Hey, everyone! I hope that the beginning of summer is treating all of you well - as it is doing so for me. School is (pretty much) over with, the sun is (sometimes) shining, the bugs are (always) swarming - on second thought, not everything about summer is all that great, but I am enjoying it nonetheless.
I found out that for sure I am leaving Canada to go to Germany on August 6th, not long before midnight. I love airplanes, and I can not wait for the airplane ride. I love seeing the ground fall away from beneath me, and catapulting into the sky. I love being with the clouds (it is so beautiful), and the occasional glimpses of the ground so far below me. I don't think I have experienced take off that late at night before, so that will be an interesting experience. The airline I'm flying with doesn't pre-book seats, so I will have to arrange mine when I check in to the airport. Here's hoping I get a window seat! Also, I found out that I have a few layovers (which I don't mind), but one of them is going to be in London, England for a little more than an hour, which is more than slightly exciting. I won't be able to leave the airport, but I am still more than slightly excited by the prospects of being in London. Maybe I will find a poster that looks very 'London-ey' and take my photo in front of it, perfectly lined up so as not to show it being a different photo, and I'll have that as my London tourist photo - I mean, I'll be able to say I've been in London, so I may as well have a photo!
On another topic, doesn't making lists (and completing them) make you feel accomplished, as though you must being doing something right, because obviously the list with all the items or tasks crossed off of it must mean something. I read somewhere that this one person would sometimes make a list that was easy to accomplish, just so they could have that slight feeling of satisfaction of crossing each item off the list.
Anyways, I made a list of things that I needed to buy to pack for Germany. On Thursday of this week, my mom took my sister and I to a city not too far from where I live (only about two hours away), and we spent the majority of the day crossing items off of our individual lists. I had realized that a large section of my clothing had become either too small or were just not clothes that I liked to wear, so I had cleared them out, and then looking at what was left I saw that there was not much to see. So clothes were a large part of what I bought that day, although I did not buy that much. My backpack is worn out with rips inside of it, so I also hunted around for backpacks, but in the end I did not find a backpack that would work for school in Germany and as a carry-on bag, and whatever other potential purposes I might need it for in Germany. Oh well, I still have a little more time left before I board the plane. My mom, sister and I had a lot of fun, but by the end of the day we were worn out (I guess you could say we shopped until we wanted to drop.... :P). Ever since I applied for the scholarship I had been saving every stray penny that crossed my path so that I could buy everything I might need for Germany, and I must say that I am very glad I did because I needed every bit that I managed to save.
So I am not sure if I have everything that I need, but I think I must (hopefully) be pretty close. If you are heading off on a student exchange as well, my next post will be a list of things that either I am packing, or I have heard that others recommend packing, or that I have heard people wish they had brought with them. My first host mother also sent me a list of things that she recommends bringing, so I will include those in my list too. (Speaking of host families, I do not know much about my permanent host family yet, aside from their last name, but I am supposed to get more information about them by the end of the first week of July. Here's hoping that I do!)
That is pretty much all, I had wanted to include the list in this post, but I fear that this post would get too long, and it would be good to be able to dedicate an entire post to it anyways.
I hope you are all doing well, and I will be back with another post fairly soon!
-Jason
I found out that for sure I am leaving Canada to go to Germany on August 6th, not long before midnight. I love airplanes, and I can not wait for the airplane ride. I love seeing the ground fall away from beneath me, and catapulting into the sky. I love being with the clouds (it is so beautiful), and the occasional glimpses of the ground so far below me. I don't think I have experienced take off that late at night before, so that will be an interesting experience. The airline I'm flying with doesn't pre-book seats, so I will have to arrange mine when I check in to the airport. Here's hoping I get a window seat! Also, I found out that I have a few layovers (which I don't mind), but one of them is going to be in London, England for a little more than an hour, which is more than slightly exciting. I won't be able to leave the airport, but I am still more than slightly excited by the prospects of being in London. Maybe I will find a poster that looks very 'London-ey' and take my photo in front of it, perfectly lined up so as not to show it being a different photo, and I'll have that as my London tourist photo - I mean, I'll be able to say I've been in London, so I may as well have a photo!
On another topic, doesn't making lists (and completing them) make you feel accomplished, as though you must being doing something right, because obviously the list with all the items or tasks crossed off of it must mean something. I read somewhere that this one person would sometimes make a list that was easy to accomplish, just so they could have that slight feeling of satisfaction of crossing each item off the list.
Anyways, I made a list of things that I needed to buy to pack for Germany. On Thursday of this week, my mom took my sister and I to a city not too far from where I live (only about two hours away), and we spent the majority of the day crossing items off of our individual lists. I had realized that a large section of my clothing had become either too small or were just not clothes that I liked to wear, so I had cleared them out, and then looking at what was left I saw that there was not much to see. So clothes were a large part of what I bought that day, although I did not buy that much. My backpack is worn out with rips inside of it, so I also hunted around for backpacks, but in the end I did not find a backpack that would work for school in Germany and as a carry-on bag, and whatever other potential purposes I might need it for in Germany. Oh well, I still have a little more time left before I board the plane. My mom, sister and I had a lot of fun, but by the end of the day we were worn out (I guess you could say we shopped until we wanted to drop.... :P). Ever since I applied for the scholarship I had been saving every stray penny that crossed my path so that I could buy everything I might need for Germany, and I must say that I am very glad I did because I needed every bit that I managed to save.
So I am not sure if I have everything that I need, but I think I must (hopefully) be pretty close. If you are heading off on a student exchange as well, my next post will be a list of things that either I am packing, or I have heard that others recommend packing, or that I have heard people wish they had brought with them. My first host mother also sent me a list of things that she recommends bringing, so I will include those in my list too. (Speaking of host families, I do not know much about my permanent host family yet, aside from their last name, but I am supposed to get more information about them by the end of the first week of July. Here's hoping that I do!)
That is pretty much all, I had wanted to include the list in this post, but I fear that this post would get too long, and it would be good to be able to dedicate an entire post to it anyways.
I hope you are all doing well, and I will be back with another post fairly soon!
-Jason