Exchange Girl: Only just a dream

One year, a different country, a new home, a different school, different family, different friends, different city, different languague, different culture, a new life.

About a year ago I was preparing to start a new life in Canada: arranging a visa, packing up my life in one big, and one small suitcase, learning a different language and saying goodbye. Trying to keep my expectations low and be ready for anything to happen, for good times, and bad days. For a tear here and there, and an overload of smiles. For lost friends, and a whole bunch of new ones. For losing part of my life, but gaining a new one.

Now one year later I'm back in the same place I was a year ago, but with a completely different life. The past year has had difficult parts, where you question yourself what the hell you're doing on the otherside of the world than the one you've known all your life, but the past year has mainly created amazing memories that I'll never forget. It's been a year to remember for sure, I've done things I never did before and I've met people I could only dream of meeting. I've been to places I never thought I would go, and seen things I didn't think I would see, experienced things that will stay with me forever and fallen in love with a country that I now also call my home.

I still can't believe how much I've seen this past year: Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Whistler, Banff, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, New York and of course Prince George. It was amazing to travel to all these places and see more of Canada, because there is so much to see, experience, enjoy in this country.

So some highlights from start to end I've: seen Ottawa, Parlement Hill and the lightshow, played beachvolleybal with great people, enjoyed a whole bunch of football games, joined the cross-country running team, loved the beautiful views on roadtrips, discovered whistler and surroundings on a mountainbike and in a canoe, jumped on rocks in Victoria, gone skiing 20 minutes from my house, met amazing people on a trip to New York, taken a picture of New York's skyline, conquered a snowstorm and skied in the Rocky Mountains, taken a ''deer-selfie'' out of my chalet and enjoyed the view in the Rockies with friends, found that cross-country-skiing is great and taking car-selfies even greater, discovered that taking a selfie on top of a mountain isn't bad either, walked with snowshoes in May, participated in an egghunt with 14 kids, had an amazing prom with friends and the whole grade for that matter, flown over the Rockies a couple times, seen Toronto from the CN Tower, taken pictures with friends in front of the Niagara Falls and been proud that the best part of the falls is Canadian, gotten a Dutch friend from Nova Scotia fly over to Prince George, taken a little road trip to Barkerville and made a bunch of selfies, gone to my friends grad, cheered for kids during a running competition, ran 10 km with a friend, gone to an other grad and finally my own grad, proudly thrown my cap up in the air, displayed my art after a year with amazing artclasses that I won't stop talking about, spend a lot of days on lakes and in boats, spend even more nights around campfires, spend my last day in Canada on a lake and in a boat again and finally, taken my last Canadian selfie.