Monday 27 February 2012

I enjoyed this very much! LOL!

Change in plans

Ok, today was a big day.
I woke up and check facebook then I checked my email. I had one new message from my rotary district.In the email it said I would no longer be going to Switzerland but I would now be going to Belgium.

At first I was shocked. Then I told my parents and finished getting ready for school.
It turned out that the student from my district was not accepted to go to the country because he was too young, and so I was switched with him.

As the day went on my state of shock passed and I became very excited again!

Looking back on earlier today it reminded me of what one of the common feelings was between the outbound students. We all could agree that this experience felt like a dream and that we would wake up and find that it was all a joke. Well now I'm laughing because Ive been falling in love with the idea of me going to Switzerland over the pas t three weeks and this morning I woke up and it was no longer a reality.lol I woke up today to the nightmare most of the outbounds -including myself-feared. LOL. I'm very excited to be going to Belgium, and I'm not torn to shreds to find out that I'm no longer going to Switzerland.

It has been a crazy day to say the least.

And so, the adventure begins... again...

;P

Saturday 18 February 2012

Start of the semester

So, schools been in a total of two weeks and it's been a long two weeks. It's been so long because I have been trying to organize and plan my life.

1. I have Co-op this semester. I basically have two weeks to do most of my semesters assignments and find a placement. I've been pretty busy with that but good news is, I got that all handled and I will start my placement soon.

2. I've tried getting my courses sorted out for this semester and the next semester that I'll be in Canada. My issue was I didn't want to come back to school for a year, but I still wanted to complete the extended french program, and if possible my SHSM. It worked out that I will be earning 6, that's right 6 credits this semester. My mom had to right a letter saying My parents and I are aware of what I will be doing.

3. Now with my courses I've been trying to keep my head above water. you'll understand when you see my time table.
period 1 Drama 12U
period 2 Plein Air
period 3 Sociology 12U / Co-op
period 4 Co-op
after hours course music repertoire
as you can see two courses are during one period, hence the letter.lol.
I now believe I am getting close to getting my feet on the ground.

I am still excited but with my schedule as it is I just want summer to come that much faster:D.

I know this may be boring but as much as I would like to share all the exciting good stuff I do, I also want to keep an honest record of every aspect of my life for the next year.
 

Monday 13 February 2012

This will be the first of many post over the course of the next year and a bit. I am so excited to be going to Switzerland this summer on a year exchange!

Before my story can carry on, I must first go back to where my journey began.

On  Friday, November 25, 2011, there were a few tables set up in my school cafeteria promoting different exchange programs. I picked up a few forms to bring home and discuss with my parents. The rotary Youth Exchange Program stood out for me because my mom had participated in this program when she was my age. I talked with my parents that night and they were fully supportive of my decision, they only asked me to sleep it over because it is a big decision to go to another country for a year. The next morning I was still set on apply to do this exchange, so I started filling out the application form.
On Tuesday, November 29, I e-mailed my application in. Later that night I received an email back saying there is an interview night for applicants on the following Tuesday.
That Tuesday night was probably one of the few times I was so nervous that my face went numb. After the interview, I shook everyone's hand I they said, we will call you on Thursday to let you know. The next couple of days were gut wrenching, I just couldn't wait for that phone call to come. Thursday night came and went, so I thought I hadn't been accepted and they only called the lucky person that night and I would get a call the following day to hear that I was not accepted. I tried to prepare myself for what I thought was coming.
On Friday evening, while my mom was on the line, an unfamiliar number comes in. My mom switches lines and comes running upstairs to my room and says, "Jessie, it's them," I said, "wait them, them?" I quickly get on the phone couching myself that I didn't get it, when Rob says, we've selected you as the student to represent our club. I couldn't believe my ears, I was going on a year long exchange.
Since that point it all felt like a dream, even when I was filling out mountains of paperwork, it was just a dream that I never wanted to wake up from.

I am so honored that I was selected to represent my sponsoring Rotary Club, Rotary International, Barrie, and Canada as an exchange student in Switzerland.