The secondary application

So, because I am a finalist, I have too fill out this LOOOOOOONG secondary application that another partner organization receives (and I believe this is the organization that would be watching us in Germany). There is about 20 pages of this stuff and it's quite extensive.

You start with some fun stuff where they ask for a picture of you and you get to fill out your character traits, hobbies/interests and what you want to continue when you're in Germany. (I want to continue skiing, cooking, swimming, photography and art.) Then they ask you about knowledge of other foreign languages, responsibilities (i.e. chores) around the house, curfew, if you follow diet guidelines, if you have pets and don't mind living with pets and if you've aver been away from your family for an extensive time. After that, you have to fill out papers on your religion and whether or not you smoke and if you mind living in a house with a family that smokes. (If you absolutely don't want to live in a family that smokes, DON'T put down that your fine with it. Just because you say your not okay with it doesn't mean that you will be dismissed from the program, they just want to find you the proper host family.)

After all of the student information is taken care of, you move into the more lengthy stuff. The first page is a list of short essay answers that discuss the topics of host family expectations, challenges during the program, homesickness and accomplishments in the host country. Then you must write a letter to the host family telling about your friends and family, along with your hobbies/interests. (This is their first impression of you, so DON'T lie!) After that, there is some question regarding your family and legal custody and then your parents must write a letter to the host family as well so they can show what my parents think of me.

Finally, the last part of the application is the hardest because it requires you to get all sorts of information from everywhere (and if you're on break when you get the application, good luck trying to find a teacher that can fill out some papers for you). This part requires you to give a teacher a couple sheets to fill out about you so they see a teacher's perspective of you and your personality at school. Then you must give your doctor a couple sheets to fill out so that they know all of your medical conditions and whatnot for the exchange. And if that's not enough, an immunization chart must filled out, a photo album must be put together so they know a little bit about your life, and an exchange agreement form/waiver must be signed.

In other words, I have a long task at hand, and all of this must be done within the next couple weeks. So wish me luck! And good luck to all of you other finalists out there completing these papers.

PLEASE FOLLOW!