Hi there!

It's me again - Emily. Wow. Today is the day. I am sitting here at Heathrow Airport. My mum brought me to the airport, but now I am on my own because you can only get to this part of the airport with a boarding pass. I was here quite early, so I have time to write another blog post. My flight takes off in an hour and a half.  I am here at a café drinking some coffee and eating a doughnut.

So, I think it's time to tell you why I want to do this student exchange to Canada. First of all, there are all the obvious reasons. I want to meet new people and find friends from all over the world. The student exchange group consists of people from all kinds of countries. I am really looking forward to learning more about schools in different parts of the world. My guest sister is from Australia. She's going to live with the same host family as me. I mean ... how cool is that?! Secondly, I want to become more self-confident and independent by spending a year away from my parents and family. It will be a great start to my adult life.  I also love to travel and experience other cultures, from the food, films and art to their way of life. The experience of the student exchange will help me in the future, too, when I go job hunting. It will look quite good on my CV.

Last but not least, I can share my experiences here with you on my blog and create this awesome online travel diary. It's going to help me keep in touch with my family, friends and classmates at home in Britain, and help me make sure I never forget what happened in these six months on another continent. I've read so many blogs over the years and I've always wanted to start one myself. I just didn't know what about. I'm not a good chef or baker, I haven’t had the opportunity yet to travel so much that a travel blog would be exciting, but now I have something to write about - my year abroad.  That seems like a pretty good reason to start a blog. If it suits me, I might become a journalist one day (or a teacher? I still haven't figured that one out).

I know there are people who don't want me to go. My grandma is one of those people. She has been asking me why I want to go to Canada, all on my own, since I told her about my plan to go there on a student exchange. She's afraid that I won't eat or drink enough, or that I’ll get lost somehow. I don't know. I mean, I won't be the only exchange student there. We’ll all be „in the same boat", won't we? I'm pretty sure I will find new friends very quickly. Also, there are going to be adults with me all the time - my host parents, my teachers at high school and the people from the exchange organization. Of course, it won't be easy at the beginning, but I'll manage. The official language in Vancouver is English, so at least the language barrier won’t be a problem.

It wasn’t easy to get the money for the student exchange though. It’s really expensive. You have to pay fees to the organization, pay for the flight, give money to the host family for housing and food, and so on. I did some jobs in my free time and my grandpa gave me the rest of the money. He wants me to have a great time, and I'm incredibly thankful to him.

So, time to finish the blog post. There’s one last thing I have to admit. I am pretty scared right now, but excited at the same time. It’s a strange feeling, but I am sure I will have the best time of my life. What about you? Have you ever been on a student exchange, or would you like to go on one? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!

Emily