Epic National Anthem!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K1q9Ntcr5g

Go to that link, haha.
Their anthem is over five minutes! And it sounds amazingly epic.
At school, our anthem sounds like it's sung by the backstreet boys...haha.

Vive La France!

Skills, eh?!

Things to be excited about:

-Eiffel tower
-The Louvre
-French Alps
-South of France, and the sea!
-Speaking amazing french, a skill that i can actually use in canada!
-Amazing french food!
-WINE AND CHEESE!
-Being so close to other countries
-Rotary trips!
-Meeting a whole new group of amazing exchange students <3
-Euro tour!
-Meeting new people
-French boys! [common, i'm only human, haha].
-Being independent
-host siblings, maybe even a little brother or sister! :]
-teaching people things about Canada they never could have imagined before
- LEARNING SO MANY THINGS I COULD HAVE NEVER IMAGINED BEFORE! wooo!

Let Fate Decide...

Sorry I'm such a slack, haha. I found out my country over a month ago, and I still haven't posted it yet. It's a good thing that no one reads this yet, haha. Anyone who knows me obviously already knows though. Anyways, the country I will be living in for the next year is...



So, in case you live in a box, that is the French flag and France is located in western Europe. They speak french, but seeing as they border on many different countries, the french varies depending on the city. I still don't know my city yet, which is pretty lame, but I am hoping to know soon!

If you have talked to me at all about this, you probably know that France was not a country that I wanted to go to. This was for a mixture of reasons that I was originally going to explain here, but I’ve decided against it. Pretty much, i should never have listened to the rumors or gossip about where i was going, or the type of exchange France has to offer, because it seriously affected my expectations. I obviously should know better than to listen to rumors, or peoples gossip, but I was still very surprised when my shaking hands open the envelope to reveal that my country was France. Even though the gossip I had heard was stupid, it still stung me and a flourish of negative thoughts came to my mind that I couldn't stop at the time. I hadn’t expected to be the one outbound sitting there dumb-founded while everyone else was about to jump right out of their pants. I’m usually the one over excited and freaking out, but that’s because I am very emotional and I can never hide what im feeling, so this was no exception.

I don't think anyone expected me to go to France, and i could feel an air of awkward confusion after I read my country. If my mother hadn’t video taped it I probably wouldn’t believe it all happened. I was one of the last names to be called, I was so shaky and nervous I couldn’t even remember what countries had already been called. I walked slowly and steadily to the podium, as to not embarrass myself more than necessary. I took the envelope, took a very deep breath, whispered “okay” and used my shaky hands to open the envelope and read my country. I lifted the top fold and there it was, the big purple all caps letters that told my fate:

FRANCE.

And then I said it, “I’m going to France!”
Except it really came out more like, “igoingtufrance,” and then I could feel anything anymore. My mind exploded, and the next thing I knew the two inbounds from France were running down to give me a hug of congratulations, that I honestly don’t remember, then I tried to steadily make my way back to my seat. My mom gave me a hug when I sat down, and I think she was even crying a little. My dad was also very happy, that’s where he wanted me to go all along. For some reason while I sat there I felt the need to open my letter a few more times to read it, as if it weren’t real or the country would magically change, or tell me never mind. I whispered it to myself over and over, “France, I’m going to France.” I got many looks, most of them knowing and fearing what I may have been thinking. I replied to everyone with my biggest smile and most convincing nod. I could feel tears coming, but I wasn’t sure why. I guess its just of information to take in through six little purple letters.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in continent groups talking about things that I really don’t remember. I remember looking around and seeing tears and smiles and some faces like mine, faces that showed their mind was in a place other than that room. I remember when the tears really came. “It’s very important to you all to learn a bit of the language before you go, it means a lot to just know how to say hello, please, and thank you.” Oh yea, bonjour, s’il vous plait, merci. Merde, je peux deja dire cela! It was then that I realized why I felt the way I did. The language thing was getting to me, and I remember all those stupid rumors I had heard before, and all the gossip. I realized that most of the things i had been excited about had changed, and i was going to need a bit of time to adjust to that.

I got to spend a lot of time talking to the one inbound from France named Aurilien. The other boy, Geoffroy talked more to my parents than me. Oh the long stories some people will see if they can read between the lines, haha. My parents really enjoyed the chat. I wasn’t sure what to ask, I just wanted to be told all the wonderful things, which Aurilien was good at doing. "You will go to parties all ze night," he said, haha. He was also truthful though, France is not a country that is easiest to fit in to. One must be friendly and outgoing to make friends, but im not too worried.

