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The Latest 

A couple weekends ago I had my last Rotary meeting, it was about six hours away in a small town called Spala (the l sounds like a w). Olivia and I got a train from Olsztyn to Warsaw and rode a bus to the meeting from there. It felt like it had been forever since I’d last seen everyone (it had only been a month!) but it was so fun to give everyone hugs and talk about how close we were to going home. 

This Rotary meeting we had lots of free time. Usually Rotary packs our time with sightseeing and silly activities, but this weekend we go to spend time with each other and try today goodbye. It was a bittersweet weekend, I am so ready to come home and see everyone and get back into a routine, but these people have been like a family to me this year. Even though we only met nine months ago and have only seen each other a handful of times, we are so close. I remember how scary it was to be at the first meeting, all these teenagers speaking all different languages it seemed like I was in over my head. Everyone was so welcoming and warm, it was easy to get close to each other. It was different making friends with the other exchange students. We were all a little scared and alone in this new country, because of this it was easy to bond and just jump into one big friendship. 
Of course as the year went on we got closer to certain people, but we’re still a family. 


I was really excited to hear that two of my good friends would be going to college close to me! One is going to be just outside of Montreal and the other is in New Jersey, and of course Olivia is from Pennsylvania so I'm hoping that I'll be able to see them when I get home! It was harder to accept that my friends from Australia or Taiwan or South Korea would be harder to reach. We did a lot of hugging and crying over the weekend but was also danced and sang and had a good time all together ♥ 





 I know I put way too many photos but I couldn't pick just a few! All these beautiful people have had such a positive impact on my life and I am so grateful to have met them all. 

I think one of the great things about Rotary is that it gives young people this amazing opportunity to meet people from all over the world. All with different opinions and different backgrounds. I think that, like every organization out there, it has things to be worked on, but the big picture of it is so wonderful. Even if I wasn't best friends with everyone in this group of incredible student, I know I have a home wherever they are and of course they do wherever I am. 

Now, with less than a month until I am home, I have had a lot of time to do some reflecting on my year here. I am so glad that I did this exchange, it hasn't always been what I expected, and it has been frustrating or difficult at times, but I would never take it back. I learned a lot about myself and about a culture that is so different. I also made so many great friends, maybe not the friends I thought I would make, but I'm so happy they're the ones I did make :) 

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