Embracing your Weirdness

It been a really busy time over here at Camp Drake, but I’m having a great time. I miss home a lot now though, and Camp food and Fast food is beginning to get a bit wearing!

I’ve written loads of entries for this blog, but never seem to have them with me when I can get to a computer. Also around 900 photos at the moment, and still another 3 weeks.

3 weeks isn’t that long though, the time has simply flown by. Its been hard work but so worth it. But it will be really good to get back to normality, and thats not too far away.

I’ve had tha chance to do lots of fun things, but I still haven’t been on a float trip yet – which will have to happen next week, because I won’t get the opportunity again.

Most tourists never get to see how a culture really works. They see the sights and thats about all it there is to them. Smalltown USA is how it really is, day to day, for so many people. Where I went you can leave your home unlocked all day and not worry, and the worst crime to report is driving too fast. There is an immense patriotism, complete openness, they will take you into their homes willingly and you feel immediatly welcome. As much at home as you can be in a foreign country anyway.

The country is vast, the towns sprawling, the corn growing, and it is getting warmer. Especially here in Illinois.

And they have some really long trains. I’m sure I saw a train that would probably stretch the length as Bath!

Anyway, thats all I’ve got time for at the moment.

One week down already… 51 days until I get home.

After about 17 hours travelling in finally arrived at Camp Drake last Tuesday. It was 10 pm local time (about 6 hours behind UK) so my body thought it was about 4am!!

It was a really cool flight over. I had a whole 3 seats to myself for the first flight, a window seat for the second, and a single seat on the last. Those Airports were huge. Newark has a train to take you between terminals, and Chicago was just huge. It took almost as long to Taxi round the Airport, as it did to fly down to Champaign.

Camp Drake is a really nice place. Its HOT here, but, when it rains, boy does it rain. I am teaching Citizenship in the World, and Communications BSA (Boy Scouts of America) merit badges. Its actually quite good now I’ve got used to it!

I miss all at home though, especailly J, and Mum and Dad. I have to call on this phone with a lot of interference so its a bit like talking to a fog, but it is nice to hear an English accent!

I’ve already visited an American Bar, a McDonalds, Fizollis (fast-food style Italian – which was an experience) – But I do miss English food – I’ll never complain again I promise!!

I’ve got some really cool random observations to post when I get a chance, but there’s no proper internet at camp so it may be a while.

I’m at the Airport, through security and my flight is in about an hour. My documents have been checked about half a dozen times but all that awaits now is getting on the flight (and then clearing US immigration, getting an onward boarding card, and two more flights… but not much really!).

It still doesn’t really seem real. Two months, 8 weeks… its not actually that long really. As J. said, It will be a really busy time and it will fly by! It’s just a bit surreal.

More than a bit surreal. In fact, decidedly odd.

Onwards and upwards.

The Great Adventure starts at 10:5o tomorrow!

Updates as and when!

otherwise known as the US Visa process!

The process to get a US J-1 visa is a long process that involves lots of form-filling and quite a bit of expense. This is a brief outline of the process:

• On receipt of form DS-2019 (exchange visitor status), schedule an appointment at US embassy – In peak times appointments can be over a month away so apply early!
• Fill in an application form, a work history form, and if you are male, another form about your work history, education background and military service. (These must all be completed online before you get to the Embassy although there are computers there for those who have missed a specific form).
• Have a 2inch square photo taken that meets the US requirements.
• If you are going as an exchange visitor or on a F-type of M-type visa pay the SEVIS fee at FmjFee.com
• Pay £63 Visa fee in cash. This will be accepted free of charge at Barclays or at your own bank (but possibly not at Building Societies) – Make sure both receipts are stamped!

Having done all this you are now ready to appear at the US Embassy in London… Which is an adventure in itself.

Be prepared – it takes ages and you will be bored. Take a decent book, some food and some drink. And if its a busy time of year maybe even a cushion as there weren’t enough seats when I was there. When you get in (as early as they will let you in would be my recommendation) you get a numbered ticket. Don’t lose this! This is the point at which you become a number.

You have to go to two windows. Firstly, you go to windows 1-11 where they take all your accumulated forms, photos, and scan your fingerprints (I’d been there an hour and a half before this happened for me).

Then you sit down and wait again. This bit takes ages and you have to concentrate as the numbers are not called in order this time. You go to windows 12-25 for your ‘interview’. Mine was short and sweet – basically what will I be doing and what will I be doing when I get back.

Assuming your Visa is approved, you then queue up again, this time to pay £9.50 for a secure envelope for your passport to be sent back in.

And that’s it. In my case this was followed by sprint to the tube (which had massive delays that day) a sprint through two stations, and finally another sprint onto the train back. By the time I finally collapsed in my pre-booked seat having moved another person out of it, I was about ready to fall over anyway.

All in all I was at the Embassy for three and a half hours. It was boiling hot and very boring. And with hindsight, I would have taken a better book and a decent drink. And booked a later return train. But we live and learn as they say.

Its a means to an end though. My Visa was approved and my passport should be winging its way back to me this week sometime.

And then I’ll be off – Not long now!

One day left. I worked it out the other day using some random tool on the internet – 3 years, 6 months, and 15 days since I began work. Thats a long time. Although I don’t leave until tomorrow, I had my leaving do this evening. It was very nice. I will always remember the people in this job. They are nice, normal, sensible people. And I am going to miss them all.

Looking back at the last three (nearly four ) years of my life, I can see how much I have changed. I am now a totally different person than I was.

Actually, thats not true. I think maybe I am the person I always was, but that I have the confidence to do different things. I think that the real me was trying to escape. Having a job, going to university, my invovlemnet with scouts, and the American Adventure have all been a fundamental underpinning of my development.

I am happy in my own life and in my own skin and I just want to make the most of what I’ve got.

Less than a week to go. It seems like only yesterday that I was stood nervously in the reception area, and now its almost over. They’ve been good to me I must admit – very flexible and the pay wasn’t bad either. If I’m honest (and when am I ever not?!?) my values and the organisations values do not match up (polar opposites in fact!). So it comes to a point where you have to pick yourself up and look at where you are headed – and if you don’t know where that is or have gotten stuck in a rut, then maybe, just maybe, its time for a change.

I’ve got the American adventure coming up soon. Its costing a small fortune, but I’ve found a cheap place to stay in New York (just a youth hostel) – which is about £400 less than a lot of places so I can put up with ‘Dorm’ accomoadaton for five nights! And then I can spend more money on seeing things and doing stuff – generally having a good time on what I save. Because lets face it, when I get back I will be unemployed and quite skint, so I’ll need every penny!

I am against working in a blame culture. Where I work if a mistake is made, or if something goes wrong, the first question that is asked is “Whose fault is it?”. There is no understanding of the simple fact that mistake happen, and that the best way to deal with this is not to embarass or deride the person who made the mistake – a quiet word can make all the difference.

Apportioning blame is secondary if a different question is asked – “How do we fix this?” It would make all the difference.

Its endemic of a poor working culture, and to be honest, it is a management issue that has fed down through the ranks – and now if people do make a mistake, I doubt they would own up to it.

Only five more days left to work there – so its not all bad.