7-13 Jan 2013

Hi All,

This week has been so exciting! So here is what I did :)

Monday 7 Jan 2013
Today was a momentous occasion for Amy as she received $130 000 of funding for her project which helps kids walk and bike to school. She will be upgrading sidewalks and helping children with no or a broken bike find the means so that they can get to school without having their parents drive them. Marc, Caroline and I attended the ceremony in support of Amy and I was lucky enough to meet the Governor of West Virginia! That night we went to Jeremiah's basketball game where his team won! WOO!

Tuesday 8 Jan 2013
Today was just a relax day so Amy and I stayed home until Caroline came home then we took her to tennis and went to see Capital High. It is huge! I was so excited to finally start going to an American school.

Wednesday 9 Jan 2013
Officially a Capital High student! WOO! I registered for Capital today and got to choose my subjects. It was required that I do English, Algebra 2, Biology and Contemporary History and my electives were Forensic Science, Acting 2 and TV Production. I walked around the school with the counsellor. She took me to meet the acting teacher just to ask if it was ok to join the class. As I stood in the doorway talking to him, I could hear the kids in the class hushing each other just to hear me speak! It was a little overwhelming when the teacher told me I had to audition for the class. He told me to come back the next day at 12 with a monologue prepared. I went home and practiced until I knew it off by heart!

Thursday 10 Jan 2013
Audition Day! At noon, I went back into Capital High to audition for Acting 2. I met the teacher, Mr Corbett, and went into his office for an interview where I said my name, acting experience and any general facts about myself then I performed my monologue. I was so nervous but Mr Corbett seemed to be passionate about the performing arts so I knew that if I went all out that it would be ok because he understood. I PASSED! Then Mr Corbett proceeded to tell me that I must be a part of ALL performances and that the auditions for the next performance were that afternoon! At the auditions, I met so many amazing people! They were all so welcoming and I felt at ease after meeting them all! I even recognised one from Cougar TV (the TV show that reports on all the things happening at the school). Shayna, Angel, Brittany, Amanda, Ethan, Wesley, George, Nayde, Colleen, Darienne, Daniel, Madisyn, Charlyn and Catlyn are all the people that I met at the auditions! They made me so excited to start at Capital.

Friday 11 Jan 2013
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! AHHH! I was so nervous to start school but as soon as I met some new people who were so amazingly nice I felt my nerves disappear. I met a girl who showed me to my homeroom where I met so many outgoing people including, my now great friend, Hayley. They were all so nice (I have said that so much but I am serious EVERYONE I met at Capital was nice!) It made me feel like I was at Columbans again sitting in PC with my Duhig 3 family, but this is my new school family and they make me laugh so much with their outgoing personalities! I went to each of my classes (with some help from some kind people) and met my teachers and classmates who, again, were amazingly nice! Then lunch came and I was so hungry but after hearing all the things about the cafeteria food I was a little hesitant about eating it. As I waited in line, I felt like everyones eyes were on me, I heard them whispering 'She's from Australia' 'That's the new exchange student'. I knew that they werent saying anything mean but it was just that fact that people were talking about me made me feel weird. Not a bad weird but a good weird ahahah if that makes any sense. After all my classes, I had to catch the bus home. That's right a big, yellow, American school bus! I was so nervous but I met another amazingly nice girl by the name of Keirsten, she helped me find my stop became such a great friend to me. All throughout the day, Angel kept asking about the Snowflake ball that was that night but I had to keep saying I couldn't go because of other commitments. I was a little bummed that I couldn't go but I knew that they were always going to be other dances. When I got home, Amy informed me that Marc was sick so we couldn't go to the dinner we were supposed to so I asked if I could go to the dance that night. Amy said yes and we went to Macy's to find an outfit. After 30 minutes I found the perfect dress and shoes so we raced home so I could do my hair and make-up and head off. I arrived at Capital just in time and saw the commons area be transformed into a winter wonderland. It was just like the movies! I met up with Angel and Hayley and we danced for a little bit until I met up with Keirsten and her boyfriend Caleb. They were both so sweet and we danced together for the majority of the night but not before a nice guy by the name of Marshall asked me to dance! It was so cute! Again, just like the movies. It was a slow dance so we swayed side to side with Angel and her date. Marshall was so nice as to dance with me, I feel like I have made another great friend! That day and night was one of the best of my life (so far) and I cannot thank the wonderful people that I now call my friends for making it an amazing day!

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 Jan 2013
The weekend! It was a very creative weekend as Amy, Caroline and I created truth cards for girls in countries who have escaped horrible circumstances so that they would be able to look at the cards and feel loved. We also went to an uncork and create session where we painted the Charleston skyline in a step by step process lead by the artist.

This week has been so eventful and so amazing! I feel so lucky to have such an amazing opportunity and I am trying my hardest to take everything in and to try every opportunity that comes my way!

Until next time,

Ellie xxxxxxx