Wow

Wow. Everything has just happened so fast that Albert has hardly been able to understand the full gravity of this situation that he has found himself in. No. This is far beyond the time he almost dislocated his brother's chin with the coffee table. No. This is far beyond the first time he sat for an Add math test. No. This is far beyond the time he got kidnapped for looking like a criminal. No. This is far beyond the time the received the tissue with a lover's words strewn all over it in bad grammar which he mistakenly shrugged off as a joke which turned out to be all too frighteningly(and embarrassingly) real. No. Well maybe not way beyond for the last 2, but still,

WOW.

About a year ago, he filled out a preliminary form to join the program which he thought would never happen. Fast forward to now, he is sitting in front of a computer, with a faster Internet connection than all you suckers in Malaysia, in a small double storey plus basement house, on a farm, in a small town called Starkweather, in North Dakota, IN THE U, S OF A !!

Well, one of the biggest things that hit you(and hit you very hard), is the WEATHER. Usually when its -20 here, you consider yourself lucky. Simply because the temperature can very well dip to -30 or more, then, and only then, can the weather be considered "cold". But its not too bad really, Albert has acclimatised to it, as long as he has his 3 inch thick winter coat, he'll be fine outside(for about 10 minutes or soo, after that icicles start forming). But if you stay INSIDE, then theres nothing to worry about, in only gets chilly when its -30 c or colder(of course in case of the usual blizzard, theres a nice little basement to shelter in). So its all good.

But hey, snow comes with a price right? Not to mention ice skiing which he tried out yesterday, and after almost twisting his ankles and being buried in snow, he actually was skiing for a whole 5 seconds before falling. Not bad for a beginner. Close to bad but not there yet. Theres still snow mobiling and ice fishing still to come.

He also saw REAL snow actually falling from the sky, which wasn't as magical as he thought it would be, but in all fairness it was a very light one, so he's still waiting for some proper North Dakota snowfall(or blizzard, which ever comes first).

Then theres school. At first he really was anything but impressed because its was soo small it made SMK SS17 look massive. From grades 1 to 12 theres only 95 students. It was a small town anyway. But on the flip side everybody knows you and you know everybody here because they practically see each other in every class. The "see" part needs to be emphasized here because, surprise, surprise, there are quite a few blond bombshells here, and they are so friendly! How often do you get goodlooking blonds that aren't a b@#$! eh? They sure make up for quantity with the quality. The school itself is not too bad either, there's free lunch(which is great because at least if the food sucks, at least you know you didn't pay for it, which is what happens a lot of times in SMKSS17's canteen). The food here by the way, is much better that the usual school canteen fare back home. Nevertheless theres nothing that readily available salt and pepper cant fix when it comes to American food.



Ah, and his new family. His host family.His host dad, a 62 year old bachelor, Mr David Ericstad, and his host brother, Gigih(another exchange student from Indonesia) are a real sweet deal. David's only rule is that all rules are negotiable(if only all parents were like that). But he really has been very nice, and he is a awesome cook too. Albert has had lasagna, pumpkin pie, muffins, this thing they call hotdish and a whole load of other good, delectable home cooked American food that David whips up. And Gigih, well he's been here 5 months before him, which helps make the whole adjustment process for Albert as painless as possible. Just the first week in, and Albert has already been to birthday parties, basketball games(theres an awesome girls team here) and the lot, because Gigih here is like a ticket to a social life. Where he goes, Albert goes, his friends, are Albert's friends.

Although he lives on a farm, its just crop, so theres no animals or anything like that like you'd imagine on a farm. Even then, theres nothing much to do in winter time other than staying indoors, so Albert has yet to experience the farm life yet, but he's in no hurry anyway, after all, theres a good 6 months to look forward to.

And by the looks of it, its going to be a blast.

Touch Down

Well saying Albert arrived in the United States is very much easier said than done.
You try taking a 5 hour plane trip to Shanghai that ended up being a 12 hour one, and rushing through busy airports, clearing customs and immigration, getting on the same American airlines that crashed on 911, flying over the pacific with nothing more than movies you've already watched on your previous flight for entertainment, then rushing upon landing, clearing customs and immigration again, getting on another flight to Washington DC and moving around having the handle broken off your 20 kg luggage which you had to drag around thanks to the guys that check your luggage.

But yeah, he's now in the United States.

There was an orientation in DC with the other 40 students that traveled with him and they got to visit the Washington Monument(the white pointed tall building you always see on TV), the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol building. In between there was an interview with the the 8tv people and many other moments that were caught on camera which will probably make it to your TV come the end of July if it survives the censors.

The funny thing was before everyone left for their respective host families, a lot of them cried and hugged each other and you would have got this feeling that everybody would have rather stayed together throughout their 6 month stay rather than split up the way the acted. Even those that put up a brave face had dampened spirits. All this even when the have only spent 10 days together throughout the interviews, camps and orientations that they did together. Strange how fast they bonded together. The last couple of days especially for Albert as he shared a room with Daniel(that British Malay guy), Andrew and Joe(the rapper) who were absolutely hilarious. The last time he had so much fun was when he was with Boon, Tim and co in school. Sigh.

Nevertheless, they all had to split up, and there was the all too familiar promises to keep in touch which everyone agreed to do, but it was comforting to know that they will be together again before they leave the country(and hopefully even after that).

A couple of flights later(and a very nice American called John), Albert landed in Fargo, North Dakota where he was greeted with -10 c temperatures and AFS people. But he came prepared, had 7 layers of clothing on, which he soon discovered to be unnecessary, so he was all snug even with that kind of weather. He also got to see live snow for the first time. It didn't snow there though, but it will soon. He hopes.

Right now, Albert is living with his host dad and brother(an Indonesian guy who is on the same program) who have been extremely welcoming and friendly. Right now they've got a movie going, and Albert is supposed to join them. Its time to do something American anyway.