Recieving my letter from Algonquin

Exactly a year after my trip to the north of Canda, to Algonquin Park, I recieved my letter I wrote a year ago to myself. In the last night of the trip, every student was given a pen, paper and candle. Everyone sat in the snow, the only light coming from the lit candle, writing a letter to themselves to recieve a year later.

We were told to just write down something. Something we wanted us to remember, something extraordinary we have experienced, something we shouldn't ever forget in our lives. So we wrote these letters, not knowing what impact it would have on us a year later.

See, I would have never thought that my exchange would be such an important part of my life. I thought I would just go abroad, find friends, live with hostfamilies, return and live my life again like I lived it before. And I was proven wrong. I don't think this "post exchange depression" will ever stop appearing every now and then. I will never stop thinking back to the so far best time of my life, longing for these memories I would give everything for to experience again. I will never stop thinking, that this year was something extraordinary and something I would miss for the rest of my life. 

Eventhough its already been 6 months since I have returned and a year since I went on this trip, I find myself thinking about my exchange every day. Some days I just smile about all these memories and all the amazing people that I love and miss very much. And some days I just feel sad and incomplete. I feel like I would never experience and learn as much in such a short amount of time as I have this past year.

In my letter, I wrote about how much my exchange has changed me as a person. That it has made me more brave, ambitious, eager to experience new things, willing to challenge myself and so many other things. I set myself so many challenges this year, terrifying ones (for me) which have benefited me so much. Eventhough I am still scared of challenges in life, I will continue to think like this, like Rotary and my exchange have taught me.

And the last sentence I wrote was: Don't be afraid. 

If I can overcome my fears, I can achieve anything. And I hope that I will never forget these things that I have learned from my exchange. Things that will benefit me for my whole life.

Back home

Its been almost 5 months since I've left Canada. Its been so long since I've stood on Canadian grounds, but I still think about it every day. Some weeks I'm happy to be back with my family and my usual friends, but sometimes I miss my Canadian life more than ever.

It will be Christmas soon, and I'm missing the Canadian Christmas spirit so so much!! Our Christmas days in highschool where we dressed up in our "ugly Christmas sweaters" or the last day before winter vacation, where we all came to school in our pajamas and onesies were some of my favourite days on my exchange. There was always something going on at Myer, not like in my Austrian school. We don't have that kind of school spirit here, or days where we dress up, or Coffeehouse, or dances. I miss these things a lot.
I've been so busy with school work the past months, because in Austria we have exams every week throughout the whole year. It's been so hard to keep in touch with everyone i love, because they are everywhere around the world and there hasn't passed a day when I haven't missed them.
I'm still trying to adapt back at home, trying to find my place and deciding on what to do with my life. Things are getting pretty serious now- Ill be done with school soon and need to decide on what to do next. My year in Canada feels like it has been a dream, a place where I was carefree and happy. Not that I'm not happy now, I really am, but some things have changed during the year I left and I have to get used to that.

I really hope I can return to Canada soon, to see my friends and "family", to speak some real American English again and remember my best days on my exchange. I really miss every single one of you and I'm waiting to come back and visit as soon as possible.

It all comes to an end

How it ended:

Right now I am sitting in my bed, its midnight and I will be leaving to fly back to Austria tomorrow. I was just counting the hours I have left in my favorite country, my home... there are only 18 hours left. It feels so unreal, because it feels like I have lived here forever. And I feel like I am just as much a part of Canada as I am a part of Austria. And it's so incredibly hard to leave.

Today I was trying to fit all my tons of stuff I have bought over the year in my big suitcase. It took me hours and hours and now I couldn't fit a single thing in there if I wanted to. In 12 months you buy a lot of souvenirs, clothes and its harder than you think to fit everything in one suitcase.

This morning I was very lucky to see one of my host families once again before my departure. We met up for breakfast and had a wonderful morning together. Seeing the sun rise above Canada once again was so nice. After the breakfast we baked cookies together and then, once again it was time for me to say goodbye. 

The rest of the whole day was just full of packing and getting everything ready. At night, when I was sitting in my room staring at all those full suitcases, I thought it can't end like this, right? 

So I met with one of my good Canadian friends, who was on exchange in my hometown Vienna while I lived in Canada. She literally saved my last night. I am also so glad I got to see one of my favorite Rotarians, Jeannie again. We just talked and enjoyed our last hours together in Niagara. It was one of the best and one of the worst nights at the same time. 

This past week has probably been the hardest week I've ever experienced, full with goodbyes or should I say see you soons?

The hard part of saying goodbye to everyone is, that it is so uncertain when I will see all the people again, who have become so important to me over the year. Will it be in a few moths, a year, many years or maybe never? I can't stand the thought that I may have seen some of them for the last time in my life. But I am always hopeful that I will, one day, see them again. 

