Half Way Gone

Today marks the exact halfway point of my exchange! It’s a funny emotional position to be in, kind of like glass half full or glass half empty situation, on one hand I’m sad that this adventure is half over but on the other I’m excited that I will see my friends and family in 6 weeks. Don’t get me wrong I’ve been having a great time and I haven’t really felt homesick, or ever been like “I want to go home”, but I miss the hominess of home and not being a guest where I live. My host family is great and I really do feel comfortable but no matter what, this isn’t my home and I can’t raid the fridge hourly or leave my stuff anywhere and everywhere. Nevertheless, I still don’t want the experience to end so soon! These next few weeks are jammed packed and they’re going to fly by! I have 6 weeks left and 3 of which I will be traveling, which also means I only have 3 weeks of classes left! In 8 days I leave with the school to go to Edinburgh for a week, after which I then have 3 days to recover and pack for a 2 week trip to Abu Dhabi and Oman, then I have a week after that to pack ALL of my things and fly back to Canada. Although it’s going to be a busy few weeks, I’m really glad that all these exciting things are at the end, it’s like I’m going out with a bang, plus if they were at the beginning of the trip it would have been boring at the end, this way it’s like saving the best for last! So although I only have 6 weeks left, they’re going to be the busiest and most exciting 6 weeks for my life!

Momma Bear

This is a hard post to write, because a) I don’t want to admit it, and b) I don’t want her to be right. I’m just going to be honest, I’m not really feeling homesick or missing anything all that much but more my friends and family, and I bet you can guess by the tittle that the person I miss the most is indeed, my mom. The reason why this is hard to write is because I don’t want to admit to her that I miss her the most because then that would make her right and give her to much satisfaction but I have to be honest and say that I do miss her the most. It’s really true what they say, ‘you don’t know what you have till its gone’ (or in this case, till you have to live without it for 3 months). I’ve always known how much my mom does for me, but it wasn’t until I was without her that I fully appreciated it. We often take for granted the simplest things in life, like our moms, but those are often the most important things.  I don’t necessarily miss someone doing everything for me (although that is nice) but I just mostly miss her always being there, whether it is to talk to, to laugh with, to hug or to bicker with and I know I can do or say anything to her and she will still love me. Like any healthy relationship we have our fights and being the completely opposite people means we fight, a lot. In spite of this, I still miss her and everything she does for me. Even though she annoys me sometimes and I don’t always like her, I will always love her. So for all of you teenagers reading this, be grateful for your mothers, tell her you love her, give her hugs, let her give you hugs because before you know it you will have to do without her. One day you will be in the same position as me (maybe not in Switzerland, but somewhere without your mom), she does all those things for you because she loves you, so appreciate her and show her how much you love and appreciate her because love is a verb and you need to show her you love her, just saying it isn’t enough. Mom I know your reading this, and most likely crying by now, but I love you and can't wait to give you a hug in 2 months!

Bern Baby Bern

Today I woke up with a sore throat, and it’s not because I went to a rock concert or anything of the sort, but because I went to Bern yesterday. Bern is the capital of Switzerland and about a 2 hour train ride from Geneva. And I know you’re all thinking, “why would she get a sore throat from going to Bern”. Well, the group that my exchange is through booked this excursion to Bern for all the Ontario students (the kids who I flew here with) as a way to explore Switzerland’s capital and make more friends with the students. When they originally told us me about the excursion I thought it was going to be a little awkward, as I had only meet these student once on the plane ride here. Since we didn’t have a lot of time to get to know each other, I didn’t feel like I had made any amazing friends, just one girl named Sam, who I sat next to on the plane, so I least I knew I could talk to someone. So I though this whole thing was going to be an awful disaster, but it turned out to be the complete opposite! When I got to the train satiation and met up with the group everyone immediately started talking to each other and exchanging stories of their experiences thus far. When I say talking, I really mean yelling because everyone was so excited to talk in English, which pretty much continued for the whole day, and thus why my throat hurts! It was really a lot of fun to talk to all the different students and listen to their stories about their host families! It was also quite strange because almost every story someone said I had one that was almost the exact same; it’s like every Swiss family is the same and has the same habits and way of living. Although I only really knew 1 person, I feel like I made really good friends with a few people that I could see my self, not only hanging out with them while I’m here, but also keeping in touch once back in Canada. I’m so glad that I had this trip and this time to talk to all the students, I feel like it revived me. Not being able to communicate 100% well in French, I feel like I was losing myself and my personality because I don’t know how to be funny and sarcastic in French and I was beginning to blend in, and that is something I don’t like to do! Seeing everyone and talking so much made me excited again and I finally felt like my crazy self again. Although it was so much fun I was worried that when we said our goodbyes at the end of the day and I went back to hearing and speaking French I would feel a little homesick, but it seemed to do the opposite; the whole day excited me and reminded me why I’m here.          

Choices

In life we are faced with many different choices; some are small, like what we’re going to wear or what we’re going have for breakfast, but there are also big decisions, like what university we’re going to attend or the people we decide to have relationships with. Obviously some choices are more important then others and perhaps the most important decision we have to make in this life is how we’re going to live it. The way I see it there’s have two options; you can take life as it is, or you can make it what you want it to be. Regardless of the choices you make you have to learn to accept your decision and live with no regrets because, the worst thing to think is “what if”. With this all in mind, I have chosen to make my life what I want it to be, live every moment for what it is and come home with no regrets. I think the key in doing this is just being myself and forgetting about judgment and what others might think of me but instead just living for me. My plan for the rest of my trip is to try to make every moment my favorite part of the trip; if that might be sitting waiting for the bus or traveling to Scotland, my goal is to look back and not be able to pick my favorite part of the trip because it was all equally amazing. I know this wont be easy because sometimes it is really hard, when I miss home or I’m lost in the French, but in those moments, where I feel down or lost I just have to remember that life isn’t perfect and that I can't make it perfect but I can make the choice accept it and keep trying to make it better. Although I can't make every situation picture perfect I can try, and I will try my hardest to accomplish this by making every moment memorable because I will take control of the moments, and make them what I want them to be, by embracing everything and being my crazy, enthusiastic self.

Not in Kansas

Now that the culture shock has subsided and I am starting to adapt to the Swiss culture and way of living, I'm beginning to appreciate the differences. Everyone always knows the big differences between countries like the currency, the language and the time change but it's always the little things that know one never knows about. When I say everything thing is different, I do truly mean EVERYTHING. Anything from school to the light switches or the bread to the pillows, they're all different. At first it was a bit shocking to move to this new place where everything is unfamiliar and strange, the hardest part of it was knowing that I was going to be staying in the unfamiliar place for 3 months, not being able to have familiarity for 11 weeks. Then, very slowly, the first week goes by and you've recovered from jet lag and shell shock, and then everything, the uncertainty, the nostalgia, the anxiety they all slowing disappear and are replaced with excitement, comfort and stability and you begin to feel at home in this place that is the very opposite of what you've always considered home. Although everything is different I'm finally getting used to the changes and starting to welcome this new life of mine and appreciate in while it lasts for the short time that I will be living this amazing experience.