NSLI-Y SEMIFINALIST!

So I guess I should share the story of how I got my semifinalist notification and how everything went down. Remember, however, that this type of stuff varies from year to year and it might be completely different in the summer of 2015. Who knows with NSLI-Y, right?
So the stressful process of waiting began after my interview, and they finally started announcing notifications in March. Usually the notifications came out on Fridays but the second to last country, China, got their notification on a Tuesday (I think). Korea was the last country announced, possibly because of visa reasons (you don't need to get a visa to go to Korea for this length of time! Yay!), and was also announced on a day other than a Friday. Korea notifications came out on Monday, March 31st around 4-5 o'clock, which is the time they usually came out for the other countries too. Thank god NSLI-Y didn't take advantage of their power to play a cruel, cruel April Fool's day joke on us.
This is just speculation, but I think Korea notifications went out in alphabetical order because of the order people in the Facebook group and Kakao Talk chats were posting. As soon as I saw that people were getting emails I freaked out because I hadn't got it yet. I waited for 15 long minutes, where I frequently alternated between panic and zen. Then I got my lovely email, which simply said to see the attached document. The document held all of my hopes and dreams- the departure date, general information, as well as a couple of basic forms you had to fill out and send back with a copy of your passport picture. It was a beautiful day but it still doesn't feel like real life.
The interesting thing about this summer program is that there are kids going to both Seoul and Jeonju, which I don't think has happened in the past. I'm not sure how many kids are going to Jeonju, but there are 50 going to Seoul this year. The Jeonju program is run by American Councils while the Seoul program is run by iEARN USA. I was assigned to the Seoul program, where we will be taking classes at Sogang University. They said that we should expect a 45 minute to an hour commute simply because Seoul is a very large city. In a following email by iEARN, they invited the Seoul kids for a conference call to discuss general information and any questions or concerns. It was pretty straightforward and most of the information in the email was just being clarified by participants. They also provided a long FAQ document attached to the email.
I'll try to keep the blog updated as more information about the program comes out. My efforts to contain my excitement are failing miserably.
I want to go to Seoul with all of my heart and...seoul.
And with that....peace.

NSLI-Y Semifinalist Interview

So today I had my semifinalist interview for NSLI-Y and I thought I’d share how things went down. Honestly, it was a lot less stressful than I thought it was going to be and I actually kind of enjoyed it. 

My interview was from 9 am-12 pm, but I finished about 11. Since the interview location was about 3-4 hours away from my house, my parents and I ended up staying in a hotel the night before. The interview was held at a church (in the nursery/childcare part, actually) and it was hosted by AFS. We got there about 20 minutes early, but over half of the applicants had already arrived, so I highly suggest getting there pretty early. There were 14 other people applying. I didn’t get the chance to talk to them too much, but I think a lot were there for Russia, India, and China. Everyone was dressed nice- I saw a lot of girls in skirts and pants and a blazer. I wore a dress with tights and a sweater because I just really like dresses, haha. Just wear something nice and comfortable- you want to be presentable and make a good impression! 

We signed in and got name tags, and then both the parents and applicants had to fill out  some paperwork. The parent questionnaire was pretty short and asked questions about home and family life, as well as things like “what are three adjectives to describe the applicant”. The questionnaire I had to fill out was fairly long, and also asked about home life, family, school and after school activities,  as well as your goals for the program, etc. I think it really helped me prepare and brainstorm some answers as a lot of the questions came up again in the actual interview. 

Then AFS gave a presentation on studying abroad as well as the programs they offer. They talked about some general study abroad information and then offered other opportunities in case you don’t get NSLI-Y. In fact, they gave out AFS application fee waivers for semifinalists so that if they wanted to do an exchange with AFS, they don’t have to pay the 75$ app fee. They also had a refreshments table set up in the back, but no one was there before the interviews because we were all too nervous (I know I was).

Since there were more applicants than volunteers at my location, there were two groups of interviews with a 15 minute break in between. Thankfully, I was in the first group (I think I would have died if I waited any longer) and we went with our parents and interviewer into a private room. My parents stayed for around 15 minutes, and in that time they could ask questions about the program and then do a little “family interview” type thing. I guess bringing the parents in for the first few minutes could help alleviate some of the nerves so you would be able to talk and concentrate better during the actual thing, but I don’t think it would have mattered if they came in at the end either. All together, my interview was about 50 minutes long, but it was the longest/one of the longest in my group.

After the interview 2 NSLI-Y alumni (one that went to India and one that went to Russia) gave short presentations and answered questions, and then the second group of interviews started. After the second ones started I left. Now on to the questions! I have no idea if these questions are asked to everyone, but they are still helpful to prepare with and get you thinking about what you want to bring up.

