Dear exchange,

I'm in this weird place now as I finish packing and get ready to leave the city that I have called home for the passed eight months.  Plus it's my birthday, so a whole lot of weird emotions are bubbling around in me right now.  One minute I'm happy, one minute I'm scared, one minute I'm anxious, another minute I'm overwhelmingly sad, and in even another minute I feel surprisingly indifferent.  That last feeling is less and less frequent as the time draws nearer for me to leave.

I learned so much this year, I don't think I realize the extent of changes that I have experienced yet. 

I made some absolutely fantastic friends and I know this year would not have been half as wonderful with out them.  Thank you, all of you.

I wish there was a way to quantify how much I owe to this experience and a way for me to pay what I owe.  All I can really do is put out a thank you to Carleton University and the University of Leeds for presenting this opportunity to me.  The biggest thanks of all has to go to my parents for making this trip possible and supporting me the entire time, from calming my anxiety before I left to listening to tales of my adventures.  

Thank you exchange, you have been the best (a phrase I throw around, but this time I mean it entirely).




When this message is posted, I'll be on my way from Leeds to Grenoble, my first stop on my summer adventure.  I'm going to try to make posts as frequently as possible on my trip but I won't have a computer with me so it won't be that often, maybe once a week at the most.

Ediburgh: [noun]- the capital city of Scotland

On May 26 I (finally) went to Edinburgh for five nights.  It's such a beautiful city and I don't know if I made it seem magical because it's where Harry Potter was written or if it was magical before and that's why Harry Potter was written.  Either way, the city creates a sense that you have entered into another world.  I'm going to keep this post short because I have packing and birthday celebrating (hint hint) to do, so here is my trip in summary.

May 26
-arrive in Edinburgh
-walking tour of the city
-eat Haggis

It is so delicious, don't let this picture fool you.

May 27
-Edinburgh Castle
-Ate at The Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter

Me and the Castle hanging out.

May 28
-National Gallery
-National Museum
-Whisky Tour

May 29
-watched live comedy at The Stand
-went to Scotland's Parliament, Holyrood Castle and The Queens Gallery

May 30
-train ride to and from Fort William

And then I came home on the 31st.