T-Minus 180 Days...

“We don't have an eternity to realize our dreams, only the time we are here.”

I love dancing in the rain, and apparently there is a lot of rain Denmark, so thumbs up for that. When we were in Washington last year, we were waiting in George Town for our bus, and it was pouring rain, and we were all just spinning and dancing and having fun, and it was an amazing moment. Yeah, so that had nothing to do with anything, but whatever.

So last weekend (March 5-7 2010) was our District Wide orientation in Red Deer. All of the inbounds, outbounds and rotex were there, which totaled to about 60 people, not including parents and rotarians. I went into the weekend not totally knowing what to expect. Of course I was excited, but I didn’t know exactly what I was excited for. I realized very quickly that this weekend was going to be amazing though. Meeting everyone from all over the world was just amazing. We all had to introduce ourselves in the language of the country we are going to which was scary and embarrassing and also really fun. Some people messed up (myself included) but it didn’t matter, it was just so cool to hear like 20 different languages being spoken in that one room. I mean how many people have experienced that before? Friday night they had karaoke, and it was so much fun. It was a great way to bond with everyone else and make new friends. Most of the weekend was just information sessions that I found very interesting, but I’m sure no one else would, so I’ll spare you the details. But to sum it up any questions I could possibly have about exchange was answered, down to the very last details about what it’ll be like at the airport when I leave. Saturday night was a big dance, and it was so amazing. I danced with people from Finland, Thailand, Brazil, Sweden, Switzerland and so many other places. Sunday the rotex (people who went on their exchange last year and are home now) spoke about their exchanges, and I swear that by the end there was not a dry eye in the room. I can’t totally explain it, but it was just so emotional. I guess it’s because after that weekend, everything became real. I mean, of course I knew that I was going on exchange, but I always pictured the being in Denmark part, not the leaving my family and friends and going somewhere where I don’t speak the language and living with strangers and... well you get my point, all the smaller things. Of course I’m so excited, but I’m also really nervous. I know it’s still six months away, but if you think about it, six months isn’t that long. I still need to finish school, apply for my visa, (which surprisingly is a very time consuming process), earn more money, pack up my life into two fifty pound suitcases and leave my life to start a new one on the other side of the word...*gasp* omg... but I have to keep reminding my self that I still need to think about school. I still have three and half more months, and they are my priority right now. Still though, I’m a whole mix of these crazy emotions.

I want this blog to not only be a place where I write about what I’m doing, but also how I’m feeling, because trust me, feelings are a huge part of exchange, even if you aren’t technically on you exchange yet.

So my next (and final) district outbound meeting is May 2nd, so I guess I’ll update again after that.

Godnat og farvel!

Andrea