It has been nearly a week since i last posted, i fell like i am on here much more often but i guess time is just slipping by me. I didn't realize that i had been keeping you all waiting for my next update!! Sorry about that! If time is going by quickly now i can't even begin to imagine how fast it is going to go by in 6 months from now.
The rest of last week was good, i met some more people, talked to a few more school mates and started feeling more comfortable in my new surroundings. The girls here are so nice, i can't imagine being placed into a better school, although the boys are pretty immature-but I'm sure that is the same at all schools. :P
Over the weekend i went to Borwan Heads, a place where Alison and Andrew have a cottage. Andrew and i drove up there-about 25 minutes away-and he stopped along the coast to let me look out and snap a few pictures. A soon as i saw the ocean there was a smile on my face on my face from ear to ear. There is something about the ocean that makes me happy each time i see it, no matter how sad i was, there was no hiding the feeling of excitement by seeing the ocean, the ocean that i feel at peace with. Every since i can remember i have loved the ocean, i don't know what it is that draws me in, the power maybe, the open space? whatever it is, i love it.
When Alison got there she and Andrew stayed at the cottage for a bit cleaning up and catching up with a friend who was staying at the cottage for a week. I went for a walk along the beach, the tide was high and the air was crisp but there was nothing that i would have rather of been doing, nowhere that i would rather be. It made me think of how the world was all connected, how i had swam in the body of water a year ago, and half way around the world, i was speechless.
On Sunday i went into Melbourne for a birthday party, Alison and Andrews grand daughter was turning 3. We got there and i was introduced and right away i felt welcome, like i had been coming there for years. That's the thing i like about this family, i have never felt so welcome in such a short time. Of course i am still homesick, i still desperately want to see my family and friends but for the mean time, this is a pretty good substitute if you ask me.
Heading back to school Monday was well, dreadful. After being able to sleep in again on the weekend i found it hard to pull myself from my warm bed and run to the shower to be warm again. Once i got to school i felt better, going to see my new friends, enter my new classes and learn new things. I feel like i have also been going to this school for longer then a week, i am confident in saying that i think I'm really going to like it here.
The weather though, oh the weather. The wind is crisp, and freezing.The sun is bright, but cold and the days are short and dreary. I'm sure all of those are because of the fact that it is winter, but I'm sick of winter, i just want some summer!!!
anyways, once again i need to get back to school work
hope everyone is well and enjoying their summers.
oh and sorry about the bad editing job on here, there are many "I"'s that need to be capitalized and I'm sure some spelling mistakes but i didn't have time to check that, sorry.
xoxox
Monday, July 19, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Beginning of School
It is day three of school and so far it doesn't seem too bad. The people here are nice, they are very welcoming, at least compared to Aldershot people. I have found a couple girls who i am hanging out with, who i can have lunch with, and yes who i can have recess with. The thing that I hate the most here is all the rules, but of course i hate the rules, im a teenager. The rule that i hate themost is no nail polish, i know that that seems silly but i love nail polish and can't stand not having it on, so for now it stays. there are a couple girls who wear it so i can just say that im new and i didnt know that we weren't allowed. Thats the good thing about being new, i can use the excuse of "not knowing" things for a while. :P
Everything at school is pretty good, my teachers seem nice and overall the work is pretty easy. There isnt a class that i dont have anyone to sit with so i am pretty happy about that! The one thing that i notice that is really weird is that it is very separated here. it seems like the grades dont hangout with other grades and boys and girls don't hangout together either. So that is a little weird when i come from having half girl friends and half boy friends and hanging out with people in all grades, older and younger. so that is something that i have to get used to for sure.
Other then that nothing is really happening, i spoke to my dad, Lori and my brother this morning and really started feeling homesick again. i have been good lately but for some reason today is not a good day, i miss home alot. There are times that i do say to myself i cant do this ans want to go home but i am sure that that is a faze, that in a month or two i will really love it here and by the end of the year i am not going to want to leave!
anyways, i need to get back to doing my school work.
i hope everything is well an ocean away!
xoxo
ps, it is FREEEZING here, didnt know it could be this cold in Australia :(
Everything at school is pretty good, my teachers seem nice and overall the work is pretty easy. There isnt a class that i dont have anyone to sit with so i am pretty happy about that! The one thing that i notice that is really weird is that it is very separated here. it seems like the grades dont hangout with other grades and boys and girls don't hangout together either. So that is a little weird when i come from having half girl friends and half boy friends and hanging out with people in all grades, older and younger. so that is something that i have to get used to for sure.
Other then that nothing is really happening, i spoke to my dad, Lori and my brother this morning and really started feeling homesick again. i have been good lately but for some reason today is not a good day, i miss home alot. There are times that i do say to myself i cant do this ans want to go home but i am sure that that is a faze, that in a month or two i will really love it here and by the end of the year i am not going to want to leave!
anyways, i need to get back to doing my school work.
i hope everything is well an ocean away!
xoxo
ps, it is FREEEZING here, didnt know it could be this cold in Australia :(
Sunday, July 11, 2010
so i've been pretty busy since getting here, lots of crying and sleeping in between everything! On Saturday i was able to go to a footy game, it was actually pretty cool because everyone here is REALLY into their football. the people in the stadium were so loud, it was hard to hear myself think and when a team scored... that was a different story! im surprised that you couldn't hear the crowds roar back at home.