Right now it's hard for me to write everything down that happened on this exchange, things that made me  happy, everything I cherished and loved. Because it would take me hours and a whole book to write about everything positive of my exchange. For many people, an exchange student is a person going away for a year in their life, but for us students, this was a whole life in a year. A life that changed us forever and a life that will never, ever be forgotten. Looking at everything from a whole new perspective and feeling like a new person all in once, feeling still like the same person but feeling completely different at the same time. 

I cry, because I know that this year, this wonderful experience is over, but I smile because I know it changed me to a better person and I have all these memories, moments that are more worth to me than any money in the world. 

So now it's official and it's so unbelievable. My exchange is over and I am going home. But honestly, will I ever stop being an exchange student? Will this adventure ever end? 

A throwback to the best weekend of my life with my favorite people

Week 44: US TRIP STARTS

Week 44:

Day 1&2: Washington DC

So July first, the USA Trip finally started. I was so happy to see all my friends from my district again. And I also met 75 other students from different districts in the USA.
We started driving at 5am in Rochester and were in Washington DC by 4pm. It was soooo hot! Much hotter than anywhere else I've been in the states. First we stopped at the Washington Capitol Building. It was so beautiful! I was so glad to finally see old, ancient buildings again, like there are in Austria.

Some of my best friends this year ♥

On the second day, we went to the Washington Cemetery. It was so impressive. There are graves of over 400.000 soldiers from different countries, who served the USA in wars. We even saw a funeral, where the coffin was on a horse carriage and soldiers in their uniform where standing around the grave.
We also saw the famous Guard Change on top of the hill. We learned that it is very hard to get a job like this and there is a long training time for the soldiers. Every step, every movement in that guard change has a special meaning to american history and is in honor of the fallen soldiers.

In the afternoon, we went to many museums.Luckily, they are all fro free!! Its so nice because you can see so many different museums on one day and can enter and exit without paying anything! Also the museums in Washington are huge and have lots of interesting exhibitions!

Not to forget, we went to the White House that same day. Its a very beautiful house with a huge lawn. We took lots of pictures there and I even got some grass from Obama's backyard ;)

At night we went to see all the important monuments of Washington, DC. We saw the  Lincoln Memorial, Korean War memorial, Vietnam war memorial, Washington Monument and a few more I can't remember.

Lincoln Memorial

 

washington memorial

Day 3: Myrtle Beach

On the third day we had to get up at 5am and drove for 6 hours to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We were planning to have a beach day there, but unfortunately it was raining and not very warm there. So we went to Broadway on the Beach for the night, which was so much fun! Its like a shopping "street" or "quarter" at the water with tons of little stores and souvenir shops. It was so much fun! At night we went to a typical american diner, which looked like it was from the 70's. 

us infront of the diner

Day 4: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

On July 4th (Independence Day), there was a big celebration party in Pigeon Forge. There were many stands with food, fake USA tattoos and USA bracelets. I got a little tattoo for my cheek and had some lunch there. Later, a band started playing american country music while we were sitting in the grass listening or dancing and singing to the music. It was one of my favourite nights.

us at the festival

Day 5: Dollywood Themepark, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

That day was one of the most fun experiences. We went to Dolly Parton's Theme park. Its not like a normal theme park, everything looks old and countryside- like and the whole park looks like a little town in the South United States. They have lots of really fun rollercoasters, souvenir shops, shows and many other things. We rode all rollercoasters (of course) and also saw one of the many shows there. We went to the Bubble Show, where and artist made tricks with bubbles. It was awesome!! 

Day 6: Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee 

We got up early in the morning again, had breakfast and went straight to Memphis, Tennessee. When we came to Memphis we went to Graceland, where Elvis Presley used to live. We saw his beautiful and crazy house, his yard, all his (approx. 30) cars, planes, outfits, awards and alot more. They also had like 10 giftshops there, because America is not America with a gift shop at every street corner. 

At night we went out for dinner. In Memphis, Americans have a really strange accent. It was so hard for me to understand that I had to ask the waitress to repeat herself. It was soo funny! When we ordered dessert, I think I said something wrong and she put my dessert in a box. I love all these southern United States accents!

Elvis's records

Elina and I ♥

Day 7: New Orleans, Louisiana

Unfortunately we didn't get to see the city of Memphis, because we started driving to Louisiana in the morning. But Louisiana was awesome! We stopped after a few hours to go on a Rotary Picnic. The Rotarians were all really nice and welcoming and there was lots of good food. They also took all of us on a boat ride in a river and told us that there were alligators in the river! unfortunately I didn't get to see any. But they had an alligator on land with its mouth taped shut for us to hold and pet. It was actually very small and pretty cute! 

us on the boat

the little alligator

The first week was awesome and so exciting! I met and got to know so many new people. I really enjoyed it! I'll post the second week very soon.

