International Youth Exchange Expo

Earlier today was the IYE Expo at IPFW! I just wanted to thank everyone who put in all the effort planning the expo and also to those to helped set up and tear down. You guys are awesome. 

I had such a good time hanging out with the other Inbounds/Outbounds. 

Here in this picture is (from left to right) Zuzia from Poland, Bruno from Brazil & I. 

And here is a bigger group of us, (top row, left to right) Hannah who is going to Denmark, me, Kenzie who is going to Germany, & Por who is from Thailand. And in the bottom row is Bruno and Zuzia. 

But the best part of the day was after the Expo. Bruno, Zuzia, Kenzie, & I went to Jefferson Point (it's an outdoor outlet mall). We walked around and got some really good ice cream at Coldstone. I had such a great time with all of them today, and I can't wait to see Bruno and Juna (the Inbound from Belgium) over spring break down in Fort Myers Beach, Florida! 

--Maggie

Outbounds, Shopping and Countdowns!

Today I got together with some of my fellow Outbounds: Sydney (going to Australia), Sophie (going to Denmark), and Kenzie (going to Germany). 

Here is a lovely selfie that Sydney (left) and Sophie (right) took on my phone earlier when we were all out eating lunch. I love how I've gotten so close to all the other Outbounds. They are all such AMAZING women, and their host families will be so lucky to have them. I can't even express how much I am going to miss every one of them. It is so rare that I find people that I like and have such a great time with as I do with them. 

Also, I started using this countdown app to count the days until I leave for exchange. Here is the "current" time:

Isn't that crazy!? 175 DAYS! That just seems like right around the corner. I feel like before I know it, the count down clock will be at 2 days. 

Thanks for reading! 

--Maggie

Hayir Türkçe bilmiyorum

(The title is translated as: I don't speak Turkish.)

Merhaba Everyone! 

Benim adim Maggie. (In English, this is translated as: Hello Everyone! My name is Maggie.) Today, I "officially" started buying books and videos on how to speak Turkish, Turkey travel books, and books describing Turkey's past and how they are structured now. 

These are just two of the four books I have purchased (the other two still haven't arrived from Amazon). I am so excited to start learning more about Turkey!

Thank you for reading!

Maggie Blackwell

February Conference

This past weekend was the second Inbound/Outbound Conference. But this time the Outbound parents came along as well. Many of us Outbounds were really anxious about finding out our future host countries, infact, we have all been waiting forever to know. Well, the conference started out with all of us gathering in this meeting room to introduce ourselves to everyone else there. But as soon as we, the Outbounds, started introducing ourselves, the man who is in charge of the conference, handed each of us a packet with the information about our HOST COUNTRIES! How amazing, right!? There is actually a story behind my country assignment. Originally, I was assigned to go to France. But shortly after I was accepted, France decided to change their rules and regulations, which unfortunately, made me uneligable to go there. And by the time the news of this got back to the Rotary back here in the states, they had to act quickly to resubmit my application to other counties with the hopes of finding a host country for me. Well as it turns out, Turkey was able to find a spot for me in district 2420, or the Istanbul area. 

Also, here is a picture of some of the Inbounds and Outbounds.

So now, I can start preparing for my once in a lifetime adventure to Istanbul, Turkey! 

Thanks for reading everyone!

--Maggie Blackwell 

Outbound Coffee Date

Today I met three of my fellow Outbounds, Kenzie, Sydney and Sophie for coffee. We were out for three hours just talking and having fun. These girls are so nice, confident and funny; I am glad to just be in the same group as them! The four of us get along so well and I had such a good time hanging out with them. There are three other Outbounds, Hannah, Erin and Nicole, but they all couldn't make it because of the weather or other plans. While we were out for coffee, we decided to shop for some lapel buttons for our Rotary Jackets (For the exchange all of the Outbounds are required to have a navy blazer that we pin buttons and other objects that we collect throughout the exchange on, sort of like a scrapbook that you can wear). I, of course, only have a few buttons on my jacket. And on top of decorating our own jackets, we have to have pins that we are supposed to trade with other students for pins from their country to then put on our jackets. Here is what my jacket looks like now:

(I'll be sure to post a picture of my jacket when it's completed so you'll be able to see the difference between now and the future) 

And in case you are wondering, I still have no idea which country I'll be going to on exchange. They told me I should find out anytime now, so just look out for updates! Thanks again for reading!

--Maggie Blackwell

Lindenwood Christmas Conference!

     This weekend was the Inbound/Outbound Christmas Conference at the Lindenwood Retreat Center in Donaldson, IN. For this Conference, all of our districts Inbounds and future Outbounds had to bring either a main dish or dessert from our country to share with everyone. There were also many activities to help all the Inbounds and Outbounds get to know each other. Here is who was all there:

Inbounds:                                           Outbounds:

Linda (Finland)                                               Maggie (me)

Bryant (Taiwan)                                              Sophie

Bernardo  (Bolivia)                                          Sydney 

David  (Spain)                                                 Erin

Por  (Taiwan)                                                  Hannah

Zuzia   (Poland)                                               Nicole (couldn't come) 

Juna    (Belgium)

Daniela   (Ecuador)

Bruno  (Brazil)  (couldn't come) 

We also had to share a room with someone who we hadn't met before. So, most of the rooms were 1 Outbound and 1 Inbound. I shared a room with Daniela, the girl from Ecuador. She is one of the nicest girls I have ever met. I had such a good time talking and spending time with her. All of the Inbounds were so nice and really easy to talk to. All of them were willing to share advice with us, the Outbounds, about their experiences on foreign exchange. I couldn't ask for a better group. Our next conference is in February. I don't think I'll be able to wait that long before seeing them all again! 

In this picture, from left to right, is David (Spain), Bernardo (Bolivia) & Matt (from France, was an exchange student here five years ago)

And here, from left to right, is Daniela (Ecuador) , Linda (Finland) and Zuzia (Poland).

Hopefully I will be finding out my host country in the next month or two. Or three.

--Maggie

 

Let the Preparations begin!

I just bought this book for .19 cents off of Amazon today! As I was looking through the free "preview" that Amazon offers, I realized how much ACTUAL useful information this book has. 

For example, look at the picture below. The book has all these different chapters designated to help you learn and prepare for each stage of your exchange. From my past experience in Poland, all these major areas of doubt and worry are exactly what I had to deal with. Trust me, from the looks of it, this book is spot on. And that is why I got it. I wanted to have something I could reference before, during and after the exchange to prove to myself that what I am feeling is completely normal and that everyone else goes through these same emotions too. 

Also, I have my third Rotary Lunch tomorrow! I am really looking forward to it. And another thing, this weekend is the OUTBOUND/INBOUND CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE AT ANCILLA COLLEGE! I absolutely cannot wait to see all my favorite Outbounds again (They are these four other girls that have also been accepted by my district as next year's exchange students). Nicole, Sydney, Sophie and Hannah are all such nice girls and it will be really fun to be able to see them this weekend! 

Bye for now,

Maggie