As soon as I received my guarantee forms, I booked my flight and applied for my Visa. I booked my ticket through a travel agent and arrive in Belgium on August 8th, just in time to see my host sister before she goes on her exchange to Wyoming. The entire flights takes 15 hours, including a stop in Chicago. Not to mention the drive from the airport which takes about an hour and a half... Whew I am going to be tired that day!
Also, about a week ago, I received my passport and my Visa inside of it. When it came, I was sooo excited. All I could do once I got it was stare at it and the rest of my passport, realizing how close this whole thing is! Once I saw that Visa, I knew this whole experience really was real and that in 28 days time, I really will be living in a completely different country and where, despite my hours committed to French, I still struggle with the language... This experience will definitely be life changing.
This weekend, my family and I went to Canada, where I was born, and went to visit some family friends. It was one of the best weekends of the summer, but was also very hard because it was one of the first goodbyes that I have had to say. The one of the many... My eyes started to tear up just thinking about saying goodbye to the rest of my friends and my family. But anyways, the main point that I wanted to mention was that while I was up there, I was able to purchase all sorts of Canadian nicknacks, souvenirs, and gifts to give to my friends. It was absolutely perfect! And even though it seemed like we got a lot, I know that the amount of wonderful people that I will meet during exchange will far exceed the amount of presents that I am able to stuff into one of the four suitcases/backpacks that I am able to carry on or check on for the plane. I also got to meet the mayor of my hometown, and he gave me some pins and a couple of hats! Hopefully I will be able to do the same sort of thing in my sponsor town...
Monday, July 11, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Newest Chapter of My Life
I never dreamed that I would be starting a blog before, but here I am. I guess that a blog is the ideal way to share what you are up to with family and friends back home without having to type the same things into 50 different emails / facebook messages. But right now, it kinda just seems like I am just writing to myself... Well, I guess I can just update you all on everything that I have been up to since starting the rotary process in October. Going on an exchange has always been something that I have wanted to do. My older sister has travelled all over Europe while living overseas during college, and after hearing about her experience I wanted to do the exact same thing. Just like every other person involved in the host exchange, I had to be interviewed by my host club and approved for the whole thing. Luckily, unlike most other people in my district, I didn't have to beat out any other students to be able to go on exchange.
After the host club interviews, I went up to Victoria, B.C. along with all of the other candidates and was put through another nerve-wracking round of interviews. It was my impression that this group of 5 people was going to decided whether I was good enough to represent the U.S. and Canada on an exchange, but I learned after the interview that they were only talking to me to get a feel of my personality so they could decide what country I would best fit in with. If only I would have known that before, then it would have been a lot easier for me to get through... After we got back from the interviews, all I could think about was what country I would be spending an entire year in! A couple of days later, I got a call that I would be going to live in Belgium and that I would be in the French speaking area! I was sooooo excited, especially because Belgium was definitely in my top three of where I wanted to go. I also got to speak French, which is what I wanted, (and looking back on it, maybe that wasn't the smartest decision considering that I have taken 2 years of Spanish already. As I sit down and do hours worth of French on Rosetta Stone, I really wish I would have been smart enough to at least consider a Spanish speaking country... But know that I know everything about my stay, I wouldn't change it for anything.)
After the host club interviews, I went up to Victoria, B.C. along with all of the other candidates and was put through another nerve-wracking round of interviews. It was my impression that this group of 5 people was going to decided whether I was good enough to represent the U.S. and Canada on an exchange, but I learned after the interview that they were only talking to me to get a feel of my personality so they could decide what country I would best fit in with. If only I would have known that before, then it would have been a lot easier for me to get through... After we got back from the interviews, all I could think about was what country I would be spending an entire year in! A couple of days later, I got a call that I would be going to live in Belgium and that I would be in the French speaking area! I was sooooo excited, especially because Belgium was definitely in my top three of where I wanted to go. I also got to speak French, which is what I wanted, (and looking back on it, maybe that wasn't the smartest decision considering that I have taken 2 years of Spanish already. As I sit down and do hours worth of French on Rosetta Stone, I really wish I would have been smart enough to at least consider a Spanish speaking country... But know that I know everything about my stay, I wouldn't change it for anything.)
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