JAMESTOWN!

Jamestown was a lot of fun!

After a 3 hour busride, we arrived in a town with wooden 'adams family' type houses. We had a cheesy dinner, literally. Then we went off to host families for the night! I stayed with Ayumi, from Japan with a family who lived just outside of the town. It was really nice! Very different, but fun! My host sister made each of us beaded rings, really cute!

It was great to see all of the exchange students again, especially for the dance! that was a lot of fun ;) pretty wild!I'm really excited to get my Blazer in June! Getting all of the pins from the inbounds made me so much more excited for my exchange!

I started to learn some Japanese when I got my country placement just a month ago, and I thought I could at least string a sentence toegther.. but nope! Speaking to the exchange students from Japan was a painful task! I can not understand any of it yet! So I must study TEN THOUSAND HOURS by the time I become fluent!

pre-jamestown

Tomorrow I'm heading off to Jamestown for the weekend,
I'm super excited!
I have NO idea what we will be doing there.. but I'm excited to meet everyone who I haven't met before and to see all of the inbounds and outbouds I already know :)
I suppose I will update this with what I actually did when I get home!

JAPAN

I've been waiting for my letter telling my country for a week or so now.
and I got a facebook message from a man called "papa dave"
and we spoke and asked if I could wait for my letter or if I wanted to know my country!
(he is the curator for the whole exchange thing)
so i said, "sure, let the butterflies in my stomach go!"
the reply was..

"Do you own a KIMONO?? You'd better plan on getting one.
No more butterfRies hahaha
Sayonara Ash, hope you're HAPPY -You should be!!
Papa San Dave"

Those Japanese puns were incredible.
IM GOING TO JAPAN!
IM GOING TO JAPAN !
WOW !
JAPAN !

TEMAGAMI

Last Saturday until Tuesday, I went to TEMAGAMI with all of the inbounds and outbounds from my district.
I was So nervous to go, I knew it was going to be SO cold and I wouldn't know anyone but two girls!
It ended up being the most incredible experience!
I met so many great people from all over the world!
We went on a day long snowshoe expedition on the third day where I was voted the leader. We all sang our countries anthems. We took so many pictures. We crossed a frozen lake. We drunked ourselves into a hole in the ice and then ran back to the sauna. We woke up at 6:30 and went running everymorning. We taught eachother english swear words. We wrote letters to our future selves under the stars with only light from a candle. We made fun of eachother in skits. We had no bathrooms. We had no running water.

It was such an intense trip, but it was just so great!
Every exchange student in this district is so fun and I loved meeting everyone !

I wouldn't trade that experience for the world!

Interview

This weekend I went for my district interviews, it was scary! one interview was to make sure i was a sure fit for the program, and that panel of interviewers grilled me! my parents went in after me, and when they came out the paper had ACCEPTED circled, which was quite a relief!
The next interview was with the representatives of each country, I hope to hell I get my top choices - Japan, Austria or Switzerland! 'Cause i'm a vegetarian, i want Japan and hopefully they realize that :) but i heard japan was a pretty popular choice this year! which may be an issue!
oh well, where ever I am sent will be the place where i'm meant to be .. i hope!
but it was great to know i'm an outbound exchange student!

I'm going to Temagami for 4 days in February, it's going to be SO cold! i went out and bought big clunky waterproof boots and long johns 'cause it's going to be super cold! but it will be amazing. i go to temagami inb the summer time, so going in the winter will be great, but yet so different.
but i'm so excited :)

Acceptance

It feels so great to get something you've wanted so badly.
For the past few years I have been aching to become an exchange student. For the week after my interview I felt sick to my stomach with nerves. I found out earlier today that I was accepted to be an exchange student and all I could do was jump for pure joy.
I felt that if I didn't get accepted as a Rotary exchange student, my life would have a little bit missing - because I've wanted this for a very long time. I want to wear the blazer full of pins, and I want to meet students from around the world who are as eager as I am to live and learn in a new country.
This is such a great opportunity, and I am so glad to have it.
I am so excited, and can not wait to see what is in store!