Exchange Pins

There is a tradition in Rotary that each exchange student makes their own pins. It sounds strange, but it's actually really cool. Every student has a Rotary blazer and just about every other student they meet gives them a personalized pin to put on the blazer. By the end of their exchange, their blazer is completely covered in pins, and each pin has a story and a memory. The trick of making pins is that they have to be cheap and easy to make many of. I have yet to make my pins. I have a few ideas, but I don't know which one I'm going to chose. 

This picture is a to-scale map of Taiwan inside Indiana, where the hart is South Bend.This is one of my design ideas, it would be a button. Buttons are cheap and with the right tools,  are very easy to make.

This is my other idea. Same design, different style. I could do this with a shrinky dink, but that may be pretty time-consuming. My other idea, which would be really cool but might be costly, it to have laser cut wood done in this design at the local art place Make it South Bend.

This is how my blazer looks, so far

Worries

Although I am super excited to be an exchange student, I am also very worried. There are some things that are inevitable, if everything goes right I will still get homesick, actually sick, and there will be a huge language barrier. There is nothing I can do about that, but it doesn't stop me from being nervous. I'm going to arrive in Taiwan jetlagged, tired, and most likely not feeling completely healthy. My host family may speak Taiwanese, which I know none of, or Mandarin, in which case I can say hi, what is your name, and count to ten. That is pretty scary, but I also know that it will be worth it.  And, like I said that is if everything goes well. I could get on the wrong plane at a layover, and be flying in the wrong direction when one of the engines explodes and we plummet into the waves. Okay, I'm overreacting, but still. Really, I love flying, I'm good at keeping my cool under pressure, and I have a decent immune system. Who knows maybe some very cool actor will be visiting Taiwan, and I magically end up sitting next to them. After all, the Superman, as in Henry Cavill, was on my sister's flight back from Chile. It could happen!
Thanks for reading. Autumn

Conner Prarrie and Rotary Confrence

When we first arrived at Conner Prairie our mandatory volunteer activity was pulling up Garlic Mustard plants. Garlic Mustard is an invasive species that is everywhere in Indiana. This is a picture of me with a handful of the smelly stuff. Luckily, I don't mind weeding, I find it quite satisfying, actually.

After volunteering we got to explore Conner Prairie for a while. It was a lot of fun, and everything is more exciting with exchange students!

This is a picture of a group of us playing with old fashion toys! (From left to right, Rina, Don, Alisa, Poppy, Riko, and Mike)

Here are Alisa, Poppy, and Denisse exploring a kitchen and having fun

I took this picture while we were watching the Conner Prairie blacksmith forge a nail! 

While we were at Conner Prairie, my friends, Denisse, Riko, Poppy, Alisa, Rina, Riko, Sarah, and I got to go on a helium balloon ride! It was amazing!

View from the balloon

Don't look down!

Me on the balloon

Please note: cool (and huge) shadow

We spent the night on the gym floor of Noblesville High. It wasn't as bad as it looks, and it was nice to have everyone in one place. photo creds: Kimberly (who's going to Japan!)

Here is a picture of me, Barbra, and my fiend Wasa. (Wasa is going to France!) Barbra is an awesome person who I happened to sit next to at the conference. It turned out, she was presenting at the conference. Her presentation was amazing, inspiring, and tear-jerking. While she was on exchange in Germany she made a video of herself speaking as though she was talking to her future self. So while present Barbra stood on the stage, past Barbra was on the screen. It was amazing and I was very glad to get to share lunch with her.  

All the Possiblities

Because I still don't know where, in Taiwan, I'm going or what my family will be like, I find myself imagining doing small things next year in many different scenarios. Similar to the thoughts of Exchange Cat. 

Ten Thousand Villages Fund Raiser

May 7 through 12, Ten Thousand Villages is helping me fundraise. Please go, include this in your places to go for Mother's Day shopping! If a customer says that they would like to help support my exchange, ten percent of the proceeds will go to my exchange! I am so excited and hope to see you there! Thank you so much, Courtney Kubly, for your help coordinating this! Click here for more information

about Ten Thousand Villages. Click here for more info about the fundraiser. If you have any questions feel free to email me at autumncrisovan@gmail.com

The address is:
Centennial Place,
214 W. Cleveland Road

Granger, IN 46530

Phone: 574-277-4900

Pre-Exchange Happenings

 I have not posted in quite a while so the following will be a photo summary of everything that has happened that is Rotary or Taiwan related. Enjoy. 

This is a photo of many of the current Outbounds (ambassadors leaving the US) and Inbounds (ambassadors spending their year in the US) at the most recent Ancilla College conference. it was a lot of fun and a great chance to get to know other future, and current, exchange students! I'm really excited for this upcoming one! These are the training sessions that help us prepare to leave. If you are considering being an ambassador through 6540 I would recommend clicking here, because we spend a lot of time at Ancilla. (I'm front right, most of me has been cut off)

My family hosts an annual St. Patrick's Day Party that includes playing games, eating, and the main event: potato racing. Picture Pinewood derby, but rather than wood the cars are made out of a potato. This year my potato racer (as shown above) was inspired by the flag of Taiwan. We had other Taiwan-related activities, but I don't have pictures of those.   

I got this book for Easter. It is about a young Taiwanese-American girl who is spending a month in Taiwan for the first time. I would recommend it to those who wish to learn about Taiwan. It is a fairly easy read and does not take much time. Thanks, Aunt Pipi for this present!! 


Thanks for reading! 'Till next time!
-Autumn

Fund Raising!

(click image to enlarge)

Hi everybody, 
Here is my new fundraiser! You can order one of these t-shirts for $15 or you can be a sponsor! If your interested please email me at autumncrisovan@gmail.com or call at (574)-289-3295