Question asked with parents:

-Home life: who lives with you, what pets you have, any living restrictions or allergies

-describe the neighborhood and community where you live

-Parents: describe your son/daughter

-What activities do you do as a family

-After school activities, school life

Questions they asked me ALONEE:

-why the summer program? (I’m guessing it might be “Why year?” if you are applying for that)

-Why Korea/China (or insert choices here)? What got you interested in these countries/cultures/languages?

-What if you host family has different rules than your household? What would you do?

-What if your host family is really busy and can’t spend time with you?

-Positives and Negatives of the program

-What if your host family or others can’t understand you/your accent? How would you deal with this?

-Describe a time someone said something you didn’t want to hear

-Describe a difficult situation

-Describe yourself (this was a little awkward for me to do, haha)

-Talk about a time when you felt disappointed

-What would your friends describe you as?

-When was a time you tried something new?

-Describe a time you were in an unfamiliar situation? How did you handle it?

-Describe your sense of humor

That was basically it. One of my main tips would be to try and thing of a lot of situations in your life that were hard/helped shape you as a person and try and slip those in. I had came up with a list and then just tailored them to the question she asked. Also, just try and be calm, personable, and polite :). Don’t stress out and don’t prepare too much! Bonne Chance!   

(Originally published January 25th on tumblr) 

NSLI-Y application

So, this year I applied for the NSLI-Y language program for the second time (and now I’m a semi-finalist, woo!) and I thought I’d share some application tips that I learned from my own experience. Obviously, this isn't applicable for anyone who already applied for the 2014-2015 programs, but maybe it will help others who are thinking about applying or reapplying for the scholarship! 

1) Research as much as you can about the scholarship first. I know this might sound dumb, but going into the application process with as much information about the scholarship and selection process helps you feel a lot more prepared. If you know what kind of students they are looking for and what kind of things they want to know about you, it definitely helps as you write your essays. At the end of the day, you want to portray yourself in the best light possible, so knowing what they are looking for can help guide you in the right direction.

2) Be yourself. This sounds like a given, but sometimes it is hard to convey your real personality on paper (especially with a 250 word limit). The first time I applied for NSLI-Y, my essays were too dry and formal. This year I tried to be a little more casual, inject a little humor here and there, and tried not to get too stuck on the prompt. 

3) Tell a story with your essays. This kind of relates back to number two in that stories give the reader a sense of who you really are. Plus, they are way more interesting than statement after statement. Instead of saying “I am really open to new experiences”, try and tell a short anecdote about when you tried something new. Stuff like that really livens up your writing. This past summer I was required to read the book “Essays that Worked for College Applications” and it inspired me to be more creative (I'm a dork, okay). 

4) Use your strengths. Last year I got too focused on describing every thing I was involved in after school in my self introduction essay and I feel like that really weighed it down. This year I talked a lot about what I was passionate about, and I sounded so much more excited and lively. Also, i made sure to highlight some of my notable achievements in the last year. Hey, you want to show them your “best self” so there is no harm in talking about all of the cool things you have done. Don’t brag, but don’t try and be too modest either. 

5) If anything, give it time. This tip can be used for one application or if your are reapplying. For one application, just remember to slow down and really think about what you want to say. Start the essays early so you have time to edit them. Have someone else read them if you can, and after you write them set them aside for a few days. When you revisit them you will probably be able to see the good and bad a little clearer so you can make the necessary corrections. If you got rejected and are reapplying, don’t worry about your first application (don’t even look at it). People change so much in a year, so there is no need to worry about your previous app. When I reread my essays from last years application they are cringe-worthy and embarrassing, but maybe that is a good thing- I have grown up so much since then. 

I hope these could help someone. Just remember to stay positive about the whole process and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get in. Rejection hurts, but just learn from it and move on to new opportunities (cheesy, but true). In other news, my semi-finalist interview is in a few days and I’m excited but also a little nervous. I’ll hope for the best and whatever happens, happens ^_^ 

(originally published January 20th on tumblr) 

To South Korea and Beyond

Hello! I'm Tatum, a reader, writer, dreamer, language nerd, quote collector, postcard writer, and (arguably most importantly) a NSLI-Y scholarship recipient! So what does that mean? In just a few short months, I will fly 10 plus hours to a foreign country to then stumble through conversations in a foreign language and basically have the time of my life.
I started this blog to make inexcusably terrible puns and document my (approximately) 7 week journey to South Korea. Mostly to make terrible puns, though.
Anyways, I made some blog posts on my tumblr (http://everyflight.tumblr.com/) about the NSLI-Y application process as well as the interview, so I will copy and paste them into this blog as well. Hopefully this blog can inform future applicants, show people some awesome pics of Seoul, and at the very least, entertain me!