I was upset about France because i had not taken the time to see all the wonderful things it has to offer, whereas i had with almost all the other countries. I knew there was no changing my country, so as soon as stopped being such a sappy loser i started to do some research. I wish i had welcomed France to my heart sooner than i did, though i cant take back anything now so there is not point in regret. Honestly, after two days i was more excited than ever to go on exchange! I actually know a lot of people who live in France, so i started talking to them right away. There are a few families that my family is very close with because they lived in Canada for three or more years when i was a kid, i don’t really remember them but they remember me. Which is awesome because they all want me to visit them, one family even lives in Belgium and has a summer house in the south of France! I looked at lots of pictures from the last girl who went to France and they are all so awesome. I had no idea how beautiful France was, i guess they only really teach you about those silly cathedrals...haha.

I have started to make a "to do" list already haha. Most of it is just places i want to go, i hope i can check off as many things as possible! I honestly can't wait...it's just so exciting! i wish i knew my city, and the day i'll be leaving, but i dont know any of that yet. Hopefully i'll find out soon so i can post the details.

On rencontre sa destinée souvent par des chemins qu’on prend pour l’éviter.

France may not have been my country of choosing, and i will admit i felt some disappointment. However i believe that everything happens for a reason. This is my fate and i will make the very most of it. Everyday i get more excited. This still doesn’t feel real, so for now i am still but dreaming for the future.

The day has arrived!!

The 21st is finally here! The day I finally find out which country I will be living in next year. However, it is two am meaning I have yet to sleep and get ready. I can't manage to fall asleep due to a mixture of emotions along with the very long nap I had this afternoon.../evening. I can't believe the day is finally here. I have been waiting so long to know where I will be living. Every country offers such a different experience it's incredible. I didn't really have a preference because I knew I wouldn't get to choose. Now in my mind I have a few ideas of where I would like to go but really, anywhere will be amazing. I oddly feel like I know which country I will pull out of that envelope, but I could be totally wrong. For some reason I just feel like I'm going to go to South America. Particularly Ecuador..or maybe Japan. Haha who knows! Well, the list of countries are: Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Thailand, Japan, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand. All pretty amazing, right?

Well, I really should get off my iPod and try to sleep. Tomorrow will be a very exciting day! I will post my country asap. Tata! :D

Hi, my name is Emi, and i'm an alc-

Oh, I mean exchange student. Yea, that's it.

So, seeing as this is my blog, I thought it may be useful to talk a bit about myself, especially if you are reading this and have no idea who I am. It's hard to know where to begin...

My name is Emily Sarah Lilian Johnson, and I am from Ontario, Canada [please don't stalk me]. I have lived in Canada my whole life, and get this, I have never been outside of Canada. Nope, not even the states. Sad, isnt it? I have also never been on a plane. However, I have been to Quebec!...once. This is why exchange is so exciting for me, I cant wait to finally get out and experience the world. I am really excited to learn to speak a new language. I already speak English and French, so I am hoping to learn a language like Spanish, but who knows! I don't really care where I go, because I know anywhere will be amazing. I'm feeling a little lazy at the moment, so that's all you get to know about me for now. Tootles!

Back to how it all began...

Hey, so back in late October i was accepted into the Rotary Youth Exchange program. If you don't know about Rotary, they are a non-profit organization that is very involved in the international community and does a lot of great things. Their exchange program is where they send out students to live in another country for one year and the student will go to school and experience a whole new lifestyle.
I really should have started this blog a long time ago because I have already done so much! Lets think back, i have known that i have wanted to go on exchange for a long time now. I have had a lot of friends go through this program so i know its a great opportunity. I met a group of the inbounds a few years back and they are the true reason that made me know this is what i wanted. So, in October I signed up for my interviews and took the first step to becoming and exchange student.
The interviews weren't too bad, a little nerve-wracking but i survived! you really just have to talk about yourself so its no big deal. I got a call saying I got past the first round of interviews, then my parents had to go in for their interviews. I told them they better not mess up or else! hah, all must have went well because I got a call a few days later saying that I was accepted! I hardly even remember what they told me because I was kind of in shock. I remember it being something like, "we would love to see you go on exchange next year." "oh.""you've been accepted.""oh.. thank you""it's okay, you can be excited and scream.""oh.ahh, yayyy!!" hahaa, good job Emi. I was shaking so much after. I wanted it so bad and it felt a little unreal, but I was so happy!
Since then, I have been to a few Rotary meetings with my club, Burlington North, and met with the exchange students a couple of times. Those will need their own blog entries that i will write later. I hope that I have an amazing exchange and remember to update my blog. Much love, Emi! :D