SEPT

7 month exchange-a-versary to me aujourd'hui! Can you believe that people because I know I'm sure having a hard time wrapping my head around it.  The time that has passed and all that has happened since leaving Canada is RIDICULOUS.  What is life outside exchange... I can't even remember it as well as I used to anymore which is incredible.  The part of my brain with all my Canada memories and routines is getting foggier and foggier as each new day, week, and month of exchange passes and tries to trick me into thinking this has always been my life.  I mean I could never truly forget anything about life in Canada (DUH), it's just such a distant thing from everything about me at this moment in my life.  WOOAAHAWOWOWWHWOOAHHOOOO. Brain. Explosion.

Bottom line: I am ABSOLUTELY LOVING life and exchange at the moment, probably the most that I have since it began way back when.  Although I can't deny the excitement I feel about the fast approaching date that marks my return home, it's safe to say there's an almost equal amount of dread in regards to all the things that will have to end in 3 months when I leave my exchange behind.  It was hard enough leaving my life in Canada and I get to return to it... but when I say goodbye to exchange, it's goodbye. Period.  I know that's kind of throwing a big blanket of "depressing" on this blog post but that subject keeps kind of creeping into conversations here and there these days and it's on my mind!! But it's not over!!! And I will not hold back in making these last 3 months the best yet.

Just had a cool weekend.  Us exchange kiddies got to miss school on Saturday for a Rotary day.  We had offical/kind of boring things to take care of all morning, but in the afternoon we got to go to Tourcoing to play this ancient old French sport I forget the name of (that was like an old fashioned way of bowling..? kinda..?).  Anyway it was cool because there were also a few French Outbounds for next year's exchange (yet another thing that caused me to be nostalgic) who we got to meet and talk with.  They were astounded by my French, one girl did a double take when she heard me saying I was Canadian.  I guess she saw me talking earlier in the day and figured I was another French Outbound, the look of surprise on her face upon hearing that I wasn't actually French made my whole day.  I had a really fun night last night hanging out with some of my best friends in Lille, and then a lazy day spent wandering the deserted Sunday streets with them and David's guitar.

ehhhhhhhhhh 

just in case it isn't obvious I had NO IDEA what I was doing

I lost.... 

BUT STILL SMILING!

So yeah life is pretty swell as per the usual.  Oh yeah, and probably the best thing about the following 24 hours is that MY MOM AND SISTER ARRIVE IN LILLE WOOOOOOHHHH!!!!!! They're on the plane headed my way right now, and Valentine and I will go pick them up from the train station in Lille tomorrow at noon.  I'm sooooo excited. :)