I am attempting to bask in the last few days I have left in beautiful Calgary, AB, as my departure date begins to come in closer. These last few weeks I'm trying to spend the most time doing things I love and I know will miss as my trip dawns over me. I know I will miss the mountains most of all from my hometown so I decided to spend the most amount of my remaining time in Canmore, backpacking, hiking, paddleboarding and just enjoying the mountains as much as possible. This past weekend I spent 3 long days on a camping trip with my friends, giving me a quick break from the outside world before my last minute rush to get everything set everything out before I leave. I indeed will miss the mountains dearly, however I return a little sore from my trip ready to hop on the plane on the 18th.
Upon my arrival I had a opportunity to practice my French as I received a really pleasant email from my first host family in Braine-le-comte. This practice is much appreciated as I am slacking a little on the language goals I have set, however, I managed to understand the majority of the email and could respond with fairly competent French. I ran my response by a native French speaker just to make sure it was understandable and it only needed slight adjustments. This is an achievement in my eyes.
Organizing this upcoming year is very stressful and taxing, so it is very reassuring when I see that I have a tentative invite to staff a local scout group in my town. Finally my year is coming into focus, and all it took was for me to go off the grid for 3 days. I of course responded to this invite with enthusiasm, my host sister from my second family helps staff this group and mentioned that I could attend their meetings. Apparently the majority of the scouts/staff attend my school so this would be a great way for me to create new friends at school and make amazing relationships abroad. I'm also very keen on this idea because I was a part of a scout group this last year and it would be interesting to compare the two groups and maybe share some of the Canadian ways among the youth.
The first of the Belgian exchange students leave tomorrow on the 10th and im starting to hear about people frantically packing and leaving for the airport in a few hours. I completely understand that as I am probably going to be doing the exact same in a few days. But when that day comes, it will all work out.
As for right now, I'm going to continue to enjoy the amazing Canmore and Calgary weather and soak up the sun on paddle boards/canoes or the sides of mountains. I have one more large hike coming up on the 14th to the 16th, leaving one last day to get everything sorted before catching my flight. Lets just hope the heat wave will subside before the 18th because I'm not too fond of 28 degree weather, let alone 40....
Anyways, I'll finish this blog off with a few photos from my most recent trip in the Rockies.
Thanks again for following me through my trip abroad, keep your eyes peeled for further posts as my departure dawns on me.