Saturday, February 27, 2010

Time keeps on slipping, slipping..

I'm aware that I've been here for over half the year but It only really hit me today. With a mere four months of my exchange year left, I literally cannot believe how the fast time has gone.
Just a short while ago a new group of exchange students from the southern hemisphere (e.g. Argentina, New Zealand, etc. And because the seasons are opposite, their school year is at a different time, therefore they came at a different time) came to the Netherlands. Today I was lucky enough to help out at their primary orientation camp with three of my exchange buddies; Lauren (USA), Patrick (USA), and Walker (CAN). The new students asked all these questions that I remember asking; about the best way to make friends, how they should act with their host families, etc. But this time I was the experienced one who told them how I dealt with things and gave them advice. Talking to them gave me such a big flashback to my first few weeks in the Netherlands when everything was so new and scary. Right now I'm in a place where I can almost believe that this is my new life, and that I'm not going to ever leave it. I have a great host family and good friends, I am so comfortable with the language that I rarely speak English anymore, and going places by train or bike is completely normal. It's going to be very hard going back home. This day was a wake up call to say the least, but it was good for me. Though I really don't want to, I have to accept that all good things come to an end and I have to do the best that I can to make the most of these last few months.





The foto is from my own orientation camp back in September!

I guess I'll end this post with a few things I'm really excited about in the future:
- My mom and her boyfriend coming to visit. NEXT WEEK!!!!!
- My birthday! Woot woot! 17!
- Getting to know the new exchange students better!
- My cousin and her friend (who both happen to be on exchange in Sweden at the moment..) coming to Holland!
- Attending many concerts with my lovely Alaskan friend Maya!
- The AFS group trip to Antwerp!
- Koninginnedag (Queen's Day - yet another crazy Dutch holiday)!
- Going to the south of France in May with my host family!
- My fantastical friend from back home, Sophie coming to visit!

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