Thoughts

School is flying by, it seems like just yesturday I posted about going to school and part four on your katimaroute... I have to admit I have been ignoring my blog...why? well there is nothing Katima related. But I just have a few things to note, kind of to tie in the ends before January. January it seems so far away, like it will never come but it will, faster than I can blink this year will be over and hopefully I will get accepted. But now that the date is getting closer (psh two and a half months til the January date is nothing lol) I have some questions, doubts, and nerves.

What if?
What if I don't get accepted? Well I have a backup plan for that, its very simple its called GOING TO SCHOOL. I have all my papers filled out and just have to get the reference letters, and then I am good to go. I am going to wait until I find out whether or not I get into Katimavik to actually go and give them to the colleges and universities. Luckily the date you get picked for Katimavik is like two weeks before the applications for colleges and universities are due. So I will have my applications waiting just in case I dont get accepted. Rule number one: Always I repeat ALWAYS have a backup plan for serious things like this.

Friends....
Umm well they don't really know I have applied for this... I have told a few but they don't really believe me. How do you actually break it to your friends that you are leaving?? or that the summer they believe will be the last epic one before we all get serious and become adults isn't going to happen? Just hop on the bus, and say goodbye then? I dont think your friends will appreciate that. I keep trying to break it to them, saying that I might not be here but they don't seem to really care, i guess. Maybe once I get the acceptance letter (do you even get one?) and fail the french test (Parce que ma francais n'est pas bon, c'est tres horrible!!) will they believe me then? But I guess its just up to you how you tell your friends. Also don't be offended if they read your blog, its nice:) It shows they care, and miss you. Also apologize in advance if you say anything mean to them.

Nerves
I am always hitting on this one right here. I am so nervous! All these what ifs are killing me! What if I dont get accepted? What if my katimamates are total jerks? What if I don't fit into the group? What if my french is so awful that no french person will understand me? What if I get a job that sucks? What if I cant understand my work partners when they speak french? What if I leave and my friends forget me? What if I leave and its hard getting back to school? What if I leave and everything is different? What if... seriously this list could go on for a very very long while. But the most important one is IS THIS THE RIGHT DECISION FOR ME? I know this is what I want, but with all the doubts I have? it scares me, i never jump this blindly into anything.... But that is what Katimavik is about experiencing the unknown.

AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE, A sUNSET....JUST A SUNSET....WITH A KATIMAVICTIM

Step 4 on KatimaRoute

I thought some people might want to know what step four looked like. So perfect time to do a blog post. <-- thats step four. Nothing complicated or scary too it. You can open up a Katimaroute any time but no one will look at it until you pay your application fee. All the stuff surrounded in Green is red until you complete it. For the questionnaire you just get simple questions (I will type them out here, that way you guys don't try to steal my epic sauce answers. lol) 1.All Katimavik volunteers work 35 hours a week with non-profit organisations. As a volunteer, how will you contribute to these organisations? What are your strengths? 2.You will have the opportunity to discover two or three Canadian communities other than your own while participating in Katimavik. The Katimavik approach to discovery isn’t like tourism; the focus is on community integration. What does integrating into a community mean to you? What will you do to facilitate your integration into your host communities? .3.Katimavik promotes a non-traditional learning program that will enable you to learn through a variety of experiences and to develop certain competencies.

The Katimavik competencies are:

To interact with others in a variety of situations
To adopt an open attitude towards the diversity of social and multicultural realities
To communicate in both official languages
To engage in diverse work experiences
To apply habits that favour a healthy lifestyle
To develop an integrated vision of environmental protection and sustainable development
To engage as a citizen
To prepare to integrate, as a citizen, into the job market, school or other life event.
Which of these competencies are you most interested in developing and why? .3.Katimavik promotes a non-traditional learning program that will enable you to learn through a variety of experiences and to develop certain competencies. Which of these competencies are you most interested in developing and why? 4.Qu'est-ce qui te motive à améliorer ta maîtrise de la langue française? (I would assume you answer this one in French, I did) 5.In order to foster a positive experience and to ensure the safety of the program's staff and volunteers, Katimavik has established rules and standards. In what way will you take responsibility for ensuring the rules and standards are respected? and then you have to type in your social security number

For ID I just used my drivers license and my birth certificate, I scanned them and sent them (It took about 3-7 days for it to go green on my Katimaroute)
My Mom wrote a check for my application fee and we mailed it in. It took about two weeks for it to go green on my Katimaroute and almost a month and a half to two months for it to be taken out of the bank.

You can fill out your information in any order you choose. It really doesn't matter. Hope that helps. Any questions? (Post them in the comments I will try the best I can to help)

Will Ferguson

www.willferguson.ca I pray to gosh I spelt that right, if not google it, HE IS AMAZING! But seriously, he wrote a book called "I was a teenage katima-victim" I just finished reading it and it was amazing! I wanted to start Katimavik yesterday when I finished reading this book, it was funny, witty, and I hope it was truthful... It didn't just talk about the good things about Katimavik, it talked about the bad things (The fighting, the food, some job placements) I don't think I have ever been this captivated by a book, usually I read books and they don't stick with me, I read this one, and its like "Holy shark, I NEED TO DO THIS!" If you haven't read the book, I would recommend picking it up, even if you never plan on doing the program it was just so funny, and well I guess you will find out what else when you read the book. I am scared that this program is becoming an obsession...I need to find good recipes and work on my cooking (baking is fine, cooking um well I can cook basic things, but not more complex things) I also found out what tabernac means...yeah I found it on a few blogs, I yell the word outloud in my house (Luckily no one speaks french in my house! Thank goodness for anglophones!) and then continue reading find out what it is. Tehe now I have a word I can say and no one will know what I am saying...but I think it sounds cool! It sounds so much more polite than our swear words. Anyways I meant for this to be short, so see ya guys

NEXT TIME ON KATIMAVIK!
Well I guess next time I will just describe in annoying detail step 4 of application, god knows I have had enough practice with it.
OR
You may not see me 'til January hopefully with good news.

This week on KATIMAGIRL!

I have applied for Katimavik, yes me. Oh and in case your 100% completely and totally lost dont worry your pretty little heads, I AM TOO:) Just kidding, the program and description and to apply go to www.katimavik.org its for youth aged 17 to 21, I have applied for the 6 month program for July of 2011! I need better theme music.