Sixteen.

Wow, I only have 16 more days left with my family and friends before I start the best year of my life. The past 10 months have gone by so fast, it feels like just yesterday I was applying to be on this exchange. So much has happened and I have met so many great people through Rotary and I have yet to even start my exchange. The first weekend I met all the exchange students I didn't think I was going to end the weekend with new life long friends, but I did. The exchange students, inbounds and outbounds, are all amazing. They are all so cheerful and down to earth and just so easy to talk to. They raise the bar very high for other exchange students. Most of the inbounds (students from other countries that come to Canada for their exchange) are going home this month, a couple from the Southern hemisphere stay until January. It's weird to think that these new friends I have made live hundreds of kilometres away and that next year I'll be hundreds of kilometres away from my family and friends. It still hasn't fully set in yet, even with sixteen days left in this country. I know this year will be amazing, one I will look back to my whole life and think 'wow, that was an awesome year!'

My first host family seems really nice, I have been in contact with them for about a month or so now. They have three sons, and one, Jakob who is 17, is just finishing his year in Chile. He was there with Rotary, so it is nice to know I can be able to talk to him and he can help since he has done the whole year away thing.

OH MY! I forgot to even say where I am going! I was chosen to go to Denmark and I will be staying in the city of Odense. From pictures and what everyone has told me it sounds beautiful. I'm excited to live in a city, 'cause in Canada I live in the country, so it will be a little different.

In this photo is the exchange students from my city, Peterborough. On the left is Byron, he is going to Mexico, then there is me. Nick is from New Zealand and will be leaving in January, and then there is Lisa, she is from Taiwan. Lisa and I go to the same school, PCVS, and Nick and Byron go to TASSS. I have become very close with these lovely people, especially Lisa. She leaves a couple days before I depart for my adventure. It is really weird to think that when I come back she won't be there, she won't be in the halls sitting with my group of friends before morning classes or eating lunch with us. I will really miss Lisa and I am so glad she came to Canada and befriended me! (:

I finally started this blog after months of pushing it off. Other outbounds (kids from Canada going to a different country for their exchange) have already started their own blog. I'll try and keep it up to date as possible!

-Maggie! (: