Just got matched!
I am now officially matched and ready to realize my exchange. Of course, this opens up a new host of problems, ranging from paying for everything (which means selling lots of stuff), to dealing with the intricacies of the Chinese visa system. To be fair, it is not as convoluted as the US system, but still a headache. Looks like I am going to have to get a 6 month visa, and then fly to Hong Kong to renew it for the rest of my stay. I guess the good news is that I get to visit Hong Kong, which I probably would not of done otherwise.
Plane tickets to China are god awful expensive, but such is life I guess. I am also relishing the fact that I will get to deal with a 40 hour travel time (this includes an overnight lay over in Beijing). But, on the bright side, my salary will allow me to afford a pretty nice lifestyle in Changsha apparently, something that wasn't in the cards if I were to go to one of the east coast cities.
I'm also going to be this LC's first trainee, which is exciting and a little daunting. I am going to be the first glimpse into the power of the network for a lot of these AIESECers. I came up through an LC that, while not always posting the best exchange numbers, was always very active internationally. I was shown this from day one. For these kids though, I think only a few have even been to a national conference, much less an international one. Hopefully I can help motivate a few of them to live the dream and show them what it is all about.
All in all, I am very excited to get away from Tech for a year and finally go on a traineeship. I can't wait to try the food, meet the people, and everything that goes with moving to a new culture. I'm not terribly worried about anything, as it seems like the host LC is really trying to pull out all the stops for their first trainee, and lived in China for 3 months before, I am not to worried about culture shock. I am sure I will get homesick and miss friends, but hopefully I will be having enough fun and new experiences to make up for that.
Plane tickets to China are god awful expensive, but such is life I guess. I am also relishing the fact that I will get to deal with a 40 hour travel time (this includes an overnight lay over in Beijing). But, on the bright side, my salary will allow me to afford a pretty nice lifestyle in Changsha apparently, something that wasn't in the cards if I were to go to one of the east coast cities.
I'm also going to be this LC's first trainee, which is exciting and a little daunting. I am going to be the first glimpse into the power of the network for a lot of these AIESECers. I came up through an LC that, while not always posting the best exchange numbers, was always very active internationally. I was shown this from day one. For these kids though, I think only a few have even been to a national conference, much less an international one. Hopefully I can help motivate a few of them to live the dream and show them what it is all about.
All in all, I am very excited to get away from Tech for a year and finally go on a traineeship. I can't wait to try the food, meet the people, and everything that goes with moving to a new culture. I'm not terribly worried about anything, as it seems like the host LC is really trying to pull out all the stops for their first trainee, and lived in China for 3 months before, I am not to worried about culture shock. I am sure I will get homesick and miss friends, but hopefully I will be having enough fun and new experiences to make up for that.
Labels: matched, Traineeship, travel
posted by Bryan at
9:24 AM
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