Week 43: School ends and Canada's Wonderland

Week 43:

I feel myself  running out of time. I never realized that I only have 10 days left in Canada (excluding my trip to the US) and I don't know how to feel about it. On the one side it feels so depressing to leave this year, this new life behind, but on the other hand I can't wait to see my family and friends in Austria again. I mainly think that being uncertain about when I will come back or when I will see all these amazing people I have met ever again makes me feel like I am loosing something.

I had my last days of school this week and I didn't get to say goodbye to many people that are very important to me. It breaks my heart to think about never seeing some of these people ever again. But if any #myernation kids are reading this:
Thank you for everything. Thank you for being so open minded towards me, for embracing me and making me feel at home. Many of you have supported my throughout this year, made me stronger and made me feel like somebody was always there for me.
This year in this highschool has been like a dream for me. As I always say, it felt like in one of those american movies, it felt so unreal. And I had the time of my life. Of course there were times when I felt alone, but my dearest friends -who I have only met a few months ago- have always supported me.
I hope that one day, I will get to see you again.

My last day at school

My last weekend before the USA trip, I went to Canada's Wonderland with my great hostfamily, a thing that had been on my list for the whole year. It was just amazing! This amusement park is so much bigger than the one in Vienna and the rides are just so much fun! I am so glad I went before my year ends. 

These weird drinks they had at Canada's Wonderland

Week 42: Beach Day and my final presentation

Week 42:

I spent my weekend with two of my very best friends -Rio from Japan and Allison from Taiwan- in Port Dalhousie, St Catharines. Port Dalhousie is right at Lake Ontario, surrounded by the lake and nice beaches.
My friend only lives 5 minutes away from the beach and we could just walk there.

Rio, Allison and I

It was really nice weather, but the lake was so cold, it even hurt to put a toe in the water!! The area around the beach is really pretty. There is a very old carousel, some ice cream shops and nice places to eat. Many people also like to sail in that area.
Its very pretty and also easy to get around, because St.Catharines actually has buses, other than Niagara-on-the-Lake *sigh*.

Beach day

My last Rotary presentation:

At the end of an exchange year, every Rotary exchange student has to do a final presentation to talk about their life in the home country, their exchange year and what they have learnt or how they changed through their exchange. Well, I did one too. And I was soooo nervous. The presentation had to be 20 mins long and everyone who knows me well, knows that I am terrified of public speaking. But it was quite good after all. I talked about Austria, about my life in Canada and how it changed me, made me more open minded and made me grow mature and independent. 

I really want to thank Rotary. My club has been so supportive and caring for this past year and has helped me though my hard times when I felt lonely. The Rotary Youth Exchange Organisation isn't just about the exchange student, it's more about being a community, meeting people around the world and exchanging stories. My Rotary Club has made me feel like a part of something, a part of a community. There was always somebody who cared about me, and if it wasn't anybody else at hard times, it was the Rotary Club.

And we have also shared so many great memories together! Thank you for showing me this whole new world, I would have never known existed. You all have a special spot in my heart.

My favourite supporters 

Week 41: Last Rotary Weekend and USA trip destinations ♥

Week 41:

Early in the week, I finally found out where the USA bus trip in July will lead us! It is just so exciting!! We will see 24 of the 50 states and will go to so many famous cities and places! I can't wait for this awesome last adventure!

The bus trip route

On Saturday the last Rotary Weekend started. I went to the meeting early because I helped set everything up and was the Greeter *yay*. I stood in front of the Community Center (where the weekend took place) and greeted everyone coming in. 

On Saturday we had a soccer tournament. It was so much fun! I actually love playing soccer, even though I haven't played in Austria yet. I really hope I can do that in the future, because soccer is so much fun! I even scored once which made me happy because all the guys were so good at playing soccer. 

Inbounds played against Outbounds, we were 4 soccer teams. My team won!! 

It was so so so much fun!

Later that day, we went to downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake to see the stores, the park and the lake, where we had some free time. We had ice ream and walked around the old town, which is beautiful! Unfortunately I can't walk there because everything is just so so far away from my house :(

On Sunday was the last day of the Weekend and we had to say our goodbyes. It was just so sad. I didn't have to say goodbye to lots of people because almost all of my friends are on the US trip with me in July, but some of them will go home earlier... 

I love you, Anabel, Allison and Alejandra! 

On the last, day I brought a Canada flag for everyone to sign. We also had to say good bye to the Outbounds, so a few of them signed my flag too. That flag-thing is kind of a tradition and it's just so emotional. When I hang this up on my wall in my room in Austria, I will always remember this wonderful year that changed me so much to a better person. I never want to forget.

My flag that my friends signed

I also had to say goodbye to some of my very favorite Rotarians, who chaperoned us on all our trips. Greg, Mike, John, Lisa thank you for making our exchanges so wonderful. You have become so important to me in this year and I hope I will see you again in the future. Thank you for everything. 

Its not a goodbye, just a see you soon ♥