The last weeks were truly..  interesting, to say the least so let me tell you the story.

It all started with me moving in with my new host family. This also meant that I moved into a different district of APS (Albuquerque Public Schools). And there is a little policy of APS stating that exchange students are required to attend the school in which’s district there host family lives. So I would have had to transfer to a different high school more exactly highland high school. OK it is close by, about a 10-15 min. walk but it doesn’t have that great of a reputation. Also there is the fact that it took my, literally, months to really find good friends at Sandia and to get involved. And I didn’t feel like doing that all over again. So I tried to stay at Sandia. More précised the day my old host dad was withdrawing me, after all paperwork was signed I started fighting that decision. Here fore you need to know that usually the organizations, YU so to speak, deal with the placements of foreign exchange students because otherwise they mess up there relationship with the schools which than in return won’t take any more exchange students. So YFU was pissed. APS had its policies and wanted to be consistent so basically they were pissed, too. Nice position to start from. Oh yeah by the way my old host dad said I should stick to my decision and not piss everyone of so basically he was pissed, too. But don’t get me wrong not everyone was pissed. My Advisor and the Co-Principal as well as my new host dad stood behind me. And so a struggle began. Which had the side effect that for one week I was going to Sandia without having a locker or book which is kinda nice. During this week The Co-Principal Ms. Stan and my host dad (the new one) started contact with the responsible persons of APS and at first everyone was very confident we had many arguments and a reason for hope. But only for a few days than Ms. Stan had to give up her hopes because she used all her arguments and after all she is an employee of APS. But my host dad and I came up with some more things to do and caped trying. Until last Friday when my host dad had a phone call with the responsibles telling him that they couldn’t brake with there policies etc. But again as the title says “Never Back Down” and we didn’t. Paul (my host dad) simply wrote to the boss of the person who had denied the whole thing. He send him everything and also Ms. Stan made and appeal, put in a good word for me. And then suddenly out of nowhere 9while I was watching Heroes Season 4 an awesome show) we got a mail from the Secretary of Education (or something like that) of APS telling me that I would be allowed to stay at Sandia and that APD would reconsider its policies.

Awesome there really is byrocraci admitting a mistake, I couldn’t believe it but it is true. So now Pal gives me a ride to school every morning and in the afternoon I take the City Bus home (takes about 70min.). So I am happy and of cause that is reason enough for APS to want me to tell my story, after all I am happy with APS.

I guess you would also like to know about my new host family. I now have two little host sisters no idea how old they are (though I think 15 and 12) a new host mother and a new host father we also have two dogs, to whom I by now refer to as small (they are up to my hip). And the last part is the one that makes my wonder because I still haven’t lost all my fear of dogs, though with those two guys everything went just perfect. I now have my own room which still is kinda in progress. When I came here a bit more than a week ago it was a room with unpainted walls and no furniture, we even raised a wall to separate it from the laundry room. But now it is painted has a brand new extremely comfortable bed, a working desk, some hangers for cloth (more are coming this weekend) and a unplumbed sink. Last of which is by far the coolest part of the whole room. Otherwise the house has two stories one of which is half belonging to the girls, they kinda have there own “wing”. I personally don’t like the fact that I now have to use Vista if I wanna use a computer, but hey you can’t have everything. One other good thing is that I can continue to attend services at the same church and be at that youth group since my new host family is heavily involved in it and my old host family doesn’t go to church at all.

Yeah so far my life is pretty awesome. And it is still going up since the pool club at Sandia now has its own Tables.