I donated blood at around 7:00 P.M. today, and I'm glad I worked up the courage to go! It really bodes well that I got through the whole process without feeling too dizzy or sick, especially since my first blood donation saw me nearly passing out at the snack table. It's a sign that I'm in good health, and that my anemia is long gone.

That aside, I promised some more information about the CLS program, and more information you shall have...under the cut, of course!



1) "The spirit and intent of the CLS Program [is] to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." Participants in the program essentially serve as cultural diplomats-of-sorts as they study in their host countries.

2) Over 5,200 applications for the entire program were received, but only 575 scholarships were awarded, meaning that roughly 11% of the applicants were accepted. This is starting to sound like an information packet...

3) There is a special section on the acceptance form that requests applicants to "acknowledge that [theirs] are not official Department of State websites, and that the views and information presented are their own and do not represent the CLS Program or the U.S. Department of State." This raises some funny possibilities when the CLS participants write positively about heir host countries: "I think Russia and the United States are going to have a beautiful relationship in future years!...This view does not represent the CLS Program or the U.S. Department of State."

4) I'll be leaving for the orientation at Washington D.C. sometime between June 6 and June 16, depending on what city I'm assigned to...assuming that the orientations are different for each city, that is. I just hope the weather isn't too hot down there, since the capital turns into a small sun every summer.

That's...actually, that's about it for now. I have a lot of paperwork to print out, sign, and scan in again by the 15th of March, and will find out which city I'll be going to on March 1st.



I've been meaning to post this for ages -- the new challenge at cloverbooks needs to wait!

1. Answer each of the questions below using Flickr Search.
2. Choose a photo from the first three pages.
3. Copy the URL of your favorite photo into this site: bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php (e.g., keep default square tiles and choose 4x3 or 3x4 for the columns/rows; to get the pics, use right click 'copy image location'.)
4. Share with the world.
5. And leave comments.

01. First Name
02. Favorite Food
03. Hometown
04. Favorite Color
05. Celebrity Crush
06. Favorite Drink
07. Dream Vacation
08. Favorite Dessert
09. What I Want To Be When I Grow Up
10. What I Love Most In The World
11. One Word That Describes Me
12. My Nickname





Finally, a very happy birthday to mairenn_k! I'm so sorry I'm late, and I hope your day went well!