Odds and Ends of the last week

Hello Everyone, 

Sorry I'm a little late posting this week, but I, nevertheless, have a lot to catch you up on! 

First, I'll start off with Sophie's goodbye party. Sophie is one of my best friends. Not a day goes by that I don't either talk to her, hang out with her, or both. This year apart will be so difficult without my best friend. But I know she'll have a great year in Denmark! 

Here is Bruno at Sophie's party in front of  a really huge Danish Flag, painted by Sophie's sister. 

Also, Sophie sent me these quotes on Pinterest that perfectly describe our friendship, and I thought I share them. 

The next day Sophie, Nicole, Bruno, and I went to this bookstore downtown called Hyde Brothers Books. It is in this old house that was renovated into a book store. Sophie and I agreed that even if we spent all day there looking at books, we still wouldn't be able to see everything they had! Here is Sophie at the book store: 

Also, while on the subject on books, Bruno, Sophie, and I went to another book store today called Any Other Book. It is closing down so everything is 80% off. Sophie got a three book series written in Danish and I got all these books for $11.00!

Anyway, after going to Hyde Brothers Books, we headed to Butler, Indiana for Sydney's goodbye party. Her party was at her Pond, which is about 15 minutes away from Butler. Here is a picture of Sophie and I at the party: 

{Don't mind the Canadian Flag, it's a long story haha}

Her party was really fun! We played Cornhole, fed the fish, and made Apple Pudgy Pies in the Bonfire. You will be missed Sydney. Hope you have a fun year in Australia!

Also, here are some funny posts I saw about foreign exchange students:

Thank you all so much for reading! 

Sincerely, Maggie  

Calvin College CSRYE Conference!

Hi Everyone! 

Over this past weekend was my last Rotary Conference until I leave for Turkey. It's so difficult to believe that this part of my journey is over just as the next part, the actual exchange, is beginning. 

Some of the best parts of the conference would have to be the pin exchange, going dancing both nights with my fellow Outbounds, and being able to ask the Rebound, who went to my city in Turkey, any questions I had about exchange. 

The Pin exchange was so crazy, I could barely tell what was going on half of the time. Basically, every Inbound, Outbound,  and Rebound brings pins that they've made or bought that represent their home country. Then, they would give away those pins for other ones that represent other countries. Later, you would put all the pins you got at the exchange on your Rotary jacket. Here is a picture of my jacket after the conference: 

And if you think I have a lot of pins on my jacket now, just wait until the end of my exchange! 

{By the way, the weight of all those pins on my jacket have already broken one coat hanger. Causality count:1}

Thank you for reading,

Maggie

Fourth of July, Friends, and Guarantee Forms

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great Fourth of July weekend celebrating with family and friends. I had such an awesome time hanging out with my friends, Sydney (outbound to Australia) and Bruno (inbound from Brazil) at Sydney's pond and later, for fireworks, at her aunts lake house. 

{Above are some of the spectacular photos Sydney took of the fireworks!}

Overall it was such a great day, I couldn't imagine spending it with anybody else! 

Also, as you may have guessed from the title, I received my guarantee form from Turkey! What the guarantee form tells me is my Host Rotary Club and the High School I'll be attending in Turkey. My Host Rotary Club is the Istanbul Rotary Club. And I've found out that there is another girl, who is from California, that will also be hosted by my club! She is so sweet, I just know we'll get along great together. My school is Eyuboglu High School. Here is a picture of my school:

There are so many fun clubs I'm planning on joining, I'll barely have time to sleep! 

My goodbye party is in a few days, and our final conference is this weekend too. Can't believe how fast time is flying. But as everyday passes, I know I'm getting closer and closer to my life in Istanbul.

Best wishes, Maggie