Yesterday I didn’t do too much, I walked Alison and Andrews sons dog and hung around his house for a bit. Him and his wife have three kids so I was with them for a while. I actually helped with... gardening... something that I would normally complain about at home, but here I'm on my best behaviour. Haha. After that I didn’t do too much, managed to stay up until 8:30 last night, I'm still getting used to the huge time difference.
Today I got my uniform; going in the shop I was SO excited, I have always wanted a uniform. After seeing what I had to wear I had a new outlook on uniforms, the suck. I have to wear a “warm kilt” which is basically a kilt that goes to my ankles.. I think that my family anf friends would have a good laugh at what I look like, and don’t even get me started on the shoes. They have to be the ugliest things that I have ever laid eyes on. There is no way that I will ever wear them out of school.
The weather here is okay, it has been about 14 each day give or take a couple degrees, so it is cold but it is not so bad that I can't go outside without a coat. I would take this weather over the weather that we have in winter at home any day!
I have to go but I hope that everything at home is going well, I hope that everyone is enjoying summer time.
Yesterday I didn’t do too much, I walked Alison and Andrews sons dog and hung around his house for a bit. Him and his wife have three kids so I was with them for a while. I actually helped with... gardening... something that I would normally complain about at home, but here I'm on my best behaviour. Haha. After that I didn’t do too much, managed to stay up until 8:30 last night, I'm still getting used to the huge time difference.
Today I got my uniform; going in the shop I was SO excited, I have always wanted a uniform. After seeing what I had to wear I had a new outlook on uniforms, the suck. I have to wear a “warm kilt” which is basically a kilt that goes to my ankles.. I think that my family anf friends would have a good laugh at what I look like, and don’t even get me started on the shoes. They have to be the ugliest things that I have ever laid eyes on. There is no way that I will ever wear them out of school.
The weather here is okay, it has been about 14 each day give or take a couple degrees, so it is cold but it is not so bad that I can't go outside without a coat. I would take this weather over the weather that we have in winter at home any day!
I have to go but I hope that everything at home is going well, I hope that everyone is enjoying summer time.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Just arrived, and Very emotional
DAY ONE
They warn you and you completely understand that you are going to be home sick. They repeat it 700 times in 700 different ways but there is no way to explain it. There is no way to explain the emptiness that you feel, the loneliness that is overwhelming your heart. This feeling is something that is hard to escape, something that can’t be healed instantly by a phone call or a hug. This feeling starts from the last glimpse of your loved ones, the last time that you saw those last people that you know and cherish with all your heart. These are the people that make you feel like you are loved, that fill that void in your heart that is only able to be filled by them. There is no way to obtain the fullness and certainty of your heart in a matter of days. I know that this is going to take time, and it is going to hurt. I am going to cry for the next week, wishing that I didn’t do this, wishing I was at home doing the same everyday thing that i was doing before, wishing that my dream didn’t come true. But the fact is, I'm here, I’m doing this, and I’m going to succeed. I’m going to succeed because I want to, because my family and friends want me to and because I know I can. This is a once in a life time experience that has been handed to me from my parents and Rotary. This is something that i will never forget. I will look back to this day wondering how I felt homesick, how I felt like this was a wrong decision, like I have made a mistake that now i can’t take back.
It has been a long day, taking two connecting flights, 26 hours later i have arrived. Arrived to two amazing people who I know I will be able to count on, who will make me feel better about being here.
For now that is all I can say, I feel like I haven’t slept in days, goodnight Aussie!
DAY TWO
Well, it’s only day two and it feels like i haven’t been home for a life time, I'm going to have to get used to this feeling of uncertainty, of curiosity, of anxiousness. I don’t want to feel like I have wasted my time. This town is different then what I thought it would be like, it’s very old looking, but that must be because it was rainy yesterday; hopefully it will be sunny today! Alison told me that it was a cold winter this year, and by cold they mean 10, so ill survive! The day so far looks nice, looking out my window the sky is pretty clear.
I'm feeling a little better, trying not to think about it today. Give me an hour and I'm sure I’ll be balling again though, it’s going to suck for the next few weeks. I'm not going to let it stop me from experiencing anything; I will not sit alone in my room ignoring the new country that is waiting outside my window! I think that it is good that I will be starting school next week so that I have people here to talk to, so that it will all feel more normal to me rather then just having Alison and Andrew to talk to. I think that is the worst part, I don’t have anyone to sit with me while I'm upset, no one to dupe my feelings onto while I try to understand the circumstance I have placed myself into.
The difference here to Burlington is crazy. It seems like every house is fenced off, there are so many hills, and driving on the other side of the road! Let’s just say I couldn’t do that to save my life. It will take some getting used to for sure!
