Herzlich Willkommen!
Bodo here! I promised everyone I would start a blog and finally got around to it! I´m going to use this post to explain a little bit about myself, a little bit about my program, and a little bit about what you can expect to see here over the next 9 ½ months I have remaining in Germany (that in itself is crazy. I cannot believe a month and a half went by so fast [please note I also cannot believe I am staying here for 9 ½ more months {also please note that I can still not really even believe that I´m here at all}]).
About Me
Name: Elisabeth (Bodo) Johnson
Age: 18
School: I just graduated in June from Holy Cross High School in Dunmore, PA. I currently attend a Gymnasium in Bavaria, Germany. I am admitted to the University of Scranton class of 2023 where I will be majoring in International Studies and something else as of yet undecided.
Dream Job: Political Journalist and/or War Correspondent
Dream Language/s: Swahili and Arabic
Proudest Moment: Advancing to the final four in the 2018 Pennsylvania State Mock Trial Tournament!!!
Coolest Accomplishment: Receiving the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship! (What is that??? Keep Reading)
The Scholarship includes placement in a host family somewhere in Germany for 10 months. Recipients of the Scholarship attend a typical German high school, either for academic credit or for a gap year, and learn German by immersion. The Scholarship also includes a month-long Language Camp after arrival in Germany and before meeting host families (probably more on this amazing experience in a separate post), a mid-stay camp, an end of stay camp, and gateway/return orientations with the 50 students from each region. I am currently on CBYX with AFS (unarguably the best CBYX region) and my AFS camps and orientations are in DC-Hamburg-Munich-Berlin-DC respectively.
The CBYX Scholarship is available to anyone who is a U.S. citizen between 15 and 18 ½ at the start of the program, is a current high school student at the time of applying, and has a GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Please note the application process is difficult and lengthy so if you are interested in applying (which you should) start now!
What Can You Expect From My Blog?
That’s a very good question… I’m not really sure, but definitely many photos. I took hundreds of photos at language camp that I will try to sort through and edit and upload in the next few weeks. I will (Natürlich) continue taking pictures throughout my exchange, and I plan to do a “Month in Photos” every month. These will vary in length and topic obviously depending on what I do month to month but hopefully they will provide an insight into what my life is like here.
I will definitely try write down my thoughts, talk about my daily life, and share my personal experiences with immersion and learning German. Occasionally I will compile questions I’ve been asked- maybe write tips and tricks for CBYX interviews once that time of year comes around- definitely post stories of culture shock, embarrassing language moments, and anything else I feel like sharing. I’m sure I won’t be the most regular poster but I hope you all enjoy and I hope I can make things interesting enough to be worth sharing
Viele Grüße!
~ Bodo
