! hehehe

A few tips to help ease the anxiety/stress.
Have a good support group. My family is very supportive and we talk, a lot.
Join the Facebook group for your year...** I googled "CBYX 2015-2016" and found a facebook page for hopefuls, I also later was given a link to the CBYX/FLAG 2015-16 hopefuls page. Being able to make friends with people who are going through the exact same thing is really helpful. Yes, you're competing against those people... but that doesn't stop the camaraderie.

**adding this note here. It has been decided (for good reasons) that facebook groups for FLAG hopefuls is not allowed. We are not sure about finalists. Anyone who makes a group in the future will most likely be in trouble. Due to some not so great things that were said by a student, the management of FLAG had the group disbanded. If someone misrepresents FLAG in any way, it could reflect poorly on their Congressional funding. Sometimes people don't use their best judgement.  If you want to keep in touch with those you interviewed with, get the email addresses and friend them that way. Just keep in mind what you are saying in public can come back and bite you. It's best never to air out your dirty laundry online anyways, that stuff NEVER goes away. Once it's on the net, it is there forever.

Zach

Applying for CBYX

So I thought I would post about the actual application process for those who might be worried, nervous, or just curious.

Here is the CBYX 2015-16 Program Timeline
Fall 2014: Application becomes available online
December 2014 - February 2015: Apps are due (deadlines vary by implementing organization)
January 2015 - March 2015: Regional organizations select Semi-Finalists
February 2015 - April 2015: Interviews are conducted with Semi-Finalists
March 2015 - April 2015: Finalists and Alternates are announced
May 2015 - August 2015: Pre-departure preparation for all Finalists and Alternates
July 2015 - September 2015: CBYX scholars depart for Germany
June 2016 - July 2016: CBYX scholars return from Germany

There are 5 different organizations that cover the United States, where you live depends on which one you are a part of. I'm in New Mexico, so I'm under the FLAG organization.

First of all, it is difficult to get everything completed in just a few days. You need to have a lot of information at your finger tips, or have a way to get said information. Here's some of the things I remember...

You'll have to answer essays about yourself. You need to be able to talk about your strong points and your weak points, honestly. Don't sell yourself to be something you're not, they'll find out instantly in the interview process. Be yourself. Be true to you. That's the best advice I can give you for this entire process.

You'll need to get two people to answer questions about you. A teacher, counselor etc. If you're home schooled like I am, then the parent who home schools you is one, and the other can be an adult who you have volunteered with, or participated in an activity with. They will ONLY accept TWO... so if you ask many people, keep in mind the first two to turn in are the ones they take.

There's a lot of thinking that needs to go into the application. Having said that, my mom and I worked on it in one afternoon because we found out about the program literally 2 days before the deadline.

You'll want a good picture of you... shoulders and up, very much like a head shot, but you don't need to go get a professional head shot taken! Not only can it be expensive (I know my mom had to have them done to be an extra on TV shows) but they also take a long time to get back. Time is of the essence.

Make sure you've followed the directions for each section. Check for spelling errors, grammatical errors. Make sure you're representing YOU honestly.

We turned in everything by Jan 31st and we received an email about being selected as a semi-finalist about 3 weeks later on Feb 21, 2015.

Not too long after that, I got my interview information. More on the interview in another post!

If you have questions, feel free to ask them and I will answer as soon and as Best as I can.

Here are some links for your reference:

Visit the CBYX program website to learn more about the program:http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org.

The CBYX program is managed in the US by five implementing organizations: AFS-USA, ASSE, FLAG, CIEE, and YFU-USA.

Your program application will be managed by the implementing organization in your home region. To determine which implementing organization works with your region, their contact details, and the application deadline, please visit http://www.usagermanyscholarship.org and select your state under the "Apply Online" heading.




Zach