I went to my school today, chose my classes, looked around, met a few people. It all seemed so different from my school. The halls are open to outside, and the classrooms are very small. I think that ill like it there though, the staff seems nice and hopefully I don’t get lost! The class that I chose for the first semester were English (because I didn’t have a choice), media, photography, environmental science, gym, and geography. All these are things that I'm interested in so I hope that I do well at them even though they wont give me any credits back at home.
They warn you and you completely understand that you are going to be home sick. They repeat it 700 times in 700 different ways but there is no way to explain it. There is no way to explain the emptiness that you feel, the loneliness that is overwhelming your heart. This feeling is something that is hard to escape, something that can’t be healed instantly by a phone call or a hug. This feeling starts from the last glimpse of your loved ones, the last time that you saw those last people that you know and cherish with all your heart. These are the people that make you feel like you are loved, that fill that void in your heart that is only able to be filled by them. There is no way to obtain the fullness and certainty of your heart in a matter of days. I know that this is going to take time, and it is going to hurt. I am going to cry for the next week, wishing that I didn’t do this, wishing I was at home doing the same everyday thing that i was doing before, wishing that my dream didn’t come true. But the fact is, I'm here, I’m doing this, and I’m going to succeed. I’m going to succeed because I want to, because my family and friends want me to and because I know I can. This is a once in a life time experience that has been handed to me from my parents and Rotary. This is something that i will never forget. I will look back to this day wondering how I felt homesick, how I felt like this was a wrong decision, like I have made a mistake that now i can’t take back.
It has been a long day, taking two connecting flights, 26 hours later i have arrived. Arrived to two amazing people who I know I will be able to count on, who will make me feel better about being here.
For now that is all I can say, I feel like I haven’t slept in days, goodnight Aussie!
DAY TWO
Well, it’s only day two and it feels like i haven’t been home for a life time, I'm going to have to get used to this feeling of uncertainty, of curiosity, of anxiousness. I don’t want to feel like I have wasted my time. This town is different then what I thought it would be like, it’s very old looking, but that must be because it was rainy yesterday; hopefully it will be sunny today! Alison told me that it was a cold winter this year, and by cold they mean 10, so ill survive! The day so far looks nice, looking out my window the sky is pretty clear.
I'm feeling a little better, trying not to think about it today. Give me an hour and I'm sure I’ll be balling again though, it’s going to suck for the next few weeks. I'm not going to let it stop me from experiencing anything; I will not sit alone in my room ignoring the new country that is waiting outside my window! I think that it is good that I will be starting school next week so that I have people here to talk to, so that it will all feel more normal to me rather then just having Alison and Andrew to talk to. I think that is the worst part, I don’t have anyone to sit with me while I'm upset, no one to dupe my feelings onto while I try to understand the circumstance I have placed myself into.
The difference here to Burlington is crazy. It seems like every house is fenced off, there are so many hills, and driving on the other side of the road! Let’s just say I couldn’t do that to save my life. It will take some getting used to for sure!
I went to my school today, chose my classes, looked around, met a few people. It all seemed so different from my school. The halls are open to outside, and the classrooms are very small. I think that ill like it there though, the staff seems nice and hopefully I don’t get lost! The class that I chose for the first semester were English (because I didn’t have a choice), media, photography, environmental science, gym, and geography. All these are things that I'm interested in so I hope that I do well at them even though they wont give me any credits back at home.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Almost There!
There are two short weeks left until I leave for Australia! This past week has been very hard for me, the shock of leaving is finally starting to kick in, leaving me scared, excited and anxious. I have never felt so many emotions about one thing before, it's very strange. I have done alot of my shopping and only need a couple of things before I leave. There are a few things that I have left to do here, such as take some pictures of my friends and town and get some more gifts to hand out in Aussie! The next time that I blog, I bet I will be there, it is crazy for me to believe that in two weeks my dream is going to become a reality and I am SO excited!
Monday, June 7, 2010
The Last Stretch
So it is now just about a month until I leave to go to Australia for a year. After knowing where I'm jetting off to for about three months now i have not had any nerves. It is now down to the last month and I can't control my emotions. Days go by where i am so excited, feeling like nothing can stop me, then the next i am nervous, scared by the thought of leaving. There is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be the greatest year of my life, don't get me wrong i will enjoy every minute of living in the place that is a dream world for me. There are no words to describe the feelings that I have for this extremely rare opportunity. i cant wait to leave and will keep everyone posted on what im doing!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
My new home in, Geelong
Yesterday I was told what city that i am going to be living in. Its a city that is about a hour west of Melbourne called Geelong. So far I haven't done too much research but it looks beautiful and its is right on the ocean. I cannot wait because I absolutely love the ocean and I cant wait to be there to see it hopefully everyday. I have been told that I am going to The Geelong College for the school year so i really want to be able to get my credits. It would be icing on the cake!
Anyways, ill keep you informed on any new news that i find interesting and anything that i hear about my